"We did look for spaces in Corrales, but nothing available could accommodate our needs." Janelle Boyle told the Corrales Comment this in February, when she explained why Corrales Teas & Chocolates was leaving the village. She owns the shop with her husband, Tyler. It had been in Corrales since 2020 and grew its space in 2024 to keep up with high tea reservations. The village location closed March 8, and the shop reopened March 13 at 5939 4th St. NW in Albuquerque, in a space Annapurna's used to occupy.
Six months later, four new shops opened at 4765 Corrales Road. The property is just under an acre and had been vacant for about 15 years, with abandoned buildings and growing mounds of weeds and dirt.
Put those two stories next to each other, then add a tea house that renovated its own space in June, and Corrales Road's year follows one rule. The businesses that opened did so where someone rebuilt a building to hold them, and the business that left couldn't find a building that fit. The Station Corrales is the clearest example, and it explains most of what changed on the road this year.
What a $2 Million Rebuild Put on a Vacant Lot
The Albuquerque Journal profiled the project this morning. The Kilcup family bought the property in April 2025 and began renovations the next month. Five Corrales natives from the family led the project, including co-founders Charmayne and Cailyn Kilcup and their father, Brian. The family owns FacilityBUILD, a commercial construction and renovation company, and FacilityBUILD did the design and construction. The total investment was $2 million.
Before it sat empty, the property had several lives. It hosted high school dances, an archery shop and a French restaurant. The owner before the Kilcups was a local who planned to open a dinner restaurant there, and that plan didn't work out.
Cailyn Kilcup described the goal as a place "we can bring our children, meet a friend, shop from a local business, run into your neighbors and stay awhile."
Why the Shops Are Inside Boxcars
Most of the new retail space sits inside a set of Santa Fe Railway structures: a depot built in 1896 and two and a half former boxcars. They were moved from southern Albuquerque to this lot in the early 1950s, and the Kilcups say they don't know why. The family decided early to keep and restore them, and the railroad structures inspired the development's name.
Keeping them was also the hardest part of the job. Charmayne Kilcup said that gutting the old buildings turned up "one issue after another." Every structure needed new walls, bathrooms, electrical, plumbing, roofs and siding. "Really anything you could think of, we've had to redo," she told the Journal.
That explains why the site sat empty so long. No one could open a shop until someone paid to make those buildings usable. The railroad structures now hold four of The Station's six business units.
Four Shops on Two Different Schedules
All four first-phase businesses are owned by women who live in Corrales.
- The Village Refillery sells bath and body products, with refills poured into your own container. Owner Lauren Wenderoth lists the Station shop's hours as Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- The Enchanted Boxcar is a toy store in Unit C that focuses on curated, heirloom-quality toys. Its hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and it's closed Sunday through Tuesday.
- Moonflower Botanicals sells flowers, plants and nature-themed gifts.
- The Bitty Burrow sells stationery and gifts and was the fourth shop to open.
The Station doesn't post one set of hours for the whole property, and Moonflower Botanicals and The Bitty Burrow haven't published theirs. The two schedules that are posted overlap Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. On a Sunday the Refillery is open and the toy store is closed. Check with each shop before you make a special trip.
Outside, the Kilcups built a patio with a children's play area, a planter in the center and a separate deck farther from the play area for anyone who wants a quieter seat.
"As a Corrales resident and a mom, I've felt for a long time that our village could benefit from more spaces where families, friends and different generations can simply spend time together." Lauren Wenderoth, owner of The Village Refillery, speaking to the Albuquerque Journal
The Tea Shop That Moved and the One That Opened
The building Corrales Teas & Chocolates left belongs to The Quilt Store. In February, the Corrales Comment reported that The Quilt Store planned to tear the building down, put up two new structures and reopen the site as a sewing training center, with the work expected to take about two years. Boyle said the new Albuquerque space has a bigger kitchen that could eventually support a larger menu, possibly including dinner. High tea and the shop's selection of more than 100 teas moved with it. The Comment's March follow-up described the same plan, and its two-year timeline remains a projection.
Three months after that move, Secret Garden Tea House opened on the Corrales Road business corridor. Owner Lillian Sierra and her family renovated the space and added outdoor seating to go with the indoor shop. She told the Rio Rancho Observer that you don't need a reservation for high tea. "We're more of an upscale cafe-style setting to where you can walk in and order a tea last minute, or we're also available on DoorDash," she said. The shop is close to Indigo House, Inhabit Galerie and Art Scape Gallery. The Observer's June story is the latest report on the shop, so call ahead for current hours.
This year Corrales lost one tea shop and gained another. The one that left needed more room than the village had available. The one that arrived renovated its own space and added a patio.
What's Still Coming to 4765 Corrales Road
The Station's first phase used four of its six units. The Journal reports that a brunch restaurant is expected in January and an ice cream truck in March "of next year," which from the article's October 2026 date means early 2027. The brunch restaurant hasn't been named. It will go into a building on the lot that dates to the early 1930s.
In March, the family went before a planning and zoning meeting to seek approval for the project. Charmayne Kilcup remembers a hot room and a long night, with her family presenting last. When her sister and father spoke, about five people stood up to support the project. "Here we are, expecting to defend ourselves, and it was like the heavens opened up and everybody welcomed us," she said. Opening day brought dozens of local families.
Pairing a Station Stop With the Rest of October
The Station opened during one of the busiest stretches on the village calendar. Here's what's on through early November:
- Old Church Fine Art Show, Oct. 3 to 11. The Corrales Historical Society and the Corrales Society of Artists are presenting the 38th annual show at Old San Ysidro Church, 966 Old Church Rd. The listing runs from 10 a.m. on Oct. 3 to 5 p.m. on Oct. 11, so confirm the day's hours if you plan to pair it with The Station's 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. window.
- Corrales Growers' Market, Sundays through Nov. 1. The market runs from 9 a.m. to noon at 500 Jones Rd. Afterward, The Village Refillery opens at 11. The Enchanted Boxcar is closed on Sundays.
- Louie Lou Louis, Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. Music in Corrales brings the singer-songwriter to Old San Ysidro Church.
- "The History of Wine Making in Corrales," Oct. 18 at 2 p.m. Jennie Thornton gives this free talk in the Corrales Historical Society's Speaker Series, also at Old San Ysidro Church.
Old San Ysidro Church hosts three of those four events, and The Station's 1896 depot is in use again after the property sat vacant for about 15 years.
The Growers' Market's last Sunday this season is Nov. 1, and The Station's next opening is the brunch restaurant in January.
Laura Fitzpatrick keeps track of what's opening, moving and being rebuilt along Corrales Road because those changes shape daily life in the village. If you'd like to talk about what the road's next phase could mean for your own plans, This House Fitz is happy to help. Schedule Your Free Consultation.
