how long have you been in business?

J Kevin Ballard, the primary owner, cook and janitor has owned and operated J Kevin Ballard Photography (or versions thereof) for 30-ish years. He holds a PhD in Education with a specialization in Training and Performance Improvement and has been in “corporate” leadership for more than two decades. Alientown Cactus and Chile Company was officially born in November 2019.

where do you get your ingredients?

Prickly pears are wild-harvested primarily in Southeastern New Mexico from both private and public orchards. Prickly pear harvesting and processing is really hard work, which is probably why it’s not as pervasive as one might expect. The stickers and tiny glochids (the little furry bastards that get into your skin and can irritate for days) are a genuine hazard and real care has to be taken when picking the tunas from the cactus. Our green chile comes primarily from the Hatch Valley in Southwestern New Mexico. This area is world-renowned for incredibly flavorful and beautiful green chiles. HOWEVER, there are a couple of producers closer to Roswell who farm fine green chiles in a variety of heat levels. We hope to be able to work with these local-local farmers to include their chiles in our future products. (At this point, Hatch chiles are significantly more economical, despite having to drive across state to get them, but we would love to stay as local as possible.)

Our pecans are sourced locally. There are tons of pecan farmers in the area and we work with local producers for all of our pecans. Our peanuts come from a little town up the road from here called Portales, which has been producing Valencia peanuts for generations.

Everything else is bought from local suppliers as much as possible.
 

how hot is the chile?

We like to use the hottest chiles we can get, simply because we believe it imparts much more flavor than the milder varieties. We could be wrong, but that’s our take. However, we add “just enough” chile to the recipes to provide the flavor and a little kick without setting you on fire.
 

where do you make your products?

We have dreams. We look forward to moving into a commercial location as soon as it makes sense for our business. Alientown is a small business, and we want to be able to provide the best products we can without overextending. Our kitchen and storage areas are state-approved and we take great care to keep our facilities clean and sanitary. We consume these products too, and many of our customers are friends and family. We promise that every jar or bag you open are safe and delicious.
 

why “alientown”?

We are located in Roswell, NM, home of the world-famous “Roswell Incident”. In 1947, “something” happened that led a LOT of people to believe that some sort of extraterrestrial spaceship crashed in the desert just north of Roswell. At the time, Roswell Army Airfield was located here, and they initially issued a press release that implied that an alien craft - an actual extraterrestrial spacecraft, with actual aliens - had crashed on a nearby ranch. Generations of us have grown up hearing the stories and Roswell has embraced it. Thousands of tourists stop by on their way to nearby Carlsbad Caverns or White Sands to tour the UFO Museum and shop at the various UFO-themed stores downtown. We’re not afraid to hitch our wagon to the UFO craze. Also, we think “Alientown Cactus and Chile Company” sounds pretty freaking cool.