Local residents purchased the closed Lake City Diner in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, and plan to eventually reopen it as a sandwich shop and bed-and-breakfast.
The Communicator newspaper reported in last week’s print edition Arthur and Anastacia Baca completed the purchase of the former bank building that sits on a corner of Route 66 in downtown.
The couple envisions it as a place where people can stop in the mornings for coffee and pastry, and in the lunch hour for good sandwiches. Planning still is in the works and 2017 is the earlier that or another business could open there, Mr. Baca said.
In addition to possibly using the building’s second floor for bed-and-breakfast lodging, the Bacas may use it as an Airbnb site, where people can rent out residences online for short-term stays.
The Lake City Diner was listed for sale as recently as a year ago for $110,000 after it closed in 2012. The two-story, 3,000-square-foot structure was built in 1902 and has the original tile and wooden floors.
With the refurbished Pecos Theatre and a possible Route 66 museum — both in or near downtown — slated to reopen as soon as 2017, the Bacas may have made a good investment.