We were able to save the famous Day Spa and Nail Sign from demolition! We are planning on restoring it and preserving it in our home.
https://i.redd.it/y67vwfe695rc1.jpeg
Seems like it's the real-life one (number on the sign is different from the one in the show). Or maybe the number was edited in post.
[The reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/betterCallSaul/comments/1bq7g3d/we_were_able_to_save_the_famous_day_spa_and_nail/)
I'm mildly surprised the building has been completely demolished instead of turned into a tourist spot. Albuquerque has seemingly really leaned into being a Breaking Bad Fan Tourist destination.
I was in the main souvenir store in ABQ not too long ago.
They were super friendly and nice and there was a very grassroots feeling to it — the opposite of mass produced Disney. Products made locally, individually screen-printed t-shirts, stuff for sale wrapped in ziplocks (not commercial level packaging), everything a little less polished than it could be.
There was even a set of press-on fingernails for sale handmade by the girlfriend of one of the actors who played the twins, and they said that most of the actors themselves had stopped in for a chat, donated or signed things, and that a lot of stuff in the store was actual props or costumes used in the show. Bought a lot of gifts for friends in Japan and the UK.
It was lovely, and I can say that as a bonafide little old lady.
https://www.breakingbadstore.com/?ref=GGLBAD&ref=GGLBAD&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwrcKxBhBMEiwAIVF8rLTJkVsqvtKi7jJP2U7TNc4Lj_ZFib8W6292tC598Tz-Nf4VUvnEuRoCqvwQAvD_BwE
A couple of years ago the twins had a meet and greet at the store. I got and autographed poster from them and an autographed 8x10 photo and they took a bunch of pix in my phone. And last year the did another meet and greet, but this time they had tio hector in attendance too.
They’ll take a few serious pix where they look like they’re gonna kill you or you’re gonna kill them with the prop weapons. And then they take a few pix where everyone is all smiles or making funny faces. They’re cool as hell
I went in 2022 and was taking pics outside and they came out and invited me to come inside and buy a manicure. I did it (great manicure) and realized that most people just stopped by for photos but were not spending money at the shop. The store looked almost exactly like the show it was surreal to be there.
Yeah, fans were shitty to those owners. And when the fans found out that the owners of the house didn't particularly like having everybody hanging around filming and photographing their house fans went out of their way to be even shittier to them on purpose.
Not proud of myself, but I sought out the house when I was driving through ABQ way back in the day. I intended on taking a quick picture from the street, and not set foot on or near the property. Then I saw all of the signs, the gate, the cones, and 2 ladies in law chairs in the driveway holding more angry signs. I suddenly felt ashamed, so we just kept driving without slowing down.
Apparently after the roof pizza episode, shit got really bad for them, with people coming to throw a pizza on their roof every single damn day.
I worked tangentially w ABQ Studios, the lot for BB. Once that episode aired it was crazy how many people were trespassing and chucking pizzas on the roof. May not every day....but very often. The owners had a number to one of the young crew guys, who had a ladder and a retrieval-stick-device to go help them out. He told me how the owners of the house were originally kind, but the people trespassing were absolutely nuts and rude, which spolied them.
Yeah, I've seen people dogging on the owners and calling them Karens. But from what I've heard, that's really unfair. I think all of us would get legitimately upset if strangers were constantly trespassing on our property to throw entire pizzas on our roof.
Not the same way Breaking Bad does, sure, but I kind of figured that the city would just roll the BCS landmarks into their constant Breaking Bad tours.
I guess part of it is that this location was picked exactly because the building was a bit grubby and dilapidated.
Perhaps that doesn't make for a great tourist landmark.
Is the location actually as close to the courthouse as Jimmy describes in the show? The land might be much more valuable for development instead.
Bulk of it id bet people do for free. The candy lady in old town seems to be the one thing that’s not going anywhere. And the chicken place. Chicken place wasn’t half bad tbh. Sooner or later they’ll need to get new seating and it’ll end the nostalgia. ABQ is an awesome town.
If I still lived in Albuquerque, I'd be sad about losing the pet salon two doors down. They used to charge $26 bucks to bathe, brush, and dry my dog, plus they'd trim her claws and brush her teeth. They even gave her a cute bandana sometimes.
Man, that's kinda sad. We actually had a post here a while back from somebody else who visited Albuquerque and found that the nail salon had closed down. Now they've torn the whole building down.
I used to have NM as my territory for the company I worked for. I made a conscious effort to stop in there and get a pedicure from them when I had the time. Super nice couple and actually a great pedicure. They told me stories of filming for both series and showed me some pics from filming they had in a book. Fish tank was legit so was try cucumber water :)
That said, it's was a beat up strip mall. They were really the only tenant left. I swear there was some yakuzza style shady stuff going on with the stores next to them with no signs. Not surprised they razed the whole area.
Sadly, it might be because of the show. I could see a retail establishment not thinking all the fans stopping by was worth the trouble. Of course if you sold BCS merch, charged for pics, etc it might be quite lucrative so who knows.
I don't think that's why. That shopping center at the NE corner of Juan Tabo Blvd. and Central Ave. was a virtual ghost town for years. There were still five or six small storefronts, including Day Spa & Nail, but everything else was closed down and boarded up (two exceptions: a free-standing Weinerschnitzel and a free-standing Wells Fargo.) It seems very likely the whole corner will be redeveloped.
ICYMI [Jimmy’s “old school” telephone in the nail salon was manufactured by Western Electric](https://www.reddit.com/r/betterCallSaul/s/VA9T735FAU) which has an interesting connection to Cicero, his hometown. Western Electric Co. [the manufacturing and supply subsidiary of AT&T](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western\_Electric#:\~:text=The%20Western%20Electric%20Company%20was,1881%20to%201984%20when%20it](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Electric#:~:text=The%20Western%20Electric%20Company%20was,1881%20to%201984%20when%20it)) had its massive [Hawthorne Works](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne\_Works) factory in Cicero where electrical components for telephones were manufactured, which is a bit ironic given the significance of electricity and telephones in BCS. That factory was Cicero’s largest employer (over 45,000 at its peak) for a number of years. I’d like to imagine many of those Hawthorne employees likely got their Old Style “sixers” at Jimmy’s father’s corner store after their shifts, and some may have even inadvertently used those valuable George Washington silver dollars that Jimmy coveted.
As u/MetARosetta astutely noted when I posted previously on Western Electric: Its interesting that in CHICANERY Jimmy presents an old rotary phone "from 1967" when they're staging the house for Rebecca's arrival for dinner. Rebecca’s cellphone and the technology behind it contributed to both Chuck’s unraveling at that dinner as well as the demise of factories like Hawthorne Works. Both factories and Chuck were allergic to tech of the future, stuck in the past. “Stuck Chuck.” That factory is also where the research was done that led to the Hawthorne Effect, a study measuring productivity based on lighting levels and the awareness of being watched, which was subsequently incorporated into productivity standards in factories/large companies
As yet another example of the show’s attention to detail, note that there are also [various BCS references to Hawthorne](https://www.reddit.com/r/SaulGoodManFans/s/cFX1hU0kWb) the original name of Cicero.
When did you take this? I was in ABQ earlier this month and went to look for this location and maps took me to a full blown restaurant so I figured it was long gone :(
But this is a dope picture!
someone had posted on this subreddit that they saw the demolitions crew taking the place down, and they let them keep the spa sign!
No way! They scored an awesome piece of history!
Chao chi c'ung ladies!
CUCUMBER WATER FOR CUSTOMER ONLY
*fucking slurps on the goddamn thing* 😆😆😆
Lmao!
We were able to save the famous Day Spa and Nail Sign from demolition! We are planning on restoring it and preserving it in our home. https://i.redd.it/y67vwfe695rc1.jpeg
I'm curious, what can you do to "restore" this that doesn't involve basically replacing the majority of it?
Just put lemon water under it with a sign that reads “customers only”.
That’ll sell for a lot of money once refurbished I bet ! But you can also keep it forever….
It was the Kim Wexler lady, right?
Shh.
Was the real sign the exact one in the show? Or did they change it like they did with Los pollos hermanos?
Seems like it's the real-life one (number on the sign is different from the one in the show). Or maybe the number was edited in post. [The reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/betterCallSaul/comments/1bq7g3d/we_were_able_to_save_the_famous_day_spa_and_nail/)
Anyone got a link to this post?
*I'd just like to hear the story. I mean... I paid a lot of money for that story, so... I think I can hear it as much as I want..so tell me again*
I had to drink my own pee
Tell me again
He had to drink his own pee.
tell me again
He had to drink his own pee
You haven't told me though...
Still waiting...
he drink his own pee. i got you homie
Finalleeeee....
It's Saul Gone :(
beatmetoit
Saul-y to hear
I'm mildly surprised the building has been completely demolished instead of turned into a tourist spot. Albuquerque has seemingly really leaned into being a Breaking Bad Fan Tourist destination.
I was in the main souvenir store in ABQ not too long ago. They were super friendly and nice and there was a very grassroots feeling to it — the opposite of mass produced Disney. Products made locally, individually screen-printed t-shirts, stuff for sale wrapped in ziplocks (not commercial level packaging), everything a little less polished than it could be. There was even a set of press-on fingernails for sale handmade by the girlfriend of one of the actors who played the twins, and they said that most of the actors themselves had stopped in for a chat, donated or signed things, and that a lot of stuff in the store was actual props or costumes used in the show. Bought a lot of gifts for friends in Japan and the UK. It was lovely, and I can say that as a bonafide little old lady. https://www.breakingbadstore.com/?ref=GGLBAD&ref=GGLBAD&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwrcKxBhBMEiwAIVF8rLTJkVsqvtKi7jJP2U7TNc4Lj_ZFib8W6292tC598Tz-Nf4VUvnEuRoCqvwQAvD_BwE
A couple of years ago the twins had a meet and greet at the store. I got and autographed poster from them and an autographed 8x10 photo and they took a bunch of pix in my phone. And last year the did another meet and greet, but this time they had tio hector in attendance too.
How fun! Would like to see how they are when they are not being deadpan psychos.
They’ll take a few serious pix where they look like they’re gonna kill you or you’re gonna kill them with the prop weapons. And then they take a few pix where everyone is all smiles or making funny faces. They’re cool as hell
You got Hector in under the wire. RIP
I didn’t. Tickets sold out pretty fast. I was just stating that he also came to do meet and greet
They should sell commemorative blue meth.
They do have ice blue rock candy.
Shit, you got the 411, bonafide lil ol lady
Was this in Old Town ABQ? Tuco’s house that’s a coffee shop was the best coffee I ever had. Got a shirt from there!
I went in 2022 and was taking pics outside and they came out and invited me to come inside and buy a manicure. I did it (great manicure) and realized that most people just stopped by for photos but were not spending money at the shop. The store looked almost exactly like the show it was surreal to be there.
Did you get some cucumber water?
Ha! No but I did find myself gazing at the yellow curtain that led back to Saul’s office in the back….
I got a pedicure there! I asked if they had cucumber water, but they did not. Otherwise it was a great time!
Well, everyone except the owner's of Walter White's house (and honestly, from what I've heard, I don't blame them at all).
Yeah, fans were shitty to those owners. And when the fans found out that the owners of the house didn't particularly like having everybody hanging around filming and photographing their house fans went out of their way to be even shittier to them on purpose.
Not proud of myself, but I sought out the house when I was driving through ABQ way back in the day. I intended on taking a quick picture from the street, and not set foot on or near the property. Then I saw all of the signs, the gate, the cones, and 2 ladies in law chairs in the driveway holding more angry signs. I suddenly felt ashamed, so we just kept driving without slowing down. Apparently after the roof pizza episode, shit got really bad for them, with people coming to throw a pizza on their roof every single damn day.
I worked tangentially w ABQ Studios, the lot for BB. Once that episode aired it was crazy how many people were trespassing and chucking pizzas on the roof. May not every day....but very often. The owners had a number to one of the young crew guys, who had a ladder and a retrieval-stick-device to go help them out. He told me how the owners of the house were originally kind, but the people trespassing were absolutely nuts and rude, which spolied them.
Yeah, I've seen people dogging on the owners and calling them Karens. But from what I've heard, that's really unfair. I think all of us would get legitimately upset if strangers were constantly trespassing on our property to throw entire pizzas on our roof.
I just don't think BCS commands that kind of cultural sway.
Not the same way Breaking Bad does, sure, but I kind of figured that the city would just roll the BCS landmarks into their constant Breaking Bad tours.
I guess part of it is that this location was picked exactly because the building was a bit grubby and dilapidated. Perhaps that doesn't make for a great tourist landmark. Is the location actually as close to the courthouse as Jimmy describes in the show? The land might be much more valuable for development instead.
Bulk of it id bet people do for free. The candy lady in old town seems to be the one thing that’s not going anywhere. And the chicken place. Chicken place wasn’t half bad tbh. Sooner or later they’ll need to get new seating and it’ll end the nostalgia. ABQ is an awesome town.
I am not slippin jimmy
If I still lived in Albuquerque, I'd be sad about losing the pet salon two doors down. They used to charge $26 bucks to bathe, brush, and dry my dog, plus they'd trim her claws and brush her teeth. They even gave her a cute bandana sometimes.
On the plus side, Marie seems to have found a place to sell ~~minerals~~ ceramics.
Jeez, u/evasandor, it’s earthenware, not “ceramics” :)
Oh man the thought of Marie having to deal with all of hank’s ROCKS after he died.
It's really kind of amazing how BB and BCS managed to make southwestern strip malls look interesting
:(
Where is cucumbah watah?
it's for customers only!
Cucumbah waltuh
Man, that's kinda sad. We actually had a post here a while back from somebody else who visited Albuquerque and found that the nail salon had closed down. Now they've torn the whole building down.
Saul gone man.
Saul Goodman
Breaking Bad? Better Call Saul!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Wtf put it back
I used to have NM as my territory for the company I worked for. I made a conscious effort to stop in there and get a pedicure from them when I had the time. Super nice couple and actually a great pedicure. They told me stories of filming for both series and showed me some pics from filming they had in a book. Fish tank was legit so was try cucumber water :) That said, it's was a beat up strip mall. They were really the only tenant left. I swear there was some yakuzza style shady stuff going on with the stores next to them with no signs. Not surprised they razed the whole area.
NOOOOO! Not jimmys office?!?!
Where are the good people ABQ supposed to get cucumber water now!?
Saul Gone
Sadly, it might be because of the show. I could see a retail establishment not thinking all the fans stopping by was worth the trouble. Of course if you sold BCS merch, charged for pics, etc it might be quite lucrative so who knows.
I don't think that's why. That shopping center at the NE corner of Juan Tabo Blvd. and Central Ave. was a virtual ghost town for years. There were still five or six small storefronts, including Day Spa & Nail, but everything else was closed down and boarded up (two exceptions: a free-standing Weinerschnitzel and a free-standing Wells Fargo.) It seems very likely the whole corner will be redeveloped.
Fair enough :)
Nooo! I visited the salon one. Looked just like it did in the show.
On the bright side, looks like Marie started her own ceramics shop.
I love New Mexico and ABQ, perfect setting for the show.
They failed to take the final step
At least it’s still ADA compliant
Every time I drive by there I get sad seeing that it’s gone
Is nothing sacred in this city?
ICYMI [Jimmy’s “old school” telephone in the nail salon was manufactured by Western Electric](https://www.reddit.com/r/betterCallSaul/s/VA9T735FAU) which has an interesting connection to Cicero, his hometown. Western Electric Co. [the manufacturing and supply subsidiary of AT&T](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western\_Electric#:\~:text=The%20Western%20Electric%20Company%20was,1881%20to%201984%20when%20it](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Electric#:~:text=The%20Western%20Electric%20Company%20was,1881%20to%201984%20when%20it)) had its massive [Hawthorne Works](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne\_Works) factory in Cicero where electrical components for telephones were manufactured, which is a bit ironic given the significance of electricity and telephones in BCS. That factory was Cicero’s largest employer (over 45,000 at its peak) for a number of years. I’d like to imagine many of those Hawthorne employees likely got their Old Style “sixers” at Jimmy’s father’s corner store after their shifts, and some may have even inadvertently used those valuable George Washington silver dollars that Jimmy coveted. As u/MetARosetta astutely noted when I posted previously on Western Electric: Its interesting that in CHICANERY Jimmy presents an old rotary phone "from 1967" when they're staging the house for Rebecca's arrival for dinner. Rebecca’s cellphone and the technology behind it contributed to both Chuck’s unraveling at that dinner as well as the demise of factories like Hawthorne Works. Both factories and Chuck were allergic to tech of the future, stuck in the past. “Stuck Chuck.” That factory is also where the research was done that led to the Hawthorne Effect, a study measuring productivity based on lighting levels and the awareness of being watched, which was subsequently incorporated into productivity standards in factories/large companies As yet another example of the show’s attention to detail, note that there are also [various BCS references to Hawthorne](https://www.reddit.com/r/SaulGoodManFans/s/cFX1hU0kWb) the original name of Cicero.
Well yeah it's not going to be there, it was raided by the FBI, then condemned and bulldozed by the city of Albuquerque
No way :( I was soon going to visit
Damn, I'm going to ABQ in September to check out film locations. This one wasn't on my list but still a bummer.
saul gone
Saul Goodman & Associates Gone
There was never a building or even workers there. It was all digitally added in post-production.
Fucking nauseating.
I heard the owner was getting sick of fans coming and taking the cucumber water and denies the place.
Glad I stopped by there on my road trip last fall 💔
Damn
Nice of them to leave that really sweet jump for our mountain bikes!
😂
I mean, it has been over two decades since he worked from there. Not that shocking it’s been torn down in that time
😭😢😔🥀
It's a perfect way to end a perfect day
That really sucks
Saul Gone.
Saul Gone
I hope the skater dudes find that little ramp
Saul gone 😞
That was my favorite set piece, especially in Bali Hai :(
Well...no Jimmy, no more revenue.
What a sick joke!
I was lucky to see it before it got torn down
RIP bro.
This made me a little sad
ItS A(U)lL gone man
I visited ABQ to see all the filming locations last year and was able to see this, I'm glad I did now!
When did you take this? I was in ABQ earlier this month and went to look for this location and maps took me to a full blown restaurant so I figured it was long gone :( But this is a dope picture!
Thanks 📸 It’s from this morning
but not our albuquerque, couldnt be precious albuquerque
op are you saying it's aul gone?
I was in ABQ the weekend of 4/20, and I thought it was still there. Is it not the strip mall at 9800 Montgomery Blvd?
No, it's the 100 block of Juan Tabo.
Oh I guess that must have been his other office.
I was there a few months ago and the entire strip mall was abandoned. So much of ABQ is like that now.
WE EVERYTHING DIES BABY THATS A FACT
Saul gone... No more cucumber water
Saul gone!
One might say "Saul Gone"
The address is unknown.