Known for its Frito pies, Five & Dime General Store celebrates its 10th anniversary
Almost 100 Frito pies are sold every day at the Five & Dime General Store, which celebrates its 10th anniversary Thursday.
Plenty of locals stop by the East San Francisco Street business to get their daily fix, says snack bar employee Lorraine Chavez, who has been preparing and serving the cheesy and spicy Frito Pies for a decade.
Chavez and the entire snack bar staff cook a huge pot of fresh, homemade chili made with ground beef and red Chimayo chile every morning on an electric stove in the store's small kitchen. Beans are added to the chile before three, 4-ounce ladles of the mixture are poured into a 2-ounce bag of Frito chips. Grated cheddar cheese is generously sprinkled on top.
Don't bother counting the calories.
"I like to say that I've been serving up heartburn for 10 years," store manager Mike Collins says with a smile.
In 1993, the Frito pie cost $3.75. Today, the popular dish is $4.35.
It was introduced to Santa Fe in 1962 by Teresa Hernandez, who came up with the idea for it while she worked at the Woolworth store that occupied the same building from 1935 to 1997. When Woolworth's closed all of its U.S. stores in August 1997, various businesses vied for the chance to take over the space.
"A number of art galleries wanted to be here," Collins said. "I think the owner of the property, Winifred Braden, got better offers from them than from us. We had a good rapport with her, and she liked our idea."
Five & Dime General Store is owned and operated by UTBW LLC, which stands for Used To Be Woolworth's. Collins is the CEO, and Santa Fe lawyer (and former state Democratic Party chairman) Earl Potter is the chairman. Collins was a district manager for Woolworth's for several decades and became the manager of the Santa Fe Woolworth store in 1993.
"I realized that 80 percent of the sales (at Woolworth's) came from 30 percent of the merchandise," he explained. "When we opened this store in 1998, I decided to buy the best and forget the rest."
Five & Dime General Store has a lot of the same merchandise that was sold at Woolworth's. Among the eclectic group of items for sale are souvenirs, sunglasses, postcards, nylons, soft drinks, sandals, socks, sunscreen, batteries, office supplies and paper towels. It's one of the few stores in town where hand lotion is an aisle away from packages of red chile powder.
"As far as prices go, we're pretty competitive with Walgreens," Collins said.
The store opens at 8 a.m. every day. No latte here. A cup of Folgers coffee can be bought for $1.30. You get a refill, too.
"Lunch time is the busiest, say from noon to 3 p.m.," Collins said. "We get a big lunch crowd at the snack bar. When the weather is nice, people take their Frito pies and go outside to sit on the Plaza."
During the summer season, business operates at a brisk pace. But Collins says that Five & Dime General Store wouldn't survive without year-round support from locals.
On May 8, the community is invited to join in the 10th anniversary celebration by sharing cake and conversation with the store's owners and staff and Mayor David Coss. The festivities begin at 1:30 p.m.
Five & Dime General Store is located at 58 E. San Francisco St.
If You Go
WHAT: Five & Dime General Store's 10th anniversary party
WHEN: 1:30 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: 58 E. San Francisco St., on the Plaza
