New Route 66 Malt Shop holds soft opening on weekend

Kelly Vickers at the Duke City Fix collective blog posted some photos from the Route 66 Days and Nights street festival in the Nob Hill district of Albuquerque this weekend.

One of the interesting items is that the Route 66 Malt Shop, which once occupied space at the former Horn Oil Co. site, held a “soft” opening during the event and Vickers included a photo of its spiffy new digs.

Vickers wrote:

Great service made up for our new Malt Shop’s lack of preparedness—they were so popular that they ran out of ingredients a few times and had to rush to the store to restock. This was just a teaser opening for them, and they’re poised for great success when they officially launch in August.

According to the Malt Shop’s site, the restaurant is on Central Avenue (aka Route 66) one block east of Carlisle (map here).

According to the New Mexico Business Weekly, the Route 66 Malt Shop will be an anchor to several properties owned by developer Gerald Landgraf:

Route 66 Malt Shop co-owner Eric Szeman anticipates tripling his business there, after 15 years on the periphery of Old Town.

Since 2005, Landgraf and his partner Matthew Terry, through Nob Hill Development Corp., have acquired 12 parcels totaling more than 400,000 square feet. Among the buildings are six downtrodden Rt. 66-era motels, including the Premiere, Royal, Town Lodge, Nob Hill Motel and American Inn.

The Nob Hill Motel, an especially notable motel from the vintage Route 66 era, was retrofitted into an office complex without altering its appearance much.

Nob Hill Development Corp. also owns the historic Aztec Motel; it’s only available for weekly or monthly rentals, but its neon sign has been restored.

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