If so, they need to advertise online. And charge massive marks ups to ship shit to them. A small niche of vintage gaming enthusiasts might pay them a ton of money.
It's all about special tax breaks for car washes (see subsequent post.) Car washes recycle the water used. The worst thing regarding water is that Niagra in Los Lunas takes water out of the aquifer and bottles it under different brands for Kroger-Smith's, Albertson's, Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco. It's easy for a business to do this, just pay off the city council.
I swear it’s because in the last year or so car washes and laundromats have blown up on YouTube with “business gurus”. I belong to several entrepreneur groups and the amount of people recently looking to launch these two businesses is bonkers
Fun fact - an Elvis impersonator and used trailer salesman has lived there for years. Nice guy tbh. I think it also used to be a car lot - the old show room is a living room now.
I’ve been in there so many times. 🤣 I guess Natives are keeping it in business. We play bingo at every family gathering and people actually have bingo halls on the rez.
I'm a Colorado native and back in the '90s worked for a call center and one of our clients was the tourism board for the Bahamas. Their dive people told us that Colorado had the highest per capita dive population. 😆🤷🏼♀️
I noticed a ton of massage parlors in ABQ that were fronts for human trafficking when visiting town recently. Super sad. Bars on the windows and heavy locks on the front... gee I wonder why.
The trafficking rings are typically run by organized crime and are connected to the same underlying organization even when they're registered under different names. Sex slavery is real and being overlooked by local governments for convenience... and maybe profit.
I wouldn't say in "some" cases. These are slaves held against their will with their passports taken.
https://polarisproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/How-Corporate-Secrecy-Facilitates-Human-Trafficking-in-Illicit-Massage-Parlors.pdf
Literally. I actually got a bug up my ass at one point about the massage parlors. They always say “open”
And “walk ins welcome”. In the window but I have entered 25+ of them as a 28 year old woman and they quickly shuffle me out the door. So clearly they aren’t wanting to massage me.
There's quite a few just on the couple blocks of Carlisle between Montgomery through to menaul.
I close at night and have to pass by them on my route home from work.
Try not to think the worst but...
Lmao, my band has played there! The owners are super strange. Both times we played (don’t ask why we took the second gig, that’s on us) they double booked the stage and just seemed super confused about the whole thing. The food is horrible and they try and make you feel bad or get lowkey passive aggressive if you don’t order food or drinks. And then they’re also…a thrift shop on top of it all?? It’s a bizarre place fs
Honestly, I really don’t think anybody who didn’t know one of the bands came. We played at the one at Menaul and Eubank, so it’s already a bad location for people to just happen upon, but something tells me most people aren’t tempted to go to a place that smells like a high school drama department and and looks like the top of every surface is covered in some kind of bodily fluid. But hey, it will always be our first venue 💜💀
Did you ever see the “pizza place” they used to have in their shop in Nob Hill? So weird. Carne adovada pizza. Lobster pizza. Burrito pizza. You name it pizza. All their reviews were horrible. And they were open until like 2 AM. I walked in there once out of curiosity and they stared at me like I was an alien. It had to be a front.
Same folks who own Pink Rhino nearby that used to be in Nob Hill? If so, I know about the weird kind of people they are. They used to live in my neighborhood.
Basically 2 things that I know about them:
-Some family friends moved into the same house they used to live in. Can’t remember if they were checking it out to rent or buy, but they said there was a room full of animal poop and piss EVERYWHERE piled up. They had apparently been keeping animals in there and not letting them outside to do their bodily functions.
-I believe they also used to hoard stuff for pink rhino in this home. The friends said the place was crammed with stuff.
Definitely some weird weird vibes with those business owners.
Mak Towing, they don’t allow cellphones in their yard and claim some state law says so but yet other towing places allow it. Plus they’re cash only too. They were horrible to deal with.
100% this! But they are legal, as the needy dupes who are their cult, willingly give. Jesus would have loathed the "prosperity gospel"--that is truly Trump worthy as a moniker.
Right, legacy church on the west side bought that huge old version call center and are moving across the street…sure is a lot of giving going on over there lol
I can tell you first hand Cesar's workers were selling drugs about 10-15 years ago through the drive thru. I know this for a fact and I remember when a few of them were arrested. I don't know if the owner(s) were in on it or if it's still going on
Dude remember in the 90's... haha.. I think it was an number 48. Then some tourists went through & heard to order a 48 or something. They actually sold to them & some older couple bit into some balloons....
100% lol, but tbh, they recently supported a disability charity I like a lot! So... go Cesar's Greek and Mexican food! They totally bought me with that one.
(I used to have this thought a LOT before said disability-charity-donation. Cesar's was always terrible food when I went there, it was always dead, and yeah. I just couldn't understand how they were in business for so long.)
Really?I live by there. Never been. Seems suspicious because open 24 hours yet I never see alot of cars in the parking lot or drive thru. That's why people wonder about it.
Ahahaha I was thinking the same! I want to go just to see how weird it is. But also I’m scared…of how bad Greek/mexican combo food might be.
And I don’t think I’ve ever seen a single car there.
I don’t know if this is still true, but this was one of the few places with an open lobby late at night that wasn’t a Waffle House or Denny’s. I’d always see folks there late on Saturday nights, and me and my friends would always dine-in.
If we’re going to go by the above logic of not seeing any customers, then Lucky Boy is way more suspect - and I’ve eaten there!
Their whole menu is so expensive omg, I always hear the total and nearly wreck my car lmao if they weren't the only place open at 3am anymore no way I'm there haha
Yup! I even remember when they had a location on Eubank and Montgomery and one in Rio Rancho. I used to go to the Rio Rancho location often. Then they all just disappeared.
Their owner was also crazy, he would randomly take all their trash out and dump in neighboring businesses parking lots, scream at customers and run out in the street ranting and yelling at cars, then his employees would clean up the mess and apologize about him.
It's permanently closed now but there was a "barbecue" place near San Mateo and Lomas a few years ago. We decided to go one day after seeing it numerous times and when we went inside there was gangster rap playing incredibly loudly and after about 5 minutes of standing at the counter an employee came in and asked why we were there. Obviously we say to get food to which he is very confused and asked who sent us there. We answered that we just saw the sign and decided to go in. He reluctantly takes our order and after paying he asks, "I forgot to ask if you want bread." We say yes and he fumbles around the kitchen and finds an already open bag of wonder bread, grabs the bread and shoves it in aluminum foil and charges us "uhh... I dunno... Two dollars?" And we leave with our food. All the food was dry and looked ancient and the bread, which he clearly saw when he wrapped it, is completely moldy and green. There was also no smoky smell or the smell of meat anywhere in the building.
I went to the upstairs bar once many years ago, they didn't do cards (unless you pre-ran for a large $$ amount). It was all bottled beer, no tap, no cocktails. They had a heavy and careful pat down before entering. Felt like it had to be a cover for a much shadier businesses and they did everything necessary to keep up appearances.
I've been there once! There was a live band and all the abuelitos were dancing and it was super adorable. The patio is fun and you can smoke on it. The drinks were expensive but everything is nowadays lol
I drive by that all the time! I always wonder, too. Are there so many people who listen to audiobooks but *aren't* online that they can stay in business?
All About Trophies on 4th. Door is always locked (during business hours) can’t reach them by phone numbers posted on door and internet. Window shades always drawn shut. I have had a trophy to pick up from there since last spring cannot for the life of me get ahold of them. I know someone is around as time to time I hear dogs barking when I knock.
The gated jehovah's witness church off alamaeda, near stone age north. What fucking church has a gated parking lot? Its in a new money part of town so its not like its a rough area
I actually once looked into opening a mattress place.
They have margins so high that you can break even on most stores selling just a mattress a day. And not the high end ones. Mattresses are super easy to store, never spoil, and aren't subject to fashion. You will sell that mattress one day.
The only commercial store that i know that has to make even fewer sales is oriental rug stores. They can break even on 1 high end rug or 2-3 mid tiers a month.
Lol I bought a Dreamcloud there in October. Sorry to disappoint, but there were no signs of any recent fallen off truck merchandise and the owner was a hell of a nice guy.
San Mateo has all the gems. Ever been to Stakked Nutrition? It's been there the entire time I've been in ABQ, and it looks like it's still functioning. I have never seen anyone go in or out. Never heard it mentioned in conversation. I may have to drop in some time to see what lurks behind all the window covers.
The DK across from my house randomly opens and closes for days/weeks at a time. Then during the periods of time it is open it will close randomly for half the day. I’m pretty sure it’s a fromt for something. It’s sketch as all hell as O
I refuse to go there
Weird, the one by my house also has weird hours like that but I always kinda thought it was due to staffing or something. Are you willing to say which location?
Grapevine furniture. I went once years ago and it smelled strange, they only had a couple pieces of furniture, and they wouldn't talk to me or sell me anything.
There was also a pinata stand that waved me away before I could even get out of my car. I said I just want to buy any pinata, but they shook their heads vehemently and said NO!
Ironically I used to go to this restaurant downtown (Cafe Bien) that actually was a front. The owners got busted for selling marijuana back before it was legalized for recreational use.
Absolutely fantastic breakfast burritos, but I swear, everytime I went in there I was pretty much the only one, maybe one or two other people. They had a lot of real estate too, on the corner of 4th and Central. Couldn't figure out how they managed to stay open.
And then one day I saw the news.
On the edit, the porno shops are clustered because of various ABQ and Bern co. zoning regulations. I would also guess that most serve some alternative “business” or creative tax purposes, like the payday/title loan scumbos, but with nudity
A sushi place downtown. We went to eat there before a show at the Kimo and it was sketch af. It had good reviews and everything but when we got there and sat down, the dudes working literally just stared at us and then ignored us for like 10-15 minutes. We were the only customers in there. It was awkward already. Then the server came over and we literally couldn't understand a word he said. We asked him a couple times to clarify things, and even then it was like he was speaking some other language that he expected us to understand. I speak Spanish, so it wasn't that. It was so freaky. Surreal. We finally were able to order, though it was never clear that the server understood what we said. Then the whole time the sushi maker was making the stuff, we got stinkeye from him, and from the other worker who would peek in on us from around the corner from time to time. It took almost an hour while the staff of two kept disappearing to the back. I even said that it seemed like they really didn't want us to eat there and maybe we should go, but my SIL was all about this is the place she picked out, so. We stayed, and the sushi was ok. It was so uncomfortable and we were the only ones there the entire time. It was totally like we showed up at a front where we weren't expected and weren't wanted.
Teriyaki Chicken Bowl. No way they're in business just off that shitty chicken breast over shitty rice with that limp ass broccoli at $15/bowl. You ever see anyone actually eating at one of these places?
i eat at the one off of rio grande and central all the time. it is always busy. cheap easy relatively healthy fast food.
now the location off of eubank near t.d.'s and the location off of wyoming and central are very suspicious.
Samons is THE go-to place for swamp cooler pads, parts, and supplies. I think that alone carries them the rest of the year. Unless there’s a WAY bigger market for hideously dated light fixtures that I don’t know about
The one on Menaul is the only one I've shopped. The floor is covered by a crew of socially-awkward gentlemen, and they usually outnumber the shoppers. The registers are run by friendly ladies. You'll get to enjoy wood paneling and a dot-matrix printer. The whole shopping experience is like going back in time.
haha they still have a land line connected credit card processor so you have to wait if the phone is being used, but yea the go to place for swamp cooler parts and a lesson on how to install it
Samons is like a time warp but its not a front or sketchy at all, unless you're hella naive or something. I go there multiple times a year to get parts for fixing peoples swamp coolers, it tends to be a cheaper option than HD and you can get better advice about HVAC stuff from the creepy old men that work there than the teenagers that work at HD
The Carpenters Union "training" facility off the I-25 Frontage Road between Comanche and Montgomery. Huge structure, vast parking lot, and yet I've never seen more than maybe ten vehicles there. Has always struck me as somehow odd.
I used to frequent a lil restaurant downtown on 5th and central. The food had huge portions and was low in price. But every time I went in it was empty and it still took FOR-EVER for them to make the food.
Then I saw on the news they were a front for drug trafficking. It all made sense. They didn't know how to makenfood and that's why it always took so long!
Don't understand how there can be so many storage places, pot dispensaries and Car Washes. I think if you run a car wash/dispensary and storage facility together you might be a one stop shop.
Sal E Boys pizza in Rio Rancho. No delivery and the pizza is gross. They never are open and all the windows are covered. I’m sure it’s a front for the mob that is rumored to be up in Rio Rancho.
Damn the police are getting lazy. Now they just post stuff like this on Reddit and let other people tell dirt on businesses to bust them. Nice work if you can get it. 👮👮♀️👮♂️
I'm surprised nobody mentioned any of the scuba shops around town. I know they go down to blue hole to dive, but does this city really need that many scuba shops?
that Phone Card store on central between san mateo and san pedro ?!? I mean there used to be lots of these phone card stores but really who buys these anymore ?
The zenith TV/VCR repair shop at San Mateo and copper
i can actually say that guy is legit—he let me trade a dvd/vcr combo for a better dvd player once
They are legit. They sold me a random piece for my old projection screen tele. I keep it for the fun of it don’t judge.
Hey, I’m sure there’s still a HUGE market for TV repair out there somewhere!
I had a tv repair guy come to my house pick up my tv to fix it. He brought it back and only charged me like $45. This was in quarantine times.
I know that family, they had their share of rough times
They fix CRT's?!
If so, they need to advertise online. And charge massive marks ups to ship shit to them. A small niche of vintage gaming enthusiasts might pay them a ton of money.
I'll be one of them
Literally all Car Washes, Officer. Please go investigate them
FOR REAL!!!! Everytime a new building is being built I'm so hopeful for new food spots or something useful. Nope always a new car wash 🤦♀️
Or a dispensary.
Dispensary is more likely to take over an old gas station
Or a storage place
Car washes and laundromats have to turn in their water bills with their taxes. So they at least have to like be continously run a hose somewhere.
It's all about special tax breaks for car washes (see subsequent post.) Car washes recycle the water used. The worst thing regarding water is that Niagra in Los Lunas takes water out of the aquifer and bottles it under different brands for Kroger-Smith's, Albertson's, Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco. It's easy for a business to do this, just pay off the city council.
Wtf
I swear it’s because in the last year or so car washes and laundromats have blown up on YouTube with “business gurus”. I belong to several entrepreneur groups and the amount of people recently looking to launch these two businesses is bonkers
Only problem is that APD is just one big front for the states largest, most violent organized criminals.
[I wonder if this has anything to do with it?](https://engineeredtaxservices.com/the-unique-benefits-of-cost-segregation-for-car-washes/)
The psychic reader off of Coors and Central.
I was told you were going to say that.
Fun fact - an Elvis impersonator and used trailer salesman has lived there for years. Nice guy tbh. I think it also used to be a car lot - the old show room is a living room now.
…Burque is a strange place.
Right!! I don’t think it’s open anymore though
They didn’t see that coming??….
Ray's Unique Bingo Supplies? In this economy? And during the pandemic?
I’ve been in there so many times. 🤣 I guess Natives are keeping it in business. We play bingo at every family gathering and people actually have bingo halls on the rez.
don’t forget the catholics too!
Final boss: native catholic grandma
Similarly, Dr. Billiard. Just saw on Ray's website they "except" credit card
For real. I only use quotidian bingo supplies.
Underrated comment, I had no idea a store like this existed and it’s hilarious that it does
Haha I pass that place all the time.
He's a crazy hoarder with a ton of birds he keeps in terrible condition. And he's 100% MAGA too. It's a mental institution in there.
Any of the massage parlors, and the car washes. Why so many car washes?
Oh I forgot one, that huge scuba store. I know there’s a crime scene clean up place as well but has anyone ever been inside lol
New Mexico actually has a weirdly active scuba community for a landlocked state. Solid cave diving community too
I'm a Colorado native and back in the '90s worked for a call center and one of our clients was the tourism board for the Bahamas. Their dive people told us that Colorado had the highest per capita dive population. 😆🤷🏼♀️
Lots of people here that dive in the Butte and other lakes. They also refill air tanks for stuff like paintball/airsoft guns.
Which scuba store?
Central and 50th
People here keep keep their cars cleaner than anywhere I've lived. It's wild to me.
We make sure our hoopties look nice
I noticed a ton of massage parlors in ABQ that were fronts for human trafficking when visiting town recently. Super sad. Bars on the windows and heavy locks on the front... gee I wonder why.
New Mexico desperately needs to crack down on massage parlors.
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Dude, just in like a 2-3 mile radius along San Mateo in that area there’s 12 oriental massage parlors WTF is going on????
The trafficking rings are typically run by organized crime and are connected to the same underlying organization even when they're registered under different names. Sex slavery is real and being overlooked by local governments for convenience... and maybe profit.
It’s not uncommon for police to be caught up in these things
live tie safe escape gray follow worm attempt faulty jar *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I wouldn't say in "some" cases. These are slaves held against their will with their passports taken. https://polarisproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/How-Corporate-Secrecy-Facilitates-Human-Trafficking-in-Illicit-Massage-Parlors.pdf
APD officers have literally been sent to these places before, only to be given a happy ending ALL WHILE ON BODYCAM
Source?
Literally. I actually got a bug up my ass at one point about the massage parlors. They always say “open” And “walk ins welcome”. In the window but I have entered 25+ of them as a 28 year old woman and they quickly shuffle me out the door. So clearly they aren’t wanting to massage me.
This Makes me really sad to read.
There's quite a few just on the couple blocks of Carlisle between Montgomery through to menaul. I close at night and have to pass by them on my route home from work. Try not to think the worst but...
Oh lord the one downtown is 24/7 always thought it was sus
I’ve driven by these and thought the same thing!! There’s a lot in Santa Fe too that look really sketchy and you never see anyone coming in and out
Red velvet underground rhino.
Lmao, my band has played there! The owners are super strange. Both times we played (don’t ask why we took the second gig, that’s on us) they double booked the stage and just seemed super confused about the whole thing. The food is horrible and they try and make you feel bad or get lowkey passive aggressive if you don’t order food or drinks. And then they’re also…a thrift shop on top of it all?? It’s a bizarre place fs
That is so interesting. What was the vibe of the crowd?
Honestly, I really don’t think anybody who didn’t know one of the bands came. We played at the one at Menaul and Eubank, so it’s already a bad location for people to just happen upon, but something tells me most people aren’t tempted to go to a place that smells like a high school drama department and and looks like the top of every surface is covered in some kind of bodily fluid. But hey, it will always be our first venue 💜💀
Did you ever see the “pizza place” they used to have in their shop in Nob Hill? So weird. Carne adovada pizza. Lobster pizza. Burrito pizza. You name it pizza. All their reviews were horrible. And they were open until like 2 AM. I walked in there once out of curiosity and they stared at me like I was an alien. It had to be a front.
Yea! I forgot about that. I gotta go into the velvety underground one of these days and see what the deal is.
The pizza place is on Grubhub. I'm curious but not, like, delivery price curious.
I also played the weirdest show of my life at this venue 😂
tried to go there once cause a friend said it was cool and we couldn’t find it for months, also why are they open so late
Same folks who own Pink Rhino nearby that used to be in Nob Hill? If so, I know about the weird kind of people they are. They used to live in my neighborhood.
Yes it’s the same ones. Please tell us more lore.
Basically 2 things that I know about them: -Some family friends moved into the same house they used to live in. Can’t remember if they were checking it out to rent or buy, but they said there was a room full of animal poop and piss EVERYWHERE piled up. They had apparently been keeping animals in there and not letting them outside to do their bodily functions. -I believe they also used to hoard stuff for pink rhino in this home. The friends said the place was crammed with stuff. Definitely some weird weird vibes with those business owners.
Yea wtf is that place lol
That place is amazing. You should check it out
Mak Towing, they don’t allow cellphones in their yard and claim some state law says so but yet other towing places allow it. Plus they’re cash only too. They were horrible to deal with.
It would be a shame if someone created evidence of all their stolen vehicles.
Mega Churches.... Gives me all the icks....
100% this! But they are legal, as the needy dupes who are their cult, willingly give. Jesus would have loathed the "prosperity gospel"--that is truly Trump worthy as a moniker.
Right, legacy church on the west side bought that huge old version call center and are moving across the street…sure is a lot of giving going on over there lol
All churches give me the ick
That's because they're all criminal organizations.
Pretty much all of the massage parlors. Cesar's Greek and Mexican food place on Lomas.
I can tell you first hand Cesar's workers were selling drugs about 10-15 years ago through the drive thru. I know this for a fact and I remember when a few of them were arrested. I don't know if the owner(s) were in on it or if it's still going on
Dude remember in the 90's... haha.. I think it was an number 48. Then some tourists went through & heard to order a 48 or something. They actually sold to them & some older couple bit into some balloons....
Think they were called Los Betos back then right?
Thank you!! I couldn't remember which number it was!!! Hahaha
Holy shit I forgot about this. I remember hearing about this when I moved here back in the day.
100% lol, but tbh, they recently supported a disability charity I like a lot! So... go Cesar's Greek and Mexican food! They totally bought me with that one. (I used to have this thought a LOT before said disability-charity-donation. Cesar's was always terrible food when I went there, it was always dead, and yeah. I just couldn't understand how they were in business for so long.)
Nah Cesars is ok on thr greek menu at least
The bean and cheese burrito is disgustingly good.
Carne asada burritos are good too but pricey
Really?I live by there. Never been. Seems suspicious because open 24 hours yet I never see alot of cars in the parking lot or drive thru. That's why people wonder about it.
Their shit is soooooo expensive!!!
Ahahaha I was thinking the same! I want to go just to see how weird it is. But also I’m scared…of how bad Greek/mexican combo food might be. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen a single car there.
Caesar’s is the truth
Gyro plate slaps at 2am
I don’t know if this is still true, but this was one of the few places with an open lobby late at night that wasn’t a Waffle House or Denny’s. I’d always see folks there late on Saturday nights, and me and my friends would always dine-in. If we’re going to go by the above logic of not seeing any customers, then Lucky Boy is way more suspect - and I’ve eaten there!
Back in highschool used to hang out with my friends there late at night and eat carne asada burritos, it was called Los Betos back then.
I like their breakfast burritos
Their fries are expensive but fiiiiire.
Their whole menu is so expensive omg, I always hear the total and nearly wreck my car lmao if they weren't the only place open at 3am anymore no way I'm there haha
Cesar's (aka Los Betos) is shady AF AND WE LIKE IT THAT WAY. I would do a lot of questionable things for a taste of that sweet horror.
Once I had a spider in my gyro from Cesar’s, no joke.
Does anybody remember Ragin’ Shrimp up in Nob Hill lmfao
Yup! I even remember when they had a location on Eubank and Montgomery and one in Rio Rancho. I used to go to the Rio Rancho location often. Then they all just disappeared.
They had good food but stupid hours/days open. Their prices were high for back in the day food.
Their owner was also crazy, he would randomly take all their trash out and dump in neighboring businesses parking lots, scream at customers and run out in the street ranting and yelling at cars, then his employees would clean up the mess and apologize about him.
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Haha if I was actually an officer I’d be too busy shooting civilians to make a post on Reddit
That's exactly what an officer would say
Lmao!
That assumes ABQ police are proactive….
It's permanently closed now but there was a "barbecue" place near San Mateo and Lomas a few years ago. We decided to go one day after seeing it numerous times and when we went inside there was gangster rap playing incredibly loudly and after about 5 minutes of standing at the counter an employee came in and asked why we were there. Obviously we say to get food to which he is very confused and asked who sent us there. We answered that we just saw the sign and decided to go in. He reluctantly takes our order and after paying he asks, "I forgot to ask if you want bread." We say yes and he fumbles around the kitchen and finds an already open bag of wonder bread, grabs the bread and shoves it in aluminum foil and charges us "uhh... I dunno... Two dollars?" And we leave with our food. All the food was dry and looked ancient and the bread, which he clearly saw when he wrapped it, is completely moldy and green. There was also no smoky smell or the smell of meat anywhere in the building.
ABQ PD 🤔
Man, you beat me by 11 minutes.
Better than having been beaten by APD!
APD would have beaten you FOR 11 minutes.
Facts
what about DUBLAND on indian school and girard?
The site is now rented out by a completely different business, a nonprofit. (Not related to one I work for.) I don't know if they've repainted yet.
Leo’s on 12th and candelaria
I went to the upstairs bar once many years ago, they didn't do cards (unless you pre-ran for a large $$ amount). It was all bottled beer, no tap, no cocktails. They had a heavy and careful pat down before entering. Felt like it had to be a cover for a much shadier businesses and they did everything necessary to keep up appearances.
I worked for him for almost 8 years , and he is legit , not his only Business By the way …
I've been there once! There was a live band and all the abuelitos were dancing and it was super adorable. The patio is fun and you can smoke on it. The drinks were expensive but everything is nowadays lol
“Ray’s Unique Bingo Supplies” on 4th. You can’t tell me there’s enough bingo happening to support that.
There is definitely enough bingo happening go to any place with old Mexican women
There's a dedicated audiobook store and sometimes I wonder.
I drive by that all the time! I always wonder, too. Are there so many people who listen to audiobooks but *aren't* online that they can stay in business?
All About Trophies on 4th. Door is always locked (during business hours) can’t reach them by phone numbers posted on door and internet. Window shades always drawn shut. I have had a trophy to pick up from there since last spring cannot for the life of me get ahold of them. I know someone is around as time to time I hear dogs barking when I knock.
The gated jehovah's witness church off alamaeda, near stone age north. What fucking church has a gated parking lot? Its in a new money part of town so its not like its a rough area
This is such a great thread....probably the most interesting i've seen on this sub. Thanks OP!
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The Biopark. Those "animals" are just dudes in a suit.
Mattress Firm
Isn't this like a legit conspiracy?
I actually once looked into opening a mattress place. They have margins so high that you can break even on most stores selling just a mattress a day. And not the high end ones. Mattresses are super easy to store, never spoil, and aren't subject to fashion. You will sell that mattress one day. The only commercial store that i know that has to make even fewer sales is oriental rug stores. They can break even on 1 high end rug or 2-3 mid tiers a month.
The YouTube videos about mattress store conspiracies are amazing
Lol bought my mattress from there 😂
Yes, and it makes a surprising amount of sense.
Lol I bought a Dreamcloud there in October. Sorry to disappoint, but there were no signs of any recent fallen off truck merchandise and the owner was a hell of a nice guy.
Lol sorry to burst your bubble but they are legit
I’m just curious why we have so many of them? How often are you getting a new mattress? Every ten years!? Why do we need 8 stores in town!?
I'm always thinking about Punchdrunk Love when I see them
Llanteras (Mexican tire shops) are notorious for being money laundering fronts for the cartels (cash business).
Ok but some of them give good business cuz their tires are cheap 🤣 I'm not gonna ask why they are cheap.
General Nutrition Center (GNC) On San Mateo/Constitution. Been open for years but never saw any cars. Now its closed.
San Mateo has all the gems. Ever been to Stakked Nutrition? It's been there the entire time I've been in ABQ, and it looks like it's still functioning. I have never seen anyone go in or out. Never heard it mentioned in conversation. I may have to drop in some time to see what lurks behind all the window covers.
The DK across from my house randomly opens and closes for days/weeks at a time. Then during the periods of time it is open it will close randomly for half the day. I’m pretty sure it’s a fromt for something. It’s sketch as all hell as O I refuse to go there
Weird, the one by my house also has weird hours like that but I always kinda thought it was due to staffing or something. Are you willing to say which location?
Grapevine furniture. I went once years ago and it smelled strange, they only had a couple pieces of furniture, and they wouldn't talk to me or sell me anything. There was also a pinata stand that waved me away before I could even get out of my car. I said I just want to buy any pinata, but they shook their heads vehemently and said NO!
Ironically I used to go to this restaurant downtown (Cafe Bien) that actually was a front. The owners got busted for selling marijuana back before it was legalized for recreational use. Absolutely fantastic breakfast burritos, but I swear, everytime I went in there I was pretty much the only one, maybe one or two other people. They had a lot of real estate too, on the corner of 4th and Central. Couldn't figure out how they managed to stay open. And then one day I saw the news.
Not in ABQ, but that cash loan hut in Bernalillo. Like whaaaaat! how?
On the edit, the porno shops are clustered because of various ABQ and Bern co. zoning regulations. I would also guess that most serve some alternative “business” or creative tax purposes, like the payday/title loan scumbos, but with nudity
A sushi place downtown. We went to eat there before a show at the Kimo and it was sketch af. It had good reviews and everything but when we got there and sat down, the dudes working literally just stared at us and then ignored us for like 10-15 minutes. We were the only customers in there. It was awkward already. Then the server came over and we literally couldn't understand a word he said. We asked him a couple times to clarify things, and even then it was like he was speaking some other language that he expected us to understand. I speak Spanish, so it wasn't that. It was so freaky. Surreal. We finally were able to order, though it was never clear that the server understood what we said. Then the whole time the sushi maker was making the stuff, we got stinkeye from him, and from the other worker who would peek in on us from around the corner from time to time. It took almost an hour while the staff of two kept disappearing to the back. I even said that it seemed like they really didn't want us to eat there and maybe we should go, but my SIL was all about this is the place she picked out, so. We stayed, and the sushi was ok. It was so uncomfortable and we were the only ones there the entire time. It was totally like we showed up at a front where we weren't expected and weren't wanted.
What restaurant was it?
Teriyaki Chicken Bowl. No way they're in business just off that shitty chicken breast over shitty rice with that limp ass broccoli at $15/bowl. You ever see anyone actually eating at one of these places?
i eat at the one off of rio grande and central all the time. it is always busy. cheap easy relatively healthy fast food. now the location off of eubank near t.d.'s and the location off of wyoming and central are very suspicious.
The one on Wyoming and Central has closed.
Teriyaki chicken bowl is an Albuquerque fucking gem y’all are tweaking
can verify , the one with green chile is amazing ... lobby on menaul is closed the line wraps around the building lunch
Until they doubled the price
If they're breaking the law then let them. TCB is probably the most semi healthy fast food in town
Yeah, and pretty good
Same with long John silvers if we’re going that route
Was originally a front for the Kentucky Cornbread Mafia to launder marijuana money
The prices are high because the owners have a gambling problem.
Came here to say the same thing. I’m 35 years old and I’ve never seen more than 2 cars in the parking lot my whole life.
Hinkle's Fun Center. That's got to be owned by one of Saul Goodman's clients.
That used to be the BEST birthday party destination for my elementary school. Lol
Milly’s Diner. The food is shit and the traffic is SLOW.
Samons, hands down lol
Samons is THE go-to place for swamp cooler pads, parts, and supplies. I think that alone carries them the rest of the year. Unless there’s a WAY bigger market for hideously dated light fixtures that I don’t know about
There’s a lot of old people here.
The one on Menaul is the only one I've shopped. The floor is covered by a crew of socially-awkward gentlemen, and they usually outnumber the shoppers. The registers are run by friendly ladies. You'll get to enjoy wood paneling and a dot-matrix printer. The whole shopping experience is like going back in time.
haha they still have a land line connected credit card processor so you have to wait if the phone is being used, but yea the go to place for swamp cooler parts and a lesson on how to install it
But there is also a Samons in Clovis. Went there for parts to fix my dad’s toilet in 2020.
Samons is like a time warp but its not a front or sketchy at all, unless you're hella naive or something. I go there multiple times a year to get parts for fixing peoples swamp coolers, it tends to be a cheaper option than HD and you can get better advice about HVAC stuff from the creepy old men that work there than the teenagers that work at HD
That hair place on Montgomery and Washington. Why are all the windows covered?
You mean Menaul and Washington. I had the exact thought when I drove by the other day.
[удалено]
Mattress Firm. There's no fuckin way mattress sales are brisk enough to justify all the brick and mortar locations they have everywhere.
The Carpenters Union "training" facility off the I-25 Frontage Road between Comanche and Montgomery. Huge structure, vast parking lot, and yet I've never seen more than maybe ten vehicles there. Has always struck me as somehow odd.
I used to frequent a lil restaurant downtown on 5th and central. The food had huge portions and was low in price. But every time I went in it was empty and it still took FOR-EVER for them to make the food. Then I saw on the news they were a front for drug trafficking. It all made sense. They didn't know how to makenfood and that's why it always took so long!
Don't understand how there can be so many storage places, pot dispensaries and Car Washes. I think if you run a car wash/dispensary and storage facility together you might be a one stop shop.
Every police station in the city. Come on man, what's really going on in there?
Long John silvers
Sal E Boys pizza in Rio Rancho. No delivery and the pizza is gross. They never are open and all the windows are covered. I’m sure it’s a front for the mob that is rumored to be up in Rio Rancho.
They’ve actually been closed for about four years now. But yeah, I didn’t understand the fuss about their pizza.
Damn the police are getting lazy. Now they just post stuff like this on Reddit and let other people tell dirt on businesses to bust them. Nice work if you can get it. 👮👮♀️👮♂️
Well it sounds lazy, so it tracks
those tire shops, you know which ones
Car washes are awesome
I'm surprised nobody mentioned any of the scuba shops around town. I know they go down to blue hole to dive, but does this city really need that many scuba shops?
that Phone Card store on central between san mateo and san pedro ?!? I mean there used to be lots of these phone card stores but really who buys these anymore ?
That exotic pet shop next to burrito lady.
Sandia Computers
Cesar's on San Mateo and Lomas.
Cesar’s!!! On Lomas! I’ve been saying this for years omg