Greyhound Bus now stops at Sunshine Produce

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — While McDonald’s is undergoing construction of a new restaurant, there is a new Greyhound Bus stop in Grants. It is located at Sunshine Produce, at 1011 W. Santa Fe Ave., and is owned and operated by Tomas Garcia and his girlfriend Adriana Rodriguez.

Garcia opened his store about three months ago, specializing in fresh produce, he said and the bus stops twice daily, for which Garcia said he is open.

The bus schedule is 8:25 a.m., and 6:45 p.m.

At this time no tickets are available through Sunshine, and no freight may be shipped, he said.

Garcia said he is unsure whether either will be developed for local travelers, as he is evaluating whether to allow the bus to continue stopping here or not.

Anyone wanting to travel through Greyhound has to contact the bus driver and pay for a ticket to the next stop, either Gallup or Albuquerque. At those locations the traveler may then purchase a ticket for other locations.

The bus will continue to stop while McDonald’s is under construction, but he doesn’t know what will happen after McDonald’s reopens, he said.

Garcia said he is pretty sure that he will not want Greyhound to continue once McDonald’s is reopened, since he claims passengers on the bus urinate on his building at the rear and spread cigarette butts everywhere in front and at the west side of the building.

Garcia has opened a secondhand store on Feb. 1 that feature tools and furniture only, he said.

The produce store offers fresh potatoes, onions, cucumbers, Hatch chile, mangos, oranges, varieties of apples, pears, lettuce, cabbage, jalapeños, pineapples, pomegranates, kiwi and more.

“Prices are lower than the major grocery stores in the area, including Wal-Mart,” Garcia said.

With only two small operations, Garcia said he is picking up some of the produce himself, making the overhead is practically zero.

Garcia said he keeps the building cool, so the colder temperature to keep the produce fresher longer.
Some produce is distributed by Cisco, in Albuquerque, a major food distributor for New Mexico, Garcia said, the same produce that goes to the three major grocery stores in the area.

Garcia sold fruit and vegetables from the rear of a pickup truck in a vacant lot near McDonald’s on West Santa Fe Avenue and the intersection with Interstate 40, exit 81 for years, he said.

About three months ago, he decided, after thinking about having his own store for some time, to go ahead and open.
“I wanted to try it. I got up one day and decided to do it,” he said.

To contact reporter Jim Tiffin call (505) 287-2197 or e-mail: jtiffin.independent
@yahoo.com.