Former Salt Yard site to become retail hub for small businesses

A long-vacant building on Osuna Road NE near San Mateo Boulevard NE in northeast Albuquerque was getting a new use as a retail center for small businesses. The former Salt Yard site, which closed in 2023 and was later followed by a short-lived restaurant, was being divided into six retail condos after sitting empty for years.

Joshua Escobedo and Desirre Escobedo were among the first owners tied to the project. Joshua Escobedo owns Gallo Negro Tattoo Studio, and Desirre Escobedo owns Lavish Hair Lounge. The couple said they hoped to open by the new year, and they said the development could ultimately support 12 or more small businesses depending on how the remaining units are filled.

That flexibility is part of the appeal. One neighboring condo was already drawing interest from a clothing shop, and the Escobedos said they wanted to bring in other vendors, business owners and professionals as well. A commercial real estate representative said the final space would ideally go to a restaurant, though a gym, office or wellness use could also work. The mix would give the property more of a neighborhood-service role, rather than the single-purpose identity it had as a bar and event venue.

The owners also said they hoped to involve local artists in murals, which could help turn the site into a destination and give the corridor a more visible point of interest. That matters on a stretch of northeast Albuquerque where many drivers pass through without stopping, even as nearby commercial properties continue to look for a new footing.

The project also fits into a broader city effort. The site sits inside the Near Heights Metropolitan Redevelopment Area, whose goals include revitalizing blighted commercial corridors, enhancing small business development and job creation, stabilizing low-income neighborhoods and increasing affordable housing. The Near Heights expansion plan was adopted Sept. 18, 2000, and amended in 2010.

City records say the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency oversees 19 redevelopment areas across Albuquerque, each with plans meant to spur reinvestment through incentives and infrastructure upgrades. On Osuna near San Mateo, the former Salt Yard is becoming a test of whether one long-empty commercial property can be rebuilt into a cluster of small businesses that serves the neighborhood and gives the corridor a steadier economic pulse.