New Mexico and ABQ News, Sports, Business and more
By Jessica Dyer / Journal Staff Writer Monday, September 19th, 2016 at 12:02AM
The Huffmon tea team is ready to serve the Duke City.
The trio – Paola Huffmon, her mother-in-law Dana and sister-in-law Bailey – are growing their Old Barrel Tea Co. with a new location in Albuquerque’s Old Town.
Old Barrel Tea and Spice Co. opened in Ruidoso about two years ago. Albuquerque is store No. 2 and the owners have a third planned later this year in Cloudcroft.
The shop carries more than 60 different loose leaf teas. Most of them are blends the owners create by mixing the leaves with fruits, extracts, flowers and other natural additions.
There is, for example, the popular Horchata made with oolong tea, vanilla beans and cinnamon. Or Fire on the Mountain with honey bush tea and a list of ingredients that includes apple pieces, rose hips, orange peel and hazelnut flavor.
“It’s nice to have us three (involved),” says Paola, who is running the Albuquerque location. “I have different tastebuds than my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. It’s nice that way; we can have a variety of tea to suit everyone’s needs.”
Paola Huffmon says her tea fixation stems from a former colleague who had lived in Taiwan and often brought tea leaves to work. She took to the idea of blending, which she says dovetailed perfectly with her passion for cooking.
“We all became kind of addicted to it,” she says of her family.
While blends dominate at Old Barrel, there is also a “purist” selection for those who prefer their leaves left alone. Those options vary in price, but all blends run $10 per tin (roughly 20 servings) or $35 per jar (approximately 100 servings).
The store also stocks tea-making and drinking accessories, candles, and an array of spices and raw, unfiltered honey.
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While retail is the primary focus, Old Barrel hosts private tea parties after the store closes in the evenings. Attendees pay $10 each – $5 of which can be applied toward a store purchase – and get to sample seven different teas, with Huffmon on hand to discuss the ingredients and any associated health benefits.
She says the idea is to make it an affordable, accessible experience.
“We just wanted to create a very casual atmosphere – very friendly and inviting,” Huffmon says.
The Huffmons chose the Old Town area with hopes of reaching a diverse audience.
“We wanted to catch both tourists and locals,” says Huffmon, who worked with broker Anne Apicella of Colliers International on the lease. “We’re really hoping our local market grows.”
Old Barrel Tea is open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. It’s located at 2041 S. Plaza NW, Suite B, just east of Rio Grande. The phone number is 842-5722.
By night, Kaktus in Nob Hill is pouring craft beer.
But by day, it’s now a cafe.
Kaktus Brewing Co. owner Dana Koller recently transformed part of the space at his Nob Hill taproom for his latest idea, World Traveler Cafe. The new spot specializes in espressos, lattes and what he’s calling “medicinal health shakes” – $8 smoothie-esque drinks with ingredients like ginko biloba and gensing.
The cafe now occupies the western part of the building, while the taproom still dominates the other side.
Koller says he sees a natural connection between the two concepts.
“When you look at the atmosphere of a cafe and of a brewery, the social aspect of it and that fun environment that encourages you to spend time with somebody else is similar,” he says. “We just think they complement each other very well.”
As an added bonus – it drives customer traffic to the space all day long. The taproom does not open until 2 p.m. most days (11:30 a.m. Friday-Sunday). The cafe, meanwhile, has started caffeinating Albuquerque by 7 a.m. daily.
World Traveler Cafe serves a light roast coffee from New Mexico’s Iconik Coffee Roasters and uses a dark roast from Gavina Coffee in California.
The options include a classic latte, cappuccino and macchiato. The menu also boasts the “Turkish shot” (espresso with cracked cardamom), the Naarangee mocha latte (with chocolate and orange zest) and other combinations.
Kaktus and World Traveler Cafe are located at 2929 Monte Vista NE at Girard.
‘Salad’ days are over on San Mateo
Souper Salad has downsized in Albuquerque.
The salad bar has only one Duke City location left now that franchisee Mark Davis shuttered his site at 3300 San Mateo NE.
“We just didn’t have enough sales, so we shut down,” he says.
Fans can still find the buffet-style eatery at its remaining Albuquerque spot, 2225 Wyoming NE.
Souper Salad had been part of the recent renaissance at the San Mateo Square shopping center. It was part of a wave of new businesses to join the center, including clothing retailers Melrose and dd’s Discounts.
Real estate brokers Lia Armstrong and Jim Dountas of CBRE will be seeking a new tenant for the now-vacant restaurant space.
Wal-Mart this week will begin offering its grocery pickup service at four Albuquerque-area stores.
The program enables customers to place online orders and schedule a pickup time. Staff will pack the groceries and load them into the customer’s car.
The free service begins Wednesday at two Albuquerque stores (10224 Coors Bypass NW and 1820 Unser NW), and in Bernalillo (460 NM 528) and Rio Rancho (901 Unser SE).
Customers who order before 10 a.m. can get same-day pickup as early as 4 p.m. Those planning ahead can place orders up to three weeks ahead of pickup.
To register and get started, go online to grocery.walmart.com.
Peter Piper Pizza has opened its newest location in Albuquerque, planting its “eatertainment” concept at 4101 Central NW at Atrisco.
It’s the company’s third Duke City restaurant and reflects an all-new design for the chain.
The store is open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday. The phone number is 355-5389.
If you have retail or restaurant news to share, contact me at jdyer@abqjournal.com or 823-3864. For more on Albuquerque shopping and dining news, visit my blog at abqjournal.com or follow @abqdyer on Twitter.