2 weeks Ago
Globetrotting Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is off again, this time to Japan and Singapore for what she says is a trade mission. The irony won't be lost on business owners on North Guadalupe Street in Santa Fe.
The second phase of a reconstruction project that began in January 2024 drags on. Work is supposed to be completed this summer, according to the city government, but that timetable will likely hurt businesses for another tourist season. Shop owners continue trying to attract customers amid snarled traffic, detours, lane closures and construction vehicles that sometimes block storefronts and parking spaces.
Formerly steady clients now avoid North Guadalupe Street, said Rebecca Garcia, owner of the Concrete Jungle Smoke Shop. "We call it the obstruction construction. It's the worst disruption we've seen in 27 years at this location," Garcia said.
During the early stages, a sign in hideous Denver Broncos-orange proclaimed the effort "A Gov. Lujan Grisham Highway Improvement Project." Such braggadocio by the governor defied honesty.
Taxpayers — federal, state and city — are paying the $10.3 million tab to reconstruct Guadalupe Street from Agua Fría to Paseo de Peralta. Lujan Grisham happened to be in office when the state allocated $1.
5 million for the first part of the project, rebuilding a bridge over the Santa Fe River. The second phase has more components. There will be bicycle lanes, medians, better stormwater drainage and sidewalks accommodating to disabled people.
Tawn Dix, owner of Boultawn's Bagelry, hopes his restaurant will survive to see reconstruction completed. His business partner, Pedro Boulton, 55, died in November 2023, as customer traffic dropped because of the construction project. Dix, 53, scratched out a living last winter by moonlighting as a member of the ski patrol at the Santa Fe resort.
"Income from the ski patrol was the only way I kept my business going," said Dix, who operates his store seven days a week. His workday in winter began early and often lasted 17 hours. He'd arrive at his restaurant by 2 a.
m. to do all the baking before turning the business over to a dedicated employee. Dix then headed to the ski area, where he'd work until 6 p.
m. or so. With deep ties to the Santa Fe area, he said he wanted to run a business that serves his community.
An outbreak of bird flu caused the cost of eggs to spike, but Dix barely raised his prices. Now he wonders how long he can hang on. "Tourist season is coming, and the construction is still going on.
I'm not about to try this again for another winter," Dix said. A few doors away, married couple Justin Ray and Julie Grace have combated the clutter and inaccessibility of street repairs by creating a trio of businesses under one roof. They operate the Remix Coffee House, as well as a nighttime restaurant with disc jockeys spinning vinyl records and a chef serving Japanese-inspired dishes.
Their third venture is training disc jockeys. They call it the Remix DJ Dojo. "It's not been easy for us.
It's forced us to work together as business owners," Ray said. The couple created a thorough website containing a bit of consumer advice in hopes of attracting more nighttime customers. Ray and Grace try to route them to free street parking on Jefferson, Catron and Staab.
The internet also is crucial to Molly Mix, who opened Bakery Feliz at the end of 2023, just before the second phase of reconstruction began. The bakery, her first brick-and-mortar business, is open Thursday through Saturday. If Mix can reach an audience of 900 online, she says, she can attract enough customers to make a go of her enterprise.
Because she launched her bakery when reconstruction was starting, she has no reference of how customer flow on North Guadalupe Street used to be. "I'm not one of the disgruntled business owners. I'm thankful they're doing it," Mix said.
She's been impressed, she said, with an archaeologist who intervenes to make sure potentially important artifacts are preserved when crews dig up the street. The downside is work slows. At Garcia's smoke shop, a 33-year-old double yellow-headed Amazon parrot is an added attraction for customers.
Few were around Friday afternoon, but Garcia says she's lucky in a way. If her merchandise isn't moving, she can dust it off and suffer no loss. The restaurants and bakeries aren't as fortunate.
Garcia said torn-up sidewalks have created dangers for pedestrians and at least one significant injury. And her business is way down, she said, leading her to remind construction workers they get paid no matter how little progress they make. Businesses have no guarantees.
As uninviting as North Guadalupe might seem, with its orange barrels and clogged or ever-shifting traffic lanes, it's still a street with a pulse. Navigating the mess is a headache. Making the effort might help newcomer Molly Mix build a bigger customer base, or hardworking Tawn Dix keep his bagel shop cooking.
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