Last Friday we went down to Belen, New Mexico to see David Blacher and the shopping center that he has there.

David the Dollar General

It was an easy hour and a half drive down Interstate 25 from Santa Fe. Belen is a railroad town near enough to Albuquerque to have a new commuter rail service and rural enough to have lots of cheap land. Right now it is quite a poor town.

“Chicken in Foil”

However it should grow steadily over the next few decades. There is a small historic downtown district with a few lovely old brick buildings. One of them has been beautifully restored into a studio and gallery by Judy Chicago a famous New Mexico artist. Belen will be an interesting town to watch over the next decade to see if it can find the critical mass to become an upscale destination.

Pete’s Fountain

We had a great lunch at Pete’s a very good and very busy Tex Mex place in the old part of town.