Food-and-fuel stop for U.S. 550 drivers

The view of the Sandia Mountains through the canopied fueling area at the new Warrior station on U.S. 550. The new station will have 21 pump stations, including a free-standing pump suitable for large trucks and RVs. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal.)

Commuters traveling the busy stretch of U.S. 550 near the Santa Ana Star Casino will soon have a fancy new spot to fuel up and grab a burrito and a coffee for the road.

Southern Sandoval Investments, an enterprise of Santa Ana Pueblo, is building a new Warrior fueling station on the south side of U.S. 550 opposite the existing Warrior gas station on the north side of the highway.

“We will continue to be open on the north side but we wanted to have a sales point on the south side because it’s hard to turn left when (highway) 550 is busy,” said SSI General Manager David Naquin. He said traffic study figures from 2010 showed 43,000 cars a day traveled that section of U.S. 550 near Bernalillo.

	Warrior Gas Station What: gasoline and diesel, retail store with snacks, drinks and fresh cooked local foods including breakfast burritos Where: 1005 Highway 550, on the Santa Ana Pueblo near Bernalillo Hours: 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

The new Warrior sits on a three-acre, tribally owned site opposite the casino. It will have 20 pumps located under a spacious canopy and a separate free-standing pump accessible for large trucks and recreational vehicles. There will also be a facility where RVs can dispose of waste.

The 7,500-square-foot retail store at the station is being built by Wilger Enterprises. The design blends a traditional look with contemporary elements such as stacked stone pillars under the canopy and at the store entrance.

The store will carry a range of snacks, tobacco products and drinks as well as freshly cooked food, including breakfast burritos, posole, tamales and sopaipillas, said Silvia Gibson, manager of retail operations for SSI.

It will also have a drive-through access point on the southwest side of the building for food sales and a separate access point on the east side for sales of tobacco products.

Gibson said the existing Warrior station sells about 750 breakfast burritos a day.

“We expect to double the burrito sales with our drive-through,” she said.

SSI has hired 30 employees for the new station and is targeting an early April opening.