I would like to thank Vernon Kerr and his red cap ambassadors for their efforts in promoting Los Alamos tourism.

 

I think that the biggest problem Los Alamos has is the lack of diversity in its economy. While increased tourism won’t fix that problem, it will help.

 

One of the things that his group has noted is the lack of souvenir shops for tourists. The reason for that is that retail is difficult in Los Alamos. The market is small and the costs are high. Souvenir shops are walk-in businesses, and they will almost certainly need to locate on Central Avenue or in Central Park Square. That area has the highest rents in Los Alamos.

 

You can’t run a business that grosses $150,000/year and afford to pay $60,000/year in rent. In order for a stand-alone souvenir business to be successful in Los Alamos, it will probably have to gross several hundred thousand dollars per year in income. While the souvenir market may get there, I doubt that we are there yet. Right now the best thing to do is to steer tourists to businesses that do sell souvenirs and other local merchandise.

 

CB FOX carries a lot of Los Alamos themed merchandise, including t-shirts. Both the Fuller Lodge Art Center and the Karen Wray gallery carry local and regional art.

 

In fact, art work is a lot more affordable in Los Alamos than it is in Santa Fe, Taos and Albuquerque. And we have something that they don’t have. Los Alamos is an international community, and the artwork here reflects that. It isn’t just Southwestern art.

 

It should also be noted that tourism is already having an impact on Los Alamos businesses. The biggest retail week of the year for at least one of our local businesses is the week of the ABQ balloon fiesta. Events at the balloon fiesta are typically early in the morning and at night, so attendees have a lot of free time during the day. Los Alamos is becoming a popular side trip.

 

Finally, the restaurant situation also is fairly easy to understand. Los Alamos National Laboratory employs about 10,000 people, and a lot of them do not live in Los Alamos. Not surprisingly, restaurants do their best business at lunch. Business on weeknights and weekends can be spotty. If you are overstaffed, then you can’t make any money. If you are understaffed, then people can have a bad dining experience. Neither is a good situation. I suspect that the restaurant capacity in Los Alamos is fine, there just isn’t yet enough demand for everyone to open on weekends.