Santa Fe's surprising meaning

Business Beat

Bob Quick | The New Mexican

5/5/2008 - 5/6/08

SantaFeVisitGuide.com might seem to be a place to find some travel tips for a trip to Santa Fe, and it is — if you can read Japanese.

"It's the only Web site about Santa Fe in Japanese," said Shinji Usui, owner with his wife of a store called Mindy and Clyde Cupboard Co., at 407 S. Guadalupe St.

"Our aim is to have more Japanese come to Santa Fe," Usui said. "There are no recommendations, just information."

Usui estimates he gets about 2,000 hits per week on the site, partly from residents of Japan, and the rest from the many Japanese living in the United States.

The average stay for those who do visit is only one-half to two days, Usui said, and most of that is spent walking around the Plaza.

Usui also worked with the state Tourism Department and created a Japanese-language guidebook about Santa Fe.

"The name Santa Fe is well known," he said, explaining that the city's name was used as the title of a photo album with nude women published in Japan in 1990, when such things were unusual in the country.

"A guy came to Santa Fe with a popular girl and made naked photos of her at the Palace of the Governors," Usui explained. "It was a smash hit. Everybody in Japan over 40 (years of age) bought the album."

Since that time, Santa Fe has also been used as the name of massage parlors, Usui said. With his new Web site, "I want to correct that."

For more information, call 690-8476.


The Thunder Road Cafe in the food court at Santa Fe Place was supposed to be a walk-in cafe, said David Braesicke, owner of the business with his wife, Cindy.

But when that proved impossible, the couple settled for a walk-up counter instead.

Thunder Road serves a variety of coffee drinks, including espresso, as well as many different teas.

Pastries are also available, and the whole-fruit smoothies "have been a gigantic hit," David Braesicke said. "All our items are as fresh as possible."

The cafe also features a gourmet carmelized popcorn that is made with nuts.

"We're hoping to bring a few things people can't find anywhere else," he said.

For more information, call 471-9124 or 505-506-9428.


For Alan Ball of Sotheby's International Realty, the most revealing indication of the weakness of Santa Fe's real-estate market is how long it takes to sell homes listed for sale.

In 2005, "we averaged 5.4 months to sell homes listed for sale," Ball said in the "State of the Market" report for the first quarter of 2008.

"Now we are at 13.8 months. Those are likely the extreme highs and lows of this statistic," he added. "Somewhere between six and nine would be considered a balanced ... market."

How long before the market returns to normal? "Many think at least a year, and others believe 18 months is possible," Ball said.

Bob Quick covers the business beat for The New Mexican. Call 986-3011 or e-mail bobquick@sfnewmexican.com.