Smith's will also acquire four stores in Albuquerque, one in Santa Fe and one in Socorro. The company is planning to begin construction by January 2002 and hire local residents by August 2002. The 4,200 square foot facility will be open 24 hours. The company will begin hiring about 300 people very shortly, and eventually may employ up to 450. The Travelers One Stop, a convenience store, opened next to the Travelers Motor Inn in Tucumcari in August.
Plans call for the addition of a deli and a small office center in the future.
Currently, the convenience store employs three people and will add workers as it expands. With dining capacity of 120, patio dining for 250 and private banquet facilities, business at Milagro is growing. The expansion of the Rio Rancho workforce is part of a streamlining of direct sales operations that will result in the closing a call center in Columbus, Ohio. The 450 jobs at the Columbus operation will be transferred to the call centers in Rio Rancho and Kettering, Ohio. The exact number of jobs coming to Rio Rancho is uncertain.