My stomach growled somewhere along a quiet stretch of road in New Mexico, and a weathered old timber building pulled my attention like a magnet. From the outside it looked like a leftover piece of railroad history, nothing that hinted at what waited inside.
But hunger and curiosity make a stubborn team, so I stepped through the doors anyway. What greeted me was a swirl of aromas, colors, and voices that turned a random detour into one of the tastiest afternoons I have had in ages.
A Timber Warehouse Reborn in the Sawmill District
Albuquerque’s Sawmill District holds a building most people once ignored, a hulking timber warehouse that spent its early years storing goods for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. Today that same 40,000-square-foot structure hums with life as Sawmill Market, the state’s very first food hall.
You find it at 1909 Bellamah Ave NW, a short hop from Old Town, which makes it an easy landing spot after wandering the historic streets. The transformation kept the bones of the old place while adding something entirely new underneath the soaring roof…