Central Avenue in Albuquerque, once home to a thriving Little Italy, became a hub for Italian immigrants who built businesses and a community that shaped the city’s history along Route 66. “The Italians had stores within eight blocks on Central,” said Lynne Franchini Peckinpaugh. “And about 2 or 3 blocks north and south of Central Avenue, Route 66.” Peckinpaugh shared that her family played a significant role in establishing the Italian presence in Albuquerque, starting with Oreste Bocchetti in 1885. “The first one came in 1885, Oreste Bocchetti, and he sponsored many of the people from that same area in Tuscany near Lucca,” she said. “He was known as the father of the Italian colony here in Albuquerque because he sponsored so many people to come, including my great-uncle Ettore Franchini, who then sponsored my grandfather Ovidio Franchini.” Like many immigrants, they came to America in search of a better life. “They came not in the high-class ships. They came in the steerage, down below,” Peckinpaugh said. “They came because economics were not very, very good in Italy, and so they all came at young ages. My grandfather was about, I think, 19 when he came. My maternal grandfather came when he was 14 or 15. They didn’t speak any English.” The Franchini family soon established a business that became a cornerstone of the community. “In 1910, my grandfather Ovidio Franchini and his brother Ettore started Franchini Brothers Grocery,” Peckinpaugh said. Located at First and Tijeras, the store sold groceries, deli items, and Italian specialties, introducing Italian food and traditions to Albuquerque. “I just knew so many people. It was so comfortable. Everybody would come in, everybody was talking. Sharing, it just — it was like one big giant family,” Peckinpaugh said. For Peckinpaugh, the memories of her family’s store remain vivid. “I still can smell the smell, the spaghetti sauce cooking,” she said. “Some of my cousins, we’d get a little bored, find an open box of spaghetti, and then other cousins were downstairs and we’d break off little pieces and we had spaghetti wars of throwing it to each other. My dad was not very happy.” Now, she is focused on preserving her family’s history and sharing their story with others. “It was time to let the world know that this existed. It was an important part of our heritage, and it’s time to share it,” she said. For the Franchinis, Route 66 was more than just a road — it was a path to building a home, where hard work, heritage, and Italian traditions helped shape Albuquerque. The Franchini Brothers Grocery and Deli closed in 1980. It once stood where the Albuquerque Convention Center is today. For a full schedule of speakers, including Lynne, click on this link.
Central Avenue in Albuquerque, once home to a thriving Little Italy, became a hub for Italian immigrants who built businesses and a community that shaped the city’s history along Route 66.
“The Italians had stores within eight blocks on Central,” said Lynne Franchini Peckinpaugh. “And about 2 or 3 blocks north and south of Central Avenue, Route 66.”
Peckinpaugh shared that her family played a significant role in establishing the Italian presence in Albuquerque, starting with Oreste Bocchetti in 1885.
“The first one came in 1885, Oreste Bocchetti, and he sponsored many of the people from that same area in Tuscany near Lucca,” she said. “He was known as the father of the Italian colony here in Albuquerque because he sponsored so many people to come, including my great-uncle Ettore Franchini, who then sponsored my grandfather Ovidio Franchini.”
Like many immigrants, they came to America in search of a better life.
“They came not in the high-class ships. They came in the steerage, down below,” Peckinpaugh said. “They came because economics were not very, very good in Italy, and so they all came at young ages. My grandfather was about, I think, 19 when he came. My maternal grandfather came when he was 14 or 15. They didn’t speak any English.”
The Franchini family soon established a business that became a cornerstone of the community.
“In 1910, my grandfather Ovidio Franchini and his brother Ettore started Franchini Brothers Grocery,” Peckinpaugh said.
Located at First and Tijeras, the store sold groceries, deli items, and Italian specialties, introducing Italian food and traditions to Albuquerque.
“I just knew so many people. It was so comfortable. Everybody would come in, everybody was talking. Sharing, it just — it was like one big giant family,” Peckinpaugh said.
For Peckinpaugh, the memories of her family’s store remain vivid.
“I still can smell the smell, the spaghetti sauce cooking,” she said. “Some of my cousins, we’d get a little bored, find an open box of spaghetti, and then other cousins were downstairs and we’d break off little pieces and we had spaghetti wars of throwing it to each other. My dad was not very happy.”
Now, she is focused on preserving her family’s history and sharing their story with others.
“It was time to let the world know that this existed. It was an important part of our heritage, and it’s time to share it,” she said.
For the Franchinis, Route 66 was more than just a road — it was a path to building a home, where hard work, heritage, and Italian traditions helped shape Albuquerque.
The Franchini Brothers Grocery and Deli closed in 1980. It once stood where the Albuquerque Convention Center is today. For a full schedule of speakers, including Lynne, click on this link.