Small businesses are leaving Nob Hill

KRQE (ALBUQUERQUE) - Five stores in Albuquerque's booming Nob Hill neighborhood have closed in the last month and some say it is because of escalating rent prices.

Small business owners in Nob Hill think they are being pushed out for big corporate businesses who can afford higher rent prices.

Greg Overman owns The Bike Coop. It was at the same Central Avenue location for almost 30 years. He blames greed for forcing him to move his shop.

"They can charge whatever they choose to, it's their building," said Overman.

He says his last rent payment was $3,110.

Overman says the leasing agency wanted to jack up his rent  $700 more per month.

A spokesperson for the leasing agency, Maddox and Company Realtors, would not tell us what Overman paid for his old rent or what his new rent would have been. The spokesperson says Overman is lying about the price.

Gambei Salon also decide to move and moved the location to the downtown area.

"I'm paying four times less than what I was paying in Nob Hill," said Jinlen Silva.

Silva was paying a ten percent increase in rent every year, even through the recession. She says no one could afford that, expect the big corporate companies.

"The room for error for most small and local businesses is not particularly large," said Matt Durkovich, owner of Ecco Espresso and Gelato.

Durkovich wrote put a message in the business' window letting customers know that the gelato shop is closed until they can find a place to buy and not rent.

"To an extent we're working for our landlord and relative to the rent payments that we're paying is as much as a mortgage payment, if not less," said Durkovich.

Maddox and Company Realtors also leased the space where Ecco's was located. They told us over the phone that they are sorry to see both Ecco and The Bike Coop go.

There are still small businesses moving into Nob Hill. Renovations for two new restaurants are going on right now.