Budville Trading Post, a historic Route 66 business in Cubero, N.M., was sold several months ago and is set to reopen in a matter of weeks.
Budville’s new owners are John “Andrew” Peterson and his fiancee, Monica Gutierrez, who bought it in May. The score will become a general store again, with artwork sold on consignment from local artists and craftspeople from two nearby American Indian tribes. Budville is set to reopen around Halloween, said Gutierrez, who I talked to by telephone.
Peterson is a Cubero native, and Gutierrez grew up in nearby Grants. Both worked in Phoenix and other cities, but were looking for something different and closer to their families. Gutierrez also was understandably enthralled by the rock formations and mountain scenery in the Cubero area.
“We both wanted to change our lives,” Gutierrez said.
Peterson heard about Budville being up for sale, and the couple decided to check out the property.
“I was a little skeptical at first,” Gutierrez said, “but the first time I walked in here, I was home. It’s a beautiful place, and I’m so excited to share with everyone.”
Even while Budville is operating, the couple seek to keep restoring the property.
“We want to preserve the property the way it was originally,” she said. “That includes fixing the neon sign.”
In short, Budville was founded in 1928 by H.N. “Bud” Rice as a service station and trading post. Bud was slain in 1967 during a holdup. His wife, Flossie, ran the place for another 12 years before it closed. It was open sporadically after that, but was mostly inactive.
You can read a bit about Budville’s history at the Legends of America site and the Road Wanderer’s site. For more a more detailed account, read Route 66 Magazine‘s Winter 1999 and Fall 2005 issues.
Budville is off Interstate 40’s Exit 117, on State Route 124 (aka Route 66). Budville’s phone number is 505-552-6021. Its Web site will be budvilletrading.com, which is under construction. Its hours will be 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week, but the store will remain open later for Route 66ers if they provide advance notice.
(Photo of Budville courtesy of The Road Wanderer.)
This is great news! I hope it is open when I get there in late October…….Jane
I hope we are open too!
http://www.budvilletrading.com is online…We are new to domain names, hosting and etiquette. Any FYI’s?
Regardless if we are “open” we are always open. Just call and let us know you are coming, (so I can wash the dishes)!
We are thrilled to be part of Route 66!
Hadn’t seen “Cars” when this post came up, and haven’t read any commentary that points out something very relevant… it’s easy to miss in the movie though I’m sure I’m not the first to notice:
If you look closely at the abandoned buildings in Radiator Springs as the characters cavort up and down main street, you’ll see an abandoned gas station called “Budville”. I’m not aware of any other name in the movie that came from an actual business name, though there could be more I guess.
Has Budville Trading Co. opened?
My wife and I traveled Route 66 in 1992 and were luck enough to find it open…well, she was taking some items in the building. I started a conversation with her and she related the story…she was apparently one of the few lady tow-truck drivers in the 40’s.
I enjoyed her first hand history of Budville and of her narrow escape from death during the robbery and slaughter in 1967. I have traveled 66 many times …the first in 1942. In 1952 I buzzed through Budville on a 125 cc motorcycle a trip from Barstow, CA to Springfield, MO.
Thanks for keeping 66 and Budville alive!
there is people living in the trading post and its a wreck in there