If you speak with Brenda Curtright, Executive Director of the New Mexico Mining Museum and the Grants-Cibola County Chamber of Commerce, for even a few minutes, you will be moved to look at the City of Grants in a new and probably much brighter light. “The city is trying to prepare for tourism. We’re in a prime location. We’re ideal for family outings. We have a new City Parks Director and a new Animal Care Center Director,” she said. Surrounded by a multitude of gorgeous landscapes and national monuments including El Morro, El Malpais, and Canyon de Chelly, Grants has an opportunity to capitalize on its proximity to these natural hidden gems at a moment when the state is pushing outdoor recreation as a way to encourage tourism in the Land of Enchantment.
The US Bureau of Economic Analysis ranked New Mexico fifth in the USA for outdoor recreation employment growth in 2021, trailing Hawaii, Wyoming, Alaska, and Rhode Island, according to a recent article in the Santa Fe New Mexican. Curtright went on to say that the city is working with the Cibola Trail Alliance, a nonprofit committed to building and maintaining multi-use trails in the Mt. Taylor Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest. “It all comes down to funding and getting businesses involved in outdoor rec,” she explained.
“People from all over the state, the country, and even other countries stop to visit the Mining Museum, and when I ask them if they’re staying overnight here in Grants,
Courtesy Photo they usually say they’re leaving for Gallup. We’re missing the stay,” Curtright said. “Our Mining Museum is a huge draw, but we lack parking,” she said. Curtright is passionate about the City of Grants. She was born and raised in the city and remembers when the city was a bustling community. Santa Fe Avenue was only two lanes lined with parking for all the businesses that once thrived along Route 66. The arrival of Interstate 40 in 1974 diverted drivers who may have stopped to patronize the businesses in Grants. The closing of the uranium mines in the 1980’s shrunk the city’s population and possibly its spirit.
As one drives over the bridge and enters the city proper, abandoned buildings line the street, and there’s a sense of sadness that permeates the view. “Mainstreet needs to be a focus. Now with proper planning there’s new roads with infrastructure. There’s more buy-in to not let empty buildings sit.”
Like most cities in post-COVID America, restaurants in Grants never fully recovered from the government mandated closures and capacity limitations that shuttered more than a few establishments. “All cities were hurt, but small towns really feel it more,” Curtright stated. Attracting new businesses is challenging in a small town where staffing may be of concern. Despite so many challenges, a lack of funding, a lack of workers, and possibly a lack of understanding about what will catalyze this little town, Curtright remains upbeat and positive about her hometown’s ability to evolve with the changing times. “I want to find business owners for First Street,” Curtright said, and no doubt she will.