At the southern terminus of New Mexico’s Río Grande Valley, Sunland Park offers tri-border character, a destination restaurant and inn, and an eclectic array of under-the-radar local activities.
“WE’RE A STRANGE LITTLE PLACE,” says Marina Ardovino, describing both her Sunland Park restaurant and inn (Ardovino’s Desert Crossing), as well as the border town itself. “I joke that we’re still the Wild West out here—and I do feel it’s a bit true.”
I had just arrived at Ardovino’s sprawling 35-acre property, located one mile west of El Paso, Texas, and a half-mile north of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, but I’d already encountered what she meant. Reaching Sunland Park via I-10 took me briefly into El Paso, past Marty Robbins’s storied Rosa’s Cantina, through an industrial zone, and back across the state line, where 36 cannabis dispensaries welcomed me back to New Mexico.
“They call us Little Amsterdam now,” Marina says, referring to Sunland Park’s rise as the state’s second-largest cannabis market since legalizing marijuana in 2021. Thanks to demand from West Texas consumers, this town of 18,000 residents currently generates more than $4.5 million a month in sales. “Just last week, the old post office reopened as a dispensary,” she notes.
Look closely for the Christ figure atop Mount Cristo Rey.
But beyond the weed shops concentrated along Sunland Park’s so-called Green Mile, restaurants, retail, and even grocery stores are scarce. “We’ve always been a bedroom community for El Paso,” explains Marina’s brother and business partner, Robert Ardovino. Built in the 1920s by the Southern Pacific Railroad to house its workers, the town incorporated in 1983 but remains primarily residential. “We’re still young,” he says. “But there’s a lot of opportunity for growth.”
What Sunland Park lacks in traditional amenities, it makes up for with a varied collection of attractions, including a religious pilgrimage site, an amusement park, a casino and horse racetrack, and its cultural and culinary hub: Ardovino’s Desert Crossing.
Siblings Robert and Marina Ardovino own Ardovino’s Desert Crossing.
“I LIKE THAT PEOPLE COME UP OUR DRIVEWAY and think, Where in the world did this come from?!” Robert says.
Emerging like an oasis from the surrounding Chihuahuan Desert, the 76-year-old compound on the edge of town is a world of its own. Trumpet vines climb an old water tower and windmill set in front of an expansive garden patio, complete with a mosaic pizza oven and a stage for live music. Through an elongated, neon-adorned canopy, Ardovino’s elegant—and very retro—restaurant features red velvet booths, midcentury fixtures, and original wooden beams. Its dining rooms and bar look like a place where the Rat Pack might have once enjoyed dirty martinis—and perhaps they did.
Originally built as a ranch home in the early 1900s by a Swedish immigrant, the rambling property was transformed into a cocktail bar and gambling hall in 1949 by the Ardovino siblings’ great-uncle Frank. “Texas didn’t allow liquor sales [by the glass] at the time,” Marina explains of her great-uncle’s speakeasy-style business model. “The FBI had a huge file on him. He was charged with racketeering, was in with the mob, went to jail two or three times—it was a different era.”
Stay in a vintage Airstream trailer at Ardovino’s Desert Crossing.
When New Mexico cracked down on gambling, the Ardovinos’ colorful Italian uncle pivoted to fine dining, drawing high rollers and celebrities en route to Juárez for late-night revelry. (Legend has it, Patsy Cline once performed on a stage Frank built for her over part of the swimming pool.) After Frank’s death in 1972, his nephew Joseph, who owned a popular pizzeria in El Paso, cared for the dormant property until the late 1990s, when he handed it over to his children.
“We always knew it was there,” Robert recalls. “But finally, one time I was walking around and realized, Oh my God, we could do something really great with this place.”
The siblings have spent 28 years restoring Ardovino’s to its former glory. The property now includes two rustic banquet halls, a brick “sky deck” facing the desert horizon for scenic weddings and full-moon yoga, an organic vegetable garden and chicken coop, a monthly nighttime artisan market, and a year-round Saturday farmers’ market.
“It’s the only farmers’ market in the area that actually sells locally grown food and crafts,” Marina says. “The other ones sell things like Dallas Cowboys blankets.”
Chef Danny Calleros puts on a show at Ardovino’s Desert Crossing.
Robert’s latest passion project is a roadside inn made up of several restored vintage Airstream trailers. “I started collecting trailers way back when,” Robert says. “The city digs it. There’s only one hotel, at the casino, and even in El Paso there’s just not anything this unique.”
Marina leads me to my aluminum accommodations for the evening, the Chaparral 53: a 40-foot, 1953 Spartan Imperial Mansion travel trailer decked out in wood paneling, avocado carpet, and vintage board-game decor.
Stepping onto the charming silver trailer’s south-facing deck, I’m met with the inviting warmth of a cozy hot tub and a stunning neon-pink sunset. Yet in the near distance, the sight of officious-looking Jeeps patrolling the U.S.–Mexico border fence is a sharp reminder of Sunland Park’s unique—and complex—place at the intersection of three cultures.
“We are our own thing down here,” Ardovino’s executive chef Danny Calleros tells me later that evening in the restaurant’s Mecca Lounge. “I grew up just down the street. So to me, it’s weirdly comforting waking up to the vibration of Border Patrol helicopters. To have friends and family and co-workers on both sides of the border—it’s normal to us.”
Ardovino’s bison rib eye.
Although the Sunland Park native got his start washing dishes at Ardovino’s as a teenager, Calleros has since worked in some of the country’s hottest food cities—Charleston, Austin, Asheville, and Nashville—and trained under renowned chef Sean Brock. Since returning home, Calleros has implemented a more elevated approach to Ardovino’s Italian and American dishes, often using local ingredients and meticulous preparations: Beck & Bulow bison tenderloin and tallow fat-fried potatoes, house-made rigatoni with wild boar Bolognese, wood-fired pizza peperoncini with a drizzle of local hot honey.
I order the campanelle with local oyster mushrooms confit, totomoxtle (charred corn husks) cream, Bernalillo green chile, and fresh nasturtium leaves grown in the on-site garden. The velvety and complex dish strikes a beautiful balance of earthy and spicy, with bright herbaceous notes.
“I think Danny deserves more recognition for what we’re doing in essentially the middle of nowhere,” Marina opines. “Growing our own food, making everything from scratch, the dedication of our staff. It’s hard because we have a symbiotic relationship with El Paso but get excluded from certain Texas things, and then we’re so far from Albuquerque or Santa Fe that most of the state doesn’t know we’re here.”
A jockey readies to race at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino.
THE NEXT MORNING, I HIT THE ROAD IN SEARCH of other hidden gems. To my east, the sun rises over Sierra de Cristo Rey, its summit crowned by a 29-foot-tall limestone statue of Christ. The figure’s pale silhouette is striking against the desert sky—his outstretched arms appearing to embrace the two U.S. states and two nations it overlooks. During the sacred site’s annual Good Friday pilgrimage, as many as 40,000 faithful make the rugged 2.5-mile hike to the top, bringing prayers and offerings.
Driving west on McNutt Road, I spot a modest-looking eatery with a line out the door and promptly make a U-turn. Inside Carlos Bakery, a gleaming case filled with fresh donuts, fruit empanadas, and colorful conchas shares space with a hot station offering menudo, tamales, and 23 burrito options. I grab a carne deshebrada burrito—spicy, succulent, satisfying—and head north to nearby Anthony.
The small agricultural town is home to plentiful pecan orchards, cotton and chile fields, vineyards, and three wineries, including one of New Mexico’s oldest. Founded in 1977, La Viña Winery churns out 5,000 cases of more than two dozen estate-bottled wines annually and hosts a harvest festival each September. “It’s the state’s oldest annual wine festival,” boasts winemaker Guillermo Contador as he pours me a flight of dry and semisweet reds. “Thousands of people come from all over.”
Contador relocated from Chile in 2006 for the position at La Viña. “It’s like growing grapes in Argentina,” he says of the Mesilla Valley’s wine-making conditions. “The semiarid climate, the mountains and valleys, they create microclimates similar to what I’m used to.” As far as what the master vintner thinks of Sunland Park? “It has that good restaurant.”
Back in Sunland Park, the roller coasters at Western Playland, a 25-acre amusement park featuring 30 rides and attractions, are in hibernation for the winter. Directly across the street, however, the action is just beginning as I head over to see a man about a horse—well, horses.
“To have friends and family and co-workers on both sides of the border—it’s normal to us.”
—Chef danny calleros
WITH THE FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS LOOMING in the distance and the crisp January sun overhead, eight maidens—horses that have never won a race—line up on the oval track encircling the man-made lake at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino. When the bugle sounds, the horses explode forward, their powerful hindquarters kicking up soft dirt as they reach speeds approaching 55 miles per hour. The quarter-mile race is over in just a few seconds, but every one is electric.
Now in its 65th year, Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino’s horse-racing season runs from January to April and sees thoroughbreds and quarter horses compete in several major stakes. The Sunland Derby, a midseason event offering a $400,000 purse, provides a pathway to the Kentucky Derby.
In the indoor and outdoor spectating areas, the atmosphere is lively: Jockeys greet local cowboys, kids cheer for their favorite ponies, and families gather over popcorn and sodas. “On a nice day, there’ll be thousands of people dressed up, watching the horses,” says Tony Chavez, the racetrack’s marketing director. “It’s a diverse crowd with lots of folks from Mexico—we are one region here.”
Between races, Chavez takes me to the paddocks, where jockeys in colorful silks parade past on equally shiny steeds. Here, I meet James “J.J.” Gonzales III, a third-generation horse trainer whose New Mexican quarter horse Cue Daddy had just claimed a $30,000 purse. “Quarter-horse racing is popular here, especially with Mexican and Spanish fans,” Gonzales says. “The horses are stronger and faster than thoroughbreds, so there’s a real thrill at the finish line.”
La Viña Winery’s tasting room in Anthony, near Sunland Park.
Gonzales recounts some of the track’s homebred successes, including its most famous alum, Mine That Bird, the New Mexico–trained thoroughbred that placed fourth at the Sunland Derby in 2009 before stunning the world with a Kentucky Derby win at 50-to-1 odds. Last year, Sunland Park trainer Todd Fincher and his horse Señor Buscador captured international attention by winning the Saudi Cup, “the World’s Richest Race,” with a $20 million purse.
“There are great New Mexico horses to bet on here,” Chavez says, “and you can get in on the action for as little as 20 cents.”
Not a gambler himself, Sunland Park Mayor Javier Perea enjoys the races purely for their entertainment value—something he envisions expanding in the near future. “Our proximity to El Paso and Juárez actually makes Sunland Park far more cosmopolitan than any other city in New Mexico,” he says. “We’re perfectly placed to be an entertainment hub.”
Horses run at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino.
While the cannabis industry has given the local economy an enormous boost, Perea says he doesn’t want to “put all our eggs in that basket,” noting how quickly legislative winds could change. Plans for an amphitheater, sports complexes, a river trail, outdoor recreation areas, and a downtown commercial district are already taking shape, he promises. For now, though, Perea acknowledges the town “lacks a strong identity.”
As I cash in the $5.20 I won on a filly named Boot Scootin Mama, I find myself similarly unsure of how to define Sunland Park. A suburb of El Paso and Juárez? A city for vices? An unconventional tourist destination for families and foodies? What stands out most, however, is the pride residents take in the town’s unique location and multicultural community. It is a strange—but fun—little place.
EAT. Treat yourself to pan dulce and menudo at Carlos Bakery. (Get there early, says owner Carlos Juarez, they sell out quickly on the weekend.) Pair classics like filet mignon or lamb chops with a glass from the 3,500-bottle wine collection at Billy Crews Fine Dining in nearby Santa Teresa. Stop in La Mesa, where Chope’s Bar & Cafe has been serving New Mexican favorites since 1915. Last year, its longtime chef Josefina Garcilazo was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef Southwest. (Her perfectly fried chile relleno is a must-try!)
DRINK. Sip your way through Anthony, beginning with La Viña Winery’s Caliente, a semisweet red infused with red chile. Try small-batch wines in a cozy setting at the much-newer Mesa Vista Winery. Find estate-grown varietals, craft beers, and live music at Sombra Antigua Winery. Or mix it up with a dry Irish stout in Public House 28 Brewery’s half-acre beer garden.
BE MERRY. Fun abounds at Western Playland with rides like the Hurricane, a roller coaster with a 35-foot drop. Check Ardovino’s Desert Crossing’s website for special events, including a holiday artisan market in December. Catch the final horse races of the 2025 season at the Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino through April 6, and test your luck at the casino’s 700 digital slots and games. Nearby, in Santa Teresa, the impressive War Eagles Air Museum boasts one of the Southwest’s largest collections of historic military aircrafts, vintage automobiles, and transportation artifacts. In the fall, get lost in the 13-acre La Union Maze, in Anthony, featuring a corn maze, pumpkin patch, slides, and a cow train. Cheer on race car drivers at the Vado Speedway Park.
