Meet and greet held for Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad actors at local store

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Fans of two hit TV shows, filmed in Albuquerque, braved the heat as they waited in long lines to meet the actors who played “Tuco Salamanca” and “Attorney Howard Hamlin.”

The Breaking Bad Store located in Old Town hosted the meet and greet. Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad fans waited just under an hour to get inside. They walked away with signatures and photos from Patrick Fabian, who plays Howard Hamlin in Better Call Saul, and Raymond Cruz, known for his role as Tuco Salamanca in Breaking Bad.

“It’s crazy because we only announced this. We only knew about this about a week and a half ago. Both Patrick and Raymond, they both contacted Marq, who’s the other co-owner, and myself that they wanted to do an informal meet and greet. So, we had to make sure we got all of this together, and just the fact that we put out a little on the socials, and everybody is coming out is fantastic,” said Edward Candelaria, Co-Owner of the Breaking Bad Store ABQ.

Store owners said it’s a busy day, as these events bring anywhere from 150 to 300 people through the store, but they look forward to the traffic it brings to the area.

“Fans drive from all over the country to come and see, to do these meet and greets, to meet these people. Plus they’re in Old Town shopping. They’re not just here to see Breaking Bad, but they’re going to walk around. They’re going to spend money elsewhere. We actually have a group of people who just drove 14 hours from South Texas to be here today,” said store co-owner Marq Smith.

The store hosted two sessions for each of the actors. One was in the morning, and the other in the afternoon.

One visitor said, “I gotten the pleasure of being in season six of Better Call Saul; I love all these guys. I’m thankful that the Breaking Bad Store does this and so happy at what it has brought to Albuquerque.”

The owners said their goal is to make fans dreams come true.

“I’m going to bring Breaking Bad into it, 99.1 percent of the time, it’s a great experience for everybody, and that’s what makes Marq and myself and our two employees happy every day,” said Candelaria.

If you missed the meet and greet, the pair said they will be back for Albuquerque’s Comic Con early next year.

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