The city's tourism office says the spot where a Breaking Bad camera assistant finished a sandwich in 2010 is now the sixth official stop on the trail.
Albuquerque's tourism office has made a Central Avenue parking space the sixth stop on its Breaking Bad trail. The reason: a camera assistant ate a sandwich there in 2010. The pharmacy next door would like its parking back.
The space sits between a pharmacy and a tyre shop on Central Avenue, and the paint on its lines has been redone at least twice. It holds one mid-sized car. On Monday it became a landmark.
Visit Albuquerque confirmed that the parking space is now the sixth official stop on the city's Breaking Bad trail. Sources close to the situation say a second camera assistant on the show sat on the kerb there in 2010 and ate a sandwich. Nothing was filmed. The sandwich, sources insist, was turkey.
The decision follows six months of what the office calls "heritage review". Staff compared old crew parking passes against a photo a tourist posted in 2019. In it, a man in a crew jacket is eating. The tyre shop is visible behind him. That was enough.
"People want to stand where history happened," said Dolores Fenwick, who runs the film heritage desk at Visit Albuquerque. "History happened here. A man had lunch. We can't ignore that."
Fenwick said the trail had stalled at five stops for years, and the city wanted a sixth before the next convention season. The car wash, the house, the restaurant and two desert pull-offs were already covered. "We were one short," she said. "You can't sell a five-stop tour. It sounds unfinished."
The city has ordered six bollards and a plaque. The plaque will not name the crew member, because nobody can agree on who he was. It will say only that "a member of the production" rested here. Insiders say a longer draft mentioned the turkey, but legal struck it.
The parking question
The pharmacy is not thrilled. A manager there, speaking on condition that we not use her name, said customers still need somewhere to park. The city's answer is a sign asking drivers to "please leave space six for pilgrims". Pilgrims, she pointed out, do not buy allergy tablets.
Fan reaction has been swift and, in the way of these things, deranged. One tour operator has already added a six-minute stop and a moment of silence. A rival operator is said to be scouting a bus shelter where a sound mixer may have waited for a lift.
Bryan Cranston has not commented, which sources close to the situation describe as "very him" and also "normal, because this is a parking space".
The dedication is set for Monday at noon. Fenwick will cut a ribbon stretched between two bollards. A local deli has agreed to cater, and insiders confirm the menu is one sandwich, cut into six pieces, served on the kerb.
