Retail Roundup: Goodwill Industries of New Mexico to open 20th New Mexico store

Goodwill Industries of New Mexico is opening its 20th store in the state.

The new West Side store, which broke ground six months ago and spans 18,500 square feet, will open to the public with a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday morning.

The festivities will continue through the weekend, with Raising Cane’s lemonade gift cards available to the first 250 shoppers on Friday and free popsicles for the first 500 shoppers on Saturday. Shoppers who bring donations on Friday are eligible to receive two gift cards.

Goodwill has been helping New Mexicans find jobs and connect to social services since 1941, according to its website, and its free programs are largely funded by revenue generated by its retail stores, which put 88 cents of every dollar made toward its services.

The nonprofit opened its first New Mexico store in Albuquerque in 1941, and the new location is the city’s 10th.

“We are so very proud to be able to offer our local nonprofit’s services in a new area of the city,” said Melissa Stock, Goodwill New Mexico’s chief administrative officer. “Now more than ever, people need a hand up, and Goodwill is here to help our communities through the dignity of work.”

Free job training, career services, skills classes and housing support are among the services Goodwill provides to the state. Last year, the local nonprofit served 21,947 people and helped employ 1,678 people, according to its 2024 annual report.

The new store will employ about 23 people and will feature retail, office and job training spaces in addition to a donation drop-off spot for gently used items.

“Everything we do stays local. It helps your friends, my friends, our community (and) anybody who needs services,” Stock said. “We are here to help them.”

The store will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Lexus of Albuquerque debuts freshly renovated dealership

After nearly two years of renovations, Lexus of Albuquerque now has a fully refreshed facility for its lineup of luxury cars, those servicing them and the sales team ready to send them home.

The Albuquerque dealership, which operates under Houston-based Group 1 Automotive Inc., debuted the new facility at 4821 Pan American NE on Tuesday. The 20-month overhaul cost millions and expanded the facility by more than 17,000 square feet, a news release said.

At 25 years old, the original facility was due for a refresh, said Mont Porter, general manager of Lexus of Albuquerque, in a news release.

The new facility features a new car wash, electric vehicle chargers, new landscaping and a new showroom and waiting area designed to reflect Albuquerque and the Southwest.

The renovation doubled the number of service bays from 16 to 32. The added space will allow the dealership to grow its team of 21 service technicians by nine people, according to the news release.

“We are so super excited about it,” Porter told the Journal. “We had to work out of trailers for those 20 months, so we are so happy that it’s done, along with a lot of customers.”

Ethan Allen opens new design center at Winrock

A company with a longtime presence in Albuquerque has established new roots and purpose in Uptown’s ever-growing Winrock Town Center.

Ethan Allen, a Connecticut-based furniture and interior design company with manufacturing plants and design centers across the country, opened a new design center at Winrock a little over a week ago, said Kat DiFede, Ethan Allen’s territory design leader for the Southwest region.

The more than 7,000-square-foot space, at 2100 Louisiana NE in Suite 310, is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

The brand has a long history in Albuquerque. It conducted business as an independent franchise on the corner of Montgomery and Tramway for nearly 40 years, according to DiFede and a news release from Goodman Realty Group, the agency behind developing and leasing Winrock.

That retail-oriented franchise closed more than a year ago and the new design center is a corporate-owned venture geared toward offering a design experience versus selling experience, DiFede explained.

The company operated out of a temporary location at Winrock the past year while waiting to move into a more permanent, custom-made space in Suite 310.

“This is such an up-and-coming location. What I’ve heard from clients is how much Winrock has changed and grown,” DiFede said. “And I honestly feel like Ethan Allen just adds to the level of quality and the joy of the experience clients can have here.”

The center features a gallery showroom and a workspace for designers and clients to collaborate on custom home furnishings made by Ethan Allen. The company’s designers can offer guidance related to design choices and space planning, as well as create three-dimensional room previews.

“We are honored to have this respected retailer, whose presence further animates Winrock’s offerings,” said Sheila Smith, director of leasing and marketing at Goodman Realty Group.