Nob Hill: Where businesses ebb and flow

It's a thriving part of the city for adults, college students and kids.

This week's Business Outlook podcast, which focused on real estate, was about Nob Hill.

The guests were Jessica Beecher, the owner of RE/MAX Select, a real estate company, as well as Mission Winery and Central Bodega in Nob Hill, and Howie Kaibel, the minister of culture at M'tucci's, which has a location in Nob Hill.

The discussion focused on the ebb and flow of the popular part of the city. The part of town has recently had some longtime staples close — O'Niells Pub, Slice Parlor and Salt and Board.

The co-owner of Slice Parlor said rent in the area has become unsustainable for a restaurant that caters to families and students.

At the same time, Beecher and her husband opened Mission Winery in September.

Business Outlook podcasts are released on Monday afternoons and are available on YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud and Apple Podcasts.

So how are things going at Mission Winery?

Jessica Beecher: "It's been a wild ride. We bought the old Zacatecas building that was empty for five years, and so we were really excited to bring life back into that space because it's a really great building. So we've been working on remodeling it the last year and a half, and then we opened in September to the public, and then three weeks later, we had a car crash into the building, which was unexpected, not fun a surprise. But we quickly sealed up that area and kept staying open."

M'Tucci's seems to keep adding locations and you are in a historic building in Nob Hill?

Howie Kaibel: "The thing about this company is they are not necessarily looking for opportunities, but when opportunities present themselves that are just too great to pass up — that's what happened with that building in Nob Hill. It's a historic landmark. Everyone knew it as Kellys (Brew Pub) for many, many years, as one of the first brew pubs in town, and one of the best patios and people-watching spaces in the city. It has been incredible. The neighborhood has embraced us."

Why is Nob Hill important to Albuquerque?

HK: "It's the most eclectic group small business in the city, without a doubt. If you think about it, there's not a franchise business in that 8- or 10-block area. That's rather extraordinary, in the age of Amazon, that we have retail that is not just surviving, but thriving. We have shops there that have been around for 20-plus years. And then there's all the dining, all the entertainment. There's also lots of family friendly stuff. It's not just a place where the college students go to party. There's a way to spend the day or a week."

Have you done much real estate business in Nob Hill?

JB: "We have several locations at RE/MAX Select and one of them is in Nob Hill. And my office has consistently sold the most real estate in that neighborhood. I have brokers that have been selling in Nob Hill for over 30 years. We are very in tune with the area, both residentially and commercially."

What trends have you been seeing in the area?

JB: "Because we are such a unique area and we have so much to offer — one of the few true walkable neighborhoods, day and night, that people want to come. So rents are pretty high compared to some of the other parts of the city, but we consistently have new people coming in, and it's all small businesses that want to be a part of that community, so they're willing to pay that extra rent because they know that they're going to be a part of a great community that's supportive of each other."

You started two small businesses in the area. You could have gone anywhere, and you picked Nob Hill.

JB: "My husband and I love Nob Hill. He grew up in that neighborhood. So we are really invested in that neighborhood. We love it. We've been owners of property there for over 16 years, and so we've seen the ebb and flow. When it comes to opening a business, there really wasn't any other place we wanted to go to. We wanted to reinvest into that neighborhood."

What should the community make of that ebb and flow, businesses shutting down and moving in?

HK: "I remember the heyday back in the early 2000s, when that neighborhood was just humming and it was a fun place to be. And then I was there for (Albuquerque Rapid Transit) construction and how difficult that was, and then having to weather the pandemic. I wasn't at the restaurant on Halloween, but one of our managers said it was a slow night early on and then at about 9 p.m. all these people stormed in to get some sustenance before they went out and hit the bars, and one of the managers said, 'I feel like Nob Hill is back.' There are so many interesting, exciting businesses that are quirky and unexpected."

Your restaurants are in competition with each other, but you kind of brag about each other.

HK: "The founders of M'tucci's are fascinating people, great people. Jeff (Spiegel) and Katie (Gardner) opened 11 restaurants in the middle of Manhattan over 23 years. So they're restauranteurs that know what they're doing. They hired and fired Anthony Bourdain twice. So these guys have chops.

When we opened our Nob Hill restaurant, we had a full week of soft openings where we invited all the neighbors, all the business owners over to break bread with us. And I remember the second night we were open, I was sitting next to our owner, our founder, Jeff, and another restaurant owner came over to Jeff and said, 'Hey, don't you think it's a little risky to just invite all of us over when we're really your competition?' And he said, 'You haven't operated a restaurant very long, have you? Because in New York City, the only way that restaurants not only survive but thrive, is was when other restaurants open up right next door, because that's what brings in all the other people.'

So it's not about competition. It's about how the more of us are there, the stronger we are."

It's kind of a choose your own adventure.

JB: "That's why people have so much fun coming down. 'We're going to have an appetizer here, and then we're going to have dinner there and then we're going to have a drink at Teddy Rose.' That's the draw of Nob Hill."

People want to live there but there are also development rules so you can't build an eight story apartment building. What are the advantages and disadvantages of that?

JB: "Overall, I have been a proponent of maintaining that and not having those huge buildings. I think that we are so unique and so special in what we can offer. All of our businesses in Nob Hill thrive because of the neighborhood and the support from the neighborhood and people that live there. They want to come and visit us. They love that they can walk from their houses. But I think most people love that it is kind of small. It's not going to be ever be Downtown. We're never going to have thousands and thousands of people living in one tiny little area."