Biz Buzz: 344 Storage in Edgewood installs temperature controlled units

344 Storage in Edgewood was originally built in 1995 by Cheryl Bonino and her late husband Stan Huston. It was the first storage unit ever built in Edgewood and is older than the town itself. Bonino has been running it ever since.

“We saw a need in the area,” Bonino said. “At the time, the only storage units out here were in Tijeras and Moriarty, but there was nothing in Edgewood,” she added. She said her parents owned a storage unit facility in Santa Fe so she already had some expectation of how the operation worked going into the project.

After 14 years in business and several years after her late husband passed away, she decided to add units to the facility and also remarried a man named Vince Bonino.

The couple have kept the business going, with Cheryl Bonino as Operations Manager and Vince Bonino as maintenance; and with the help of two part-time on-call employees: Shilo Pennington (also Cheryl's daughter) and Rhonda Wise. 344 Storage boasts 47,340 square feet and 307 storage units, with digital access and a camera security system.

Recently, the company celebrated a new expansion with a ribbon cutting event hosted by the Greater East Mountain Chamber of Commerce. The facility added temperature-controlled storage with interior access. The space is maintained at 50 to 80 degrees year round, she said.

“We have been really busy the last two years and already had plans for expansion,” Bonino said, adding, “The time was right.” She said they had gotten lots of the calls from the community showing interest in temperature controlled storage units.

“This type of storage has a greater insulation factor. Customers walk into the building and then into their storage units,” she said, “The ambient temperatures are good for preservation of things like antiques.”

344 Storage has various sizes of storage units ranging from 5 feet by 5 feet up to 10 by 30 feet, and one unit that is 1,000 square feet. The exterior storage units range from $70 to $200 monthly and the interior temperature controlled units range from $70 to $240 monthly. They currently have both types of units available.

344 Storage is located at 312 Dinkle Road in Edgewood. The office is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. And storage access is available from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., 365 days a year. They are also online at 344storage.com or on Facebook. 505-281-1429.

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