ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Bold claims from an Instagram account say abandoned buildings now outnumber those occupied in downtown Albuquerque. But is that true?

KOB 4 counted all the businesses along Central between 8th and 1st Street and the answer is no, the empty businesses in no way outnumber the open ones. But depending on the day or time you visit downtown, it could look that way.

“It was really starting to boom before COVID. Lots of galleries and there was places that were opening. COVID really did a hit on downtown,” said Dawn Vatoseow, co-owner of Lindy’s Diner. 

Batoseow has been a co-owner of Lindy’s Diner for 35 years, and she has seen a lot of changes along this street

“Years ago, we had a lot of retail, there was a lot of little mom-and-pop shops that were along the way. And then we had Woolworths, and then that went to Walgreens. And so there was something to attract people to come down here,” Vatoseow said.

On Tuesday, KOB 4 showed her an Instagram post from the account @Downtown.ABQ, claiming more businesses were closed along Central than there were open ones – she doesn’t buy it.

“You know, I think that it is probably space being used. It’s just not retail or open, you know, for restaurants or bars, a lot of the bars they just don’t even open until Thursday,” Vatoseow said. 

Walking from 1st down to 8th Street, we counted a total of 54 operating businesses, even if they weren’t open on Monday. We also found 17 storefronts that were closed, either permanently or for construction.

“I know that a lot of folks would like to see those storefronts open up and open up fast. And the city certainly shares in that sentiment, we want businesses thriving downtown and open for business,” Terry Bruner, a city of Albuquerque Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency director. 

Bruner says posts like this aren’t necessarily a bad thing.

“We kind of want to put a little gentle pressure on businesses that are shuttered at the moment or vacant, we want those business owners to call us and ask us what can be done,” said Bruner. 

Bruner says the city has incentive programs to try and get more businesses to open downtown, or to get owners of vacant properties to sell to the city.

But when we asked the owners of Lindy’s Diner what they wanted to see downtown, she said a community center could help make the area more family-friendly.