Peter Robbins | manager of the Roswell branch | Sharon Welz | Pete Mayadag

When Pete Mayadag, plant manager of the Roswell branch of Leprino Foods (one of the world’s largest mozzarella factories) isn’t sampling cheese, he makes a beeline for Martin’s Capitol Café [2] for a sopaipilla. “It’ll come out warm, and then they’ll give you some honey to put on it,” he says. “With a regular Mexican meal and a couple of beers, it’s the icing on the calorie cake.”

Sharon Welz, a local artist and the co-owner of the Roswell Spacewalk [3] (a 3-D black-light experience), likes the coffee shop Not of This World [4] for a quick sandwich. “The [shop’s] outside wall has a big mural of outer space. … They have computers there, and one night a week, they have live music,” she says.

City marketing director Reneé Roach is proud to live in the only town that boasts a UFO-shaped McDonald’s. But when it comes to fashion, she heads to Hippie Chicks [5]. “The [store’s] sign is a VW bug sawed in half! Every girl of every age loves this boutique -- it keeps up with all the trends,” she says.

Roswell UFO Festival conference coordinator Peter Robbins suggests a pair of historical military spots. The White Sands Missile Range Museum [6] (163 miles from Roswell) displays dozens of vintage missiles, and the Trinity Site [7] (145 miles away and open twice a year) marks the spot of the world’s first nuclear-device test. “These are two of the most extraordinary Cold War locations,” Robbins says.

---