Jesse Heron

By Monika Dziamka co-editor of The Roadrunner e-newsletter.

What does Route 66 signify for you (personally or professionally)?

Route 66 has been central to my professional life since I started my first professional job at the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau (now Visit Albuquerque) in 2003. It became even more so when I launched ABQ Trolley Co. in 2009 with my business partner, Mike Silva. We were on the trolley six days a week, multiple times a day, introducing thousands of visitors each year to Route 66 and Albuquerque. We talked about the Mother Road every day. We lived it. We saw firsthand how it moved people, and it was an honor to showcase its history to so many of them.

What is one of your favorite spots along Route 66 in Albuquerque?

Without a doubt, the KiMo Theatre! Aside from Painted Lady, it’s my favorite place in Albuquerque. There’s just something special about that place that is uniquely Albuquerque. My favorite memory there is sitting in the balcony with my little brother watching The Shining. He had never seen it before, and it’s now one of his favorite movies. There’s something special about the KiMo’s cultural significance and the sheer character of the building. When I was a tour guide with ABQ Trolley Co., it was always my favorite stop on the tour, and seeing it through the eyes of first-time visitors made it even more special. The building’s haunted history shaped my relationship with the paranormal, and it was a major reason I bought an old haunted brothel and saloon that became Painted Lady Bed & Brew.

Describe a memory you have of Route 66.

One of my earliest memories of Route 66 is my dad taking me Downtown to shoot photos on Central Avenue for a high school photography project. I don’t think I had ever spent real time Downtown before that, and I still have those photos in my collection. A few years later, in a photo class at UNM, I photographed the old Jones Motor Company in Nob Hill just before it became Kelly’s Brew Pub [today, it is M’Tucci’s Bar Roma]. Later, I was back on that same stretch of Central every day as a tour guide, sharing Route 66 with thousands of visitors and pointing out the old gas pumps on Kelly’s patio and the neon sign above the entrance that reads “Food” in the classic Ford font, a clever nod to the building’s days as a Ford car dealership. Seeing the road first as a teenager with a camera and later as a tour guide makes it feel like a full-circle connection.

Tell us about Painted Lady Bed & Brew. Are there any special moments, behind-the-scenes details, experiences, memories, or anything else you can share with us related to any particular event, moment, or anything else connected to your work? 

Painted Lady officially launched in 2018, but the story really began in 2014, when I bought a neighborhood eyesore that turned out to be a historic treasure. The building had been on the market for two years and was basically abandoned. Built in 1881 as a brothel and saloon with a “wine room in connection,” it has a colorful past, and its tales are still waiting inside: buried money, hidden rooms, and Billy the Kid.

There have been so many special moments along the way, but building and saving this historic structure is what I’m most proud of. It has been a true labor of love, and the payoff is brewing beer and serving it to our guests. It has also become a gathering place for people who love the paranormal and all things spooky, and creating and cultivating that community has been one of the most rewarding parts.

What’s a birthday wish you have for Route 66 (as it relates to Albuquerque, to New Mexico, or overall)?

My birthday wish for Route 66 is that its next hundred years look like its first: full of curious travelers, quirky roadside stops and small businesses with big personalities. In Albuquerque, I’d love to see Central Avenue’s historic motels, neon signs, and independent businesses protected and celebrated, so the next generation of visitors can feel the same magic I got to share from the trolley. Overall, I hope Route 66 keeps reminding people that the journey matters as much as the destination, and that the best stories are found off the interstate.