Bob and B.J. Weil, owners of the successful Bumble Bee's Baja Grill restaurants, have announced the closing of the Albuquerque Nob Hill restaurant for personal reasons. At 77, Bob Weil said he no longer wants the long daily commute and has leased his building to another restaurant operator.

"The opportunity came along to simplify my life a bit," Bob Weil (aka Bumble Bee Bob) says. "I've been running three restaurants in two cities for awhile so now I'll just be running two closer to home."

Both the Jefferson Street and the Cerrillos Road locations in Santa Fe continue to be busy and very popular. "I've seen some of our Albuquerque customers at the Santa Fe restaurants already," he says. "I hope more of them will come up to Santa Fe and come see us."

The south-side location on Cerrillos Road earlier this year became a dual brand called Bumble Bee's Baja Grill & Burgers, adding the style and flavor of an all-American burger joint to the menu, including its popular green-chile cheeseburgers, Hebrew National Beef hot dogs, home-made potato chips and fries, and shakes
and malts.

The original Baja Grill menu is also available. For more information, call 412-0319 or visit www.bumblebeesbajagrill.com.
 

Bernard Ewell Art Appraisals has moved from its historic compound at the confluence of Old Santa Fe Trail and Old Pecos Trail (home to Fremont Ellis' 1967 Avanti) to Lower Cañoncito.

Bernard Ewell is an accredited senior appraiser of fine art and the international expert on the art of Salvador Dali (Spanish 1904-1989), an email said.

He provides expert witness testimony for federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies, lectures in museums from Beijing to Florida and is about to publish a book that will finally, he says, reveal the truth about how the art market works. He is also at work on his next book about the always fascinating world of Dali.

Having provided appraisals in the Southwest since 1972, he is a recognized authority on historic art of the region and has lectured at most of the state's museums. He also provides appraisal residencies at museums and art centers around the state.

For more information, call 954-4113 or visit www.bernardewell.com.


CoreLogic, a provider of information, analytics and business services, has released its July Home Price Index, which shows that home prices in the U.S. increased for the fourth consecutive month, inching up 0.8 percent on a month-over-month basis. On a year-over-year basis, however, national home prices, including distressed sales, declined by 5.2 percent in July 2011 compared with July 2010. In June 2011, prices declined by 6 percent compared with June 2010.

In Santa Fe, home prices, including distressed sales, declined by 3.6 percent in July 2011 compared with July 2010 and declined by 5.6 percent in June 2011 compared with June 2010. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices declined by 5 percent in July 2011 compared with July 2010 and declined by 4.2 percent in June 2011 compared with June 2010.

Contact Bob Quick at bobquick@sfnewmexican.com.