An anticipated marijuana dispensary called Glenrio Smoke Stop opened last week in the Route 66 ghost town of Glenrio in New Mexico just a few yards west of Texas, where pot remains illegal.
I packed a lot of details in the Quay County Sun (my day job) about the first new business in the town in more than 40 years.
A few highlights:
- So far, Texas police haven’t bothered cannabis buyers if and when they venture back into the Lone Star State.
- However, Glenrio Smoke Stop employees still are advising customers to not take cannabis products into Texas and have posted a map on how to go west a few miles on Old Route 66, turn north onto Highway 93 and get back on Interstate 40 near Russell’s Travel Center.
- The investors used an architect in Amarillo to take the shop’s inspiration from Route 66, including Streamline Moderne curve, glass bricks, breeze blocks and a neon sign on top of the roof.
- The last remaining wall of the nearby post office, aka the former State Line Bar, collapsed during a storm last week. The owners plan to reconstruct it so it can be used as part of an open-air patio to consume marijuana.
- So far, half of the clientele have been from Texas. The other half are foreigners traveling Route 66.
- The shop’s investors have pledged 50% of the profits to “rebuild” Glenrio. They eventually want to add an RV park, restaurant, motel, welcome center and events space.
- One of the principals said with regret they had to demolish some structures in Glenrio because they were unsafe or too far gone to rehab.
- Longtime Glenrio resident Roxann Travis said she was “heartbroken” by the development and that “it’s not Glenrio anymore.”
Glenrio Smoke Stop is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mountain time.
Glenrio never had much more than 100 people during its existence, but it remained a busy town that served travelers on Route 66 for nearly 50 years. The town shriveled rapidly once I-40 bypassed it.
Glenrio was added to the National Register of Historic Places about 15 years ago.
Glenrio was reportedly where a number of scenes from “The Grapes of Wrath” were filmed. Also, Glenrio also was a big influence on the Pixar crew when it was doing research for the 2006 “Cars” animated movie.
(Image of the Glenrio Smoke Stop in Glenrio, New Mexico, with Glenrio, Texas, in the background)
Those smart thinking smugglin’ tips are well advised. Thank you, Mr. Ron. Even though I personally kicked the weed habit over 18 years ago, several of my Family 66 members still indulge a bit.
(Route 66 traveler inhales) “So what you’re saying is, the Cars world used to have humans, but that they all died out and the cars took over the world, but they still are doing the same things that the humans did when they were alive? Hey, is your car staring at me? Wow, man….this is freaking me out, man…”
Doc C.,… It’s the other way around. (The Humans world used to have cars, but they all died out)… etc etc etc