Golden Eagle’s trove opened to public

Golden Eagle Trading Co. — closed to the public for decades — has finally opened its Nob Hill headquarters to shoppers.

The showroom, called West of Santa Fe, is filled with a diverse selection of Native American and Western-themed merchandise.

Jewelry predominates — much of it manufactured in-house — but you’ll also find kachina dolls, cowboy hats, a totem pole and even a pair of Roy Rogers’ old cowboy boots.

“It’s not your traditional trading company by any stretch of the imagination,” said Kerry Elich, who runs the company with her sister, Amber Le, and their mother, owner Karla Vendegna.

Vendegna’s late husband, Al, founded Golden Eagle 40 years ago. The company moved to the intersection of Central and Carlisle in 1976, using an old Conoco gas station building as its design, manufacturing, wholesale and corporate headquarters.

Aside from a two-year period in the early 1990s, the building wasn’t a retail outlet — much to the confusion of would-be shoppers who were often surprised to find a locked door.

“The doorbell rang constantly,” Elich said.

In fact, the company’s retail showroom was actually hundreds of miles away: Al Vendegna in 1992 opened West of Santa Fe inside Caesars Palace hotel in Las Vegas, Nev. (He’d also had a store at the Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas.)

West of Santa Fe served the deep-pocketed Sin City crowd for 18 years. Vendegna left Caesars Palace in 2010 with plans to reopen elsewhere, but he died just a year later.

Barelas Coffee House serves an estimated 500 customers a day. Bill Lloyd, right, and his brother, Brian Lloyd, center, are shown eating breakfast at the restaurant’s counter on a recent weekday morning. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal)

Karla Vendegna and her daughters decided to relaunch the store in Albuquerque and say it caters to customers across the spectrum.

Sure, there are items in the jewelry case that cost more than your mortgage payment, but you can also find a pair of earrings for $40.

“We’ve (reopened) with a twist. He definitely wanted to bring it back home to Nob Hill, so here we are,” Karla Vendegna said. “We really didn’t go anywhere, but now the public gets to come in and see all the treasures.”

Vendegna doesn’t expect the average customer to pony up the $32,000 for Roy Rogers’ boots but said she wanted to display them to make the store “an experience.” There’s an entire section devoted to Roy Rogers and Dale Evans memorabilia — from the pair’s personal items to kitchy collectibles.

Customers can also take a gander at a $125,000, sterling silver Bohlin saddle — which is prominently displayed at the front of the store — or watch silversmith/goldsmith Bernyse Chavez saw and solder jewelry at a small wooden bench in the showroom.

“We’ve all worked hard to get it to this point and we’re excited to show it,” Vendegna said.

The store is open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The phone number is 255-6523.

Running around town

A few pieces of news on the running store front: Bosque Running Shop has opened on the West Side, while ABQ Running Shop has moved to new digs.

Likhaya Dayile said he opened Bosque Running Shop, located at the intersection of Coors and Montaño NW, to get people into the right shoes and get them excited about running.

A native of South Africa, Dayile ran track and cross country for Louisiana State University and later relocated to Albuquerque to pursue a professional running career.

He has since worked at a few local running/sporting goods shops and said he’s eager to branch out on his own.

In addition to retail sales, Dayile said the shop will offer running clinics and organize running groups that leave from the store and head into the nearby bosque.

“I want our store to be part of the community. I want to educate people on running,” he said.

Bosque Running Shop is open daily. It is located at 6001 Winterhaven Dr. NW Suite I.

As for ABQ Running Shop, the six-year-old shop has left its original location at Montgomery and Tramway NE for a more visible location off of Paseo del Norte.

ABQ Running Shop is now located at 6550 Holly NE in the same shopping center as Five Guys Burgers and Weck’s.

Owner Randy Arriola said the new space is about the same size as the old store and will have the same running-related inventory.

“If it has to do with running, we have it,” he said.

The phone number for ABQ Running Shop hasn’t changed: 293-2786.

Coffee House still going strong

Mike Gonzales wasn’t thinking long-term when he and his older brother Jim first opened Barelas Coffee House in 1978.

After all, he was only 20 years old.

“I was a freshman in college at UNM, and I was hoping it would be a little bit of extra income to make it through college and (that) I would graduate and find something else to do,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales did indeed graduate, but he never moved on.

Much to the delight of huevos rancheros lovers and menudo fanatics, Gonzales and the Barelas Coffee House are still going strong and recently celebrated the restaurant’s 35th anniversary.

Business at the iconic Albuquerque eatery has remained strong despite the recession, Gonzales said. It’s not prone to highs and lows, in part because its customer base comes from all corners.

“We get blue collar, white collar,” Gonzales said. “We get politicians.”

Oh, do they get politicians.

Barelas Coffee House has fed Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and hosted so many other national power brokers that longtime staff are now quite familiar with the demands of the U.S. Secret Service.

State and city-level officials are also frequent visitors.

“Whoever the next mayor will be, they’ll come here — I guarantee they’ll come here the first week they’re elected,” server Teresa Galvan said.

But it takes a whole lot more than some politicians to make the meandering, 7,000-square-foot building hum even at 10:30 a.m. on a Tuesday. Gonzales estimates that the restaurant serves 500 customers per day — and, remember, it’s only open for breakfast and lunch.

Many of the diners have become familiar faces.

“We have customers who have been coming for ages, and they come every day,” Gonzales said. “We have one man who comes in at 7:30 and he’s here before our workers. He’s out parked in the street.”

Other tidbits:

♦ As I reported recently at abqjournal.com, Pet Vet Market has expanded. The local pet health-food store has opened a second location at 3732 Eubank NE, near the Eubank/Comanche intersection. You’ll find the same natural dog and cat foods plus three bathtubs and drying tables for some do-it-yourself dog washing. The store’s phone number is 296-2400.

♦ ABQ Uptown is getting a few new retailers this spring: Michael Kors, Teavana and Toni & Guy. You can read more about it on my blog.

Have some retail news to share? Contact me at jdyer@abqjournal.com or 823-3864. Check out my blog at abqjournal.com for more frequent dining and shopping news.