Continuing the history: Rio Rancho filmmaker at the helm of ‘Five & Dime’ documentary

In downtown Santa Fe, the adobe buildings have stood for centuries.

Despite the changing facades over the years at 58 East San Francisco Street, there’s been a spot that beats alongside the heart of the Plaza.

It began with F.W. Woolworth being the spot where New Mexicans and visitors could get all their necessities, including the famous Frito pies.

For the past 25 years, Five & Dime General Store has filled the void — offering the necessities, and, of course, Frito pies.

Rio Rancho-based filmmaker Sarah Kanafani is at the helm of the 65-minute documentary “A Five & Dime Story,” which chronicles the journey of Five & Dime.

The documentary is set to screen at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe. There will also be a Q&A after the sold-out screening.

“This is our fifth completed documentary,” said Kanifani, the owner of Luminance Pictures. “Five & Dime came to us to work on the film. We work a lot on films that appeal to the human condition. This one brings back a lot of nostalgia.”

Kanifani was born and raised in Santa Fe and settled in Rio Rancho in the mid-1990s.

“I was a child when Woolworth’s was still there,” she said. “I remember the Frito pie and how everyone would stop and shop at the store.”

After Woolworth closed all of its stores in 1997, Santa Feans Earl and Deborah Potter spearheaded the opening of Five & Dime.

The store was scaled down from Woolworth’s original imprint of 30,000 square feet.

Kanafani uses archival material and interviews to tell the story.

During the process, she learned a few things.

“I found out that there are a total of nine Five & Dime stores across the country,” she said. “Each store represents the area they are in. That was fascinating to learn.”

Another gem of knowledge she picked up was that during the 1980s, the city of Santa Fe was making it difficult for local stores to remain in downtown Santa Fe.

“When Woolworth’s closed, it was like this community hub was going to be gone,” she said. “Then the plan for Five & Dime gave the community a sense of nostalgia as well as a smaller place to feel at home.”

The Potters found out that jobs were going to be lost along with the iconic store and developed a plan for Five & Dime, she said.

The Potters hired longtime Woolworth employee Mike Collins to be the manager.

In the film, Collins said the smaller space would make the store more profitable and figured that 25% of everything sold at Woolworth in Santa Fe generated 80% of its revenues.

“Mike’s plan was brilliant,” she said. “In the first year, the new store generated more profit than before.”

Kanafani began the film in November 2022, and it was supposed to take three months. Production finally finished in mid-summer.

“We wanted to capture the full story of Five & Dime,” she said. “We began to work with teams to film the other eight locations. It was important for us to show how the store caters itself to the community it’s in.”

Kanafani is looking forward to the event at CCA on Saturday. For those who can’t make the screening, the documentary will be available on the Five & Dime social media pages in the coming weeks and eventually stream online.