ABOUT US About Coal Gulch Trading Company... It was originally founded in 2000, under the name Cosmic Spice Company, by Scott Reilly, as a lark and a beloved hobby. Scott was raised in Albuquerque, and can remember the spicy aromas from his grandparent's kitchen, when they made New Mexico favorites like tamales or red chile the traditional way, from pods. He grew up enjoying cooking and his grandma was surprised to see him whipping up tasty dishes at the age of 10. Later when he was an adult, cooking was a hobby and his recipes became well-known and loved among his friends. Always encouraging him to start a business, they would order spices and hot mustard from him to send to relatives and friends back east and everywhere in between. When he started Cosmic Spice, he already had a following of loyal customers who were happy to see him go "pro". After gaining invaluable experience proudly serving his country as an Army Combat Air Traffic Controller, Scott had a great sense of how to keep many balls in the air at once. But as you can imagine, between a regular job and hectic schedule of trade shows, festivals and the general day to day upkeep of the side business, it was tough to keep it all going. After winning many awards, both in food and the beer brewing arenas, he put Cosmic on hold. It was several years and another career in construction before he would fall back on it after a devastating, life-changing injury. Scott met Lisa in 2002 and they eventually moved to Madrid, New Mexico with their little girl, Coco. They loved the scenic area and historic beauty of the Turquoise Trail, and Scott had been visiting the area for hiking and treasure-hunting since childhood, and has friends and family here dating back to 1913. Enchanted by the picturesque town and the great community spirit within, they loved the spot. With a great charter school and a fun, funky town in which to raise a family, they were ready to re-start the business. This time it would be named Coal Gulch Trading Company, for what the area was known as in the 1800's, when coal was first discovered here. The mining era had given them a ready-made marketing scheme. Now, instead of coal, it was spices to be mined. About Madrid, New Mexico... Coal Gulch was the name given to the area in the 1800's, when coal was first discovered here. Native Americans had already discovered turquoise and gold in the vicinity, but it was coal that brought the railroad in 1892. The town boomed with already-built miner's cabins being shipped from Kansas and reassembled in Madrid for the miners and their families. Madrid became a Company Town of around 3,000, which was more than Albuquerque's population at the time. The town had its own electricity, elementary and high schools, a hospital and a lighted baseball field, the only one west of the Mississipi during the '20's. The Dodgers even played here in 1934. It was known for the lighted Christmas Parade and 4th of July Parade, featuring 150,000 lights. When Oscar Huber was superintendent for the Albuquerque and Cerrillos Coal Company, he started an Employee Club, whose members made contributions to the community, and an athletic club. He even had a distillery for the anti-prohibitionists in the company during Prohibition. When the Mineshaft Tavern burned down on Christmas day of 1944, Huber rebuilt it for the miners. When coal was replaced by natural gas as a heating fuel, the town went bust. It became a ghost town, where Scott remembers looking in the windows of the cabins and seeing the tables set and pots and pans on the stove, some with the clothes still hanging in the closets. In the '70's, Joe Huber, Oscar's son, began renting and selling some of the cabins to artists and mountain types, willing to tough it out in the isolated, rustic town. The town experienced a revival that continues today, with over 40 galleries and shops. The Gypsy Festival in the spring is one of the town's big events, with live music, colorful dancing, local artisans, and food. The Christmas parade still takes place, with horse-drawn stagecoach rides and hot cider on the December weekends, and galleries staying open late for shoppers. The Christmas lights are so beautiful! It's no wonder that Walt Disney is said to have been inspired by Madrid's light display for his Electric Light Parade at Disneyland. Who would have also guessed that Touchstone Pictures, an alternate film label of Disney's, would approach the town's merchants thirty years later to film Wild Hogs in that very town! PO Box 292 Cerrillos, NM 87010 (505) 488-1648 info@coalgulch.com