The AMC original series "Breaking Bad" doesn't just appease fans, it has also boosted New Mexico's tourist industry. A fast-food burrito chain in Albuquerque has become a major tourist attraction as fans travel long distances to catch a glimpse of the restaurant where one of "Breaking Bad's" most notorious drug traffickers runs his methamphetamine operation. A pastry shop sells doughnuts topped with crushed blue candy to resemble the show's blue crystal meth and a beauty salon also carries blue crystal bath salts. Good, clean, wholesome fun.
"Breaking Bad" is currently in the midst of its fifth and final season, the second half of which will resume this summer. Unfortunately, New Mexico isn't ready for the show to leave. It wants more. The series put Albuquerque on the map. In addition to the themed products that are sold citywide, "Breaking Bad" tours also stretch across all of Albuquerque, showing tourists the locations of some of the show's most dramatic scenes and locations.
"They ask if they can take pictures. They ask if Gus is there," said Rachel Johnson, 19, the shift manager at the Twisters burrito restaurant in Albuquerque's South Valley. The restaurant served as the location for "Los Pollos Hermanos," the fictional fast-food chain where Gus based his crystal meth business. Twisters isn't the only Albuquerque site that's gaining a lot of foot traffic. The suburban house of the show's protagonist Walter White (Bryan Cranston) has also received increased attention, perhaps the owner's chagrin.
Thus, in hopes to bring more TV and film productions to New Mexico, the state's Governor Susana Marinez has signed into law a bill that will raise tax refunds to 30 percent for production companies that choose to shoot there.
So for those of you planning on making movies or TV shows in the future, head on down to sunny New Mexico for a heavy dose of dry, arid sunshine and tax refunds!
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