There is an O'Neill's Pub being built on Central Avenue, aka Route 66, in Albuquerque. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be humongous news, as the Duke City's main drag is regularly a hustle and bustle of business activity.
But Chantal Foster of the Duke City Fix blog says it's a lot more significant than that. I'll let her explain:
I was never a cult-like groupie of the old O'Neill's, but I'm a big fan of urban pioneers and that's exactly what Rob O'Neill has become. He'd probably think it's hokey that I'm calling him a pioneer, but his decision to move out of Nob Hill, east to a more transitional 'hood is significant. I'd even wager to say it's a pivotal moment in the resurgence of East Central Ave.
Don't get me wrong, it's still rather run-down and racy in that part of town across from the derelict De Anza Motor Lodge, but something's afoot. Not only did Rob O'Neill intentionally move to what some cynics (you know who you are) call the ghetto, but he also did something more symbolic.
The new O'Neill's faces the street.
Facing Central Avenue in this part of town is no small gesture.
Some of the most successful restaurants and bars east of Nob Hill have intentionally turned their backs on old Route 66. Think of places like Orchid Thai and Martini Grille, both of which have oriented their entrances to the parking lot behind the building. The only thing visible from Route 66 are boarded-up windows.
Not for long.
I'm betting that the risk will turn into a big fat "I told you so" for pioneers like O'Neill. And shuttering a business to our city's main street will eventually seem as strange in Albuquerque as Kentucky bluegrass does today.