How do you stand out in a tiny desert town that boasts the World's Largest Thermometer?
Easy.
Open a UFO-themed beef jerky store.
The Gateway to Death Valley -- as blistering Baker, Calif., is known -- is also where Argentina-born Luis Ramallo parked his now-famous Alien Fresh Jerky store several years.
Ramallo, a deeply serious believer in extra-terrestrials, had first opened a jerky stand near infamous Area 51 (the Air Force base central to many UFO conspiracy theories), out along the Extraterrestrial Highway in Rachel, Nev.
But he was pressured out by what Ramallo describes as mysterious government forces.
They harassed me all the time, Ramallo told AOL News. People who actually worked at Area 51 would come in and take pictures of my business. We had displays featuring alien news and photos along with other things, and they'd just come in, photograph and leave. Never say a word. Not buy any jerky. It was strange. Then we got lots of harassment and pressure from the local government. So we knew we had to get out.
Several years ago, Ramallo landed in Baker. And business took off like a rocket ship.
So much so that Ramallo is now planning the launch of his UFO Motel, which will be just behind the jerky store.
The building will be in the shape of a saucer, and it will include 20 UFO-themed rooms, Ramallo said. We are very excited and got some important approvals just this week to move forward, so we are all set. I'm hoping to have it open within two years. And there will be nothing else like it in this world.
Until the UFO Motel opens, Alien Fresh Jerky will no doubt continue to attract all sorts of interesting human visitors. The store boasts dozens of gourmet jerkys, dried fruits, nuts, stuffed olives, candies, BBQ sauces and more tasty edibles.
But there are also many alien displays and models, alien swag, even bottles of Area 51 dirt for sale. It's akin to an alien museum. Alien videos play throughout the store, Roswell newspaper clippings hang in frames, and they all stem from Ramallo's firmly held belief in ETs.
Link: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/04/12/ufo-motel-soon-to-be-landing-in-california-desert/
Easy.
Open a UFO-themed beef jerky store.
The Gateway to Death Valley -- as blistering Baker, Calif., is known -- is also where Argentina-born Luis Ramallo parked his now-famous Alien Fresh Jerky store several years.
Ramallo, a deeply serious believer in extra-terrestrials, had first opened a jerky stand near infamous Area 51 (the Air Force base central to many UFO conspiracy theories), out along the Extraterrestrial Highway in Rachel, Nev.
But he was pressured out by what Ramallo describes as mysterious government forces.
They harassed me all the time, Ramallo told AOL News. People who actually worked at Area 51 would come in and take pictures of my business. We had displays featuring alien news and photos along with other things, and they'd just come in, photograph and leave. Never say a word. Not buy any jerky. It was strange. Then we got lots of harassment and pressure from the local government. So we knew we had to get out.
Several years ago, Ramallo landed in Baker. And business took off like a rocket ship.
So much so that Ramallo is now planning the launch of his UFO Motel, which will be just behind the jerky store.
The building will be in the shape of a saucer, and it will include 20 UFO-themed rooms, Ramallo said. We are very excited and got some important approvals just this week to move forward, so we are all set. I'm hoping to have it open within two years. And there will be nothing else like it in this world.
Until the UFO Motel opens, Alien Fresh Jerky will no doubt continue to attract all sorts of interesting human visitors. The store boasts dozens of gourmet jerkys, dried fruits, nuts, stuffed olives, candies, BBQ sauces and more tasty edibles.
But there are also many alien displays and models, alien swag, even bottles of Area 51 dirt for sale. It's akin to an alien museum. Alien videos play throughout the store, Roswell newspaper clippings hang in frames, and they all stem from Ramallo's firmly held belief in ETs.
Link: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/04/12/ufo-motel-soon-to-be-landing-in-california-desert/
