Store gives ‘souvenirs’ a whole new look

ALAMOSA — A new store has opened on Main Street in Alamosa, and it takes the idea of “souvenirs” to an entirely new level.  Starting with its name “Mammoth”, which store owners Deb Hankinson and Les Petersen chose after reading a Facebook post from a park ranger that said mammoths once roamed the San Luis Valley, every item available for purchase was carefully chosen — and, in some cases, created — with the uniqueness of Alamosa and the San Luis Valley in mind.

Located in the space previously occupied by May-Wa Chinese restaurant, Mammoth has been transformed by Hankinson and Petersen along with partners, Jo and Dale Parent, into a space that is colorful and vibrant yet with a warm and rustic feeling.

Mammoth is stocked with an extraordinary variety of “good quality, good price point” items, all communicating in one way or another the aspects that make Alamosa and surrounding areas so special.

From children’s books about Dark Skies to extremely soft stuffed animals — including “gators”, in a nod to the Gator Farm — to coffee cups commissioned with designs of the Great Sand Dunes to specially designed refrigerator magnets to pillows with photos of wildlife taking selfies to limited but carefully selected high quality art work by local artists on the walls to  cotton t-shirts that won’t be seen anywhere else, Mammoth celebrates Alamosa in a way that tourists — and undoubtedly no small number of locals — will appreciate.

“We’ve tried to provide good quality at a good price point and a good variety,” Hankinson says. “If you want to just spend $3 or $4 on a keychain, we’ve got that. But if you want to buy a t-shirt that will last you ten years, we have that, too.”

And with an eye toward sustainability and preserving the environment, many of the items are made using recycled or repurposed materials, such as the old horseshoes from a local rescue operation that have been painted and are on sale.

The appealing environment and lovely design of Mammoth is credited to Hankinson, who was an architect before she and her husband, Petersen — a software engineer, jointly decided to leave their corporate lives behind and move to the Valley.

The quality of merchandise is credited to Jo Parent. “Deb has taught me a lot,” Parent says.

Even with all that, it is also likely that Mammoth will become well known for its food.

The first thing customers see when they walk in the door is a large counter filled with freshly made fudge.

“I wanted to add the fudge because of what Jo can do,” Hankinson says.

Jo (Parent) worked at a KOA campground in Yellowstone National Park for years where she became a fudge aficionado, and her talent is immediately apparent in both the taste and the varieties of fudge that range from strawberry cheesecake to orange swirl to cappuccino (which is amazing) to rocky road to chocolate jalapeño and others. 

“We make the fudge here and we’ve taught all the staff how to make fudge,” Hankinson says. “We’re always trying new recipes and looking for feedback from the people.”

Starting next week, Mammoth’s will also open their Spud Café, featuring eight different kinds of “loaded” potatoes (sourced from Monte Vista, of course), including specialties such as taco and cheese enchilada potatoes.

“We’re going to give the locals an option for lunch,” Hankinson says, “and that will help to carry us through the season when there aren’t a lot of tourists.” Right now, they’re focused on the lunch crowd but may expand to dinner at some point in the future.

“There’s just still a lot to do,” she says with a bit of a sigh, a comment that draws agreement from the three others.

 In a conversation with the Valley Courier, it becomes immediately apparent that nothing in Mammoth was done by happenstance.

Entrepreneurs at heart, Hankinson and Petersen own the KOA Campground east of Alamosa off of Highway 160 where, along with the Parents, they have transformed the site into a surprisingly beautiful spot with high-quality amenities.

Looking to expand into other areas while keeping the KOA, they were interested in opening a business in the downtown area. That led them to contacting Kathy Woods, economic developer with the City of Alamosa, to find out what real estate was available downtown.

The building formerly occupied by May-Wa seemed the best option and — thanks to Nicky at Porter Realty — the purchase was completed on Dec. 13, 2023.

“When we bought the building, we thought the location was a great opportunity, just for the building itself,” says Petersen. “But when we thought about possibilities, we thought what does Alamosa need?”

That brings the KOA Campground into the picture where the souvenir shop at the KOA – that “did really, really well, just great” — showed what was needed.

“We had a couple of other ideas,” Petersen says, “but we thought there’s nothing in town that is specifically related to Alamosa. So, we decided on a souvenir shop.”

Since then, the four have invested tremendous “sweat equity” in the property, repurposing the space from a restaurant into a retail store with a commercial kitchen. Any additional labor that was needed was drawn from the local workforce and materials, like the rough sawed wood used on the walls, came from an Amish business associate specializing in that type of lumber.

And now, with the doors being opened for business on April 2, the same attention to detail that characterizes the KOA Campground is evident everywhere in Mammoth.

But the commitment to the project goes far beyond just owning a retail business in the city and a KOA campground in the county.

Hankinson is on the board of directors at Visit Alamosa and both she and her husband plus the Parents are committed to the success of the community.

Decisions made in selecting merchandise were made so as not to interfere with businesses already in operation. For example, only a limited number of local artists are featured to not compete with other businesses offering local art on Main Street. The same is true of the houseware and jewelry items they offer.

“There may be a little overlap, but our goal is to fill the gap,” Hankinson says.  But that gap is evident in other ways, as well.

Starting on May 5 — Cinco de Mayo — Mammoth will be open seven days a week. “When the tourists come, we want to be open in the evening.  If you’re going to be a tourist definition, you really need to be open seven days a week. I’ve heard people say it’s too hard to find staff, but we haven’t had that problem, at all,” she says.

Currently, Mammoth has created five new jobs and anticipate, when the Spud Café opens, hiring another two.

She attributes their success in hiring to using Indeed, which brought them “high-caliber people” from Alamosa, Monte Vista, Manassa and Romeo.

All four are also focused on being able to promote the area to customers coming into Mammoth about the array of interesting things to do. Hankinson says they plan to send staff to Visit Alamosa for training on being an ambassador to the area.

In looking at the big picture, when asked if their philosophy is best described as “when one succeeds, all succeed,” Hankinson does not hesitate.

“Absolutely right,” she says. “That’s exactly how it works.”

Mammoth is located at 620 Main St. in Alamosa.  Open Tuesday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5:50 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.