Durango and Farmington may be the Four Corners version of “A Tale of Two Cities,” but they shared at least one thing in common: A fair amount of last-minute Christmas shoppers.
Shanna Igo, who recently moved to Pagosa Springs from Austin, Texas, said she especially wanted to get out to small shops in Durango and Pagosa Springs to support small retailers facing COVID-19 restrictions that limit occupancy.
“I’ve waited a half a dozen times to get into stores, but I think it’s really important to find local places to shop especially with the COVID,” she said while looking at jewelery at Urban Market on Durango’s Main Avenue.
In Farmington, The Dusty Attic is a crafty antique store that spans three floors and contains several booths for people to sell their crafts and antiques. The store on Main Street has become a holiday staple.
Pat Roark, a Dusty Attic cashier and three-booth renter, said foot traffic has been up, not just in the last few days, but for weeks.
“We’ve had an awesome Christmas season,” he said.
Each year, the store sets out hot chocolate and coffee and offers popcorn to shoppers. With COVID-19 restrictions, this year the store had to do some things differently, including the removal of the tea room in the front and prepackaging fresh popcorn for shoppers to nibble on while perusing the store.
Stacey Riley of Plano, Texas, accomplished her Christmas Eve mission: finding boots to keep her warm after peeling off her ski boots.
Riley knew she was coming to Durango for a skiing vacation, but she said she was a little underprepared for the colder temperatures she’d face in town after the skiing was done.
She noticed the difference in restrictions. Texas shops face fewer limitations than Colorado’s small retailers.
“Everything’s open in Texas. We found some closed places here,” she said, examining warm wear at Gardenswartz Sporting Goods.
Tom Wells of Durango admits he’s a chronic late-season Christmas shopper, but this year, he was down to only small items for his wife.
“It sounds horrible, but I got her a flat-top grill, but she asked for it, and here I am buying her dish towels and coasters,” he said at Urban Market.
Wells vowed to complete his Christmas shopping earlier next year. “This year, I’m blaming it on 2020,” he said.
With Farmington’s Main Street project underway, The Dusty Attic faced a number challenges with construction in front of the building.
“We still had people coming in, and I’ve been really impressed with how we’ve done considering COVID and the road construction; I’ve been very impressed with our Christmas season this year,” Roark said.
The store also brought in Cary Nickel looking for a last-minute present for his wife who collects Depression-era glassware, which is made with uranium and glows under a black light.
“I wanted to find her something that was a surprise,” Nickel said. “... I wanted to get her a little gifty thing that she doesn’t know that she’s going to get.”
Nickel doesn’t necessarily do last-minute Christmas shopping, and he said he occasionally “thinks ahead,” but the COVID-19 restrictions kept him from doing much shopping.
Roark took Nickel to a booth with a case full of Depression glass.
“It’s always important to shop local, and it’s harder to do now, especially in New Mexico because the rules change about every three weeks,” Nickel said.
mmorgan@durangoherald.com
