Businesses Celebrate 15 Years in Niwot        May 2011
LIZ EMMETT-MATTOX
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For the businesses at 300 Second Avenue, the last 15 years may have had their ups and downs, but all three of the original tenants are still going strong. Residents can celebrate with Nancy Armstrong of 2nd Avenue Hair Studio, Jan and Vern Kahl of Niwot Jewelry and Gifts, and Howard Treppeda of Treppeda’s at the May 6 First Friday Art Walk.

Nancy Armstrong was the first one to move in and when she opened the doors to 2nd Avenue Hair. “There wasn’t even a parking lot out back,” she said. “When I signed my lease, this was an empty lot, so I got to design things just the way I wanted and watch it grow from nothing.”

Armstrong has been in the beauty business ever since she went to beauty college right out of high school. She got her license and went right to work.

In 1983, she and her family moved from Iowa to Colorado and she started working in Gunbarrel. After a few years, she moved to Classic Looks in Niwot. Once her kids were in college, she started looking for another challenge. “I had always wanted to open my own salon and I knew if I didn’t do it then, I never would.”

Since opening the shop, Armstrong has slowly added stations and services as her business grew. Now, she said, “We do a little bit of everything: cuts, colors, waxing, nails for little kids all the way to elderly people.”

Armstrong said her favorite part of her work is the relationships with other people. “I have great people to work with and I have a wonderful loyal clientele.”

In honor of her 15th anniversary, Armstrong is holding a drawing for a Nook reader. The drawing will be held on May 14, and people can enter at the festivities on Friday, May 6 or come into the shop anytime to fill out an entry form.

Next door at Niwot Jewelry and Gifts, Jan Kahl said she opened up because her dad, Owen Irby, had owned a jewelry store in Boulder and he missed his customers when he sold it. She decided that she should open a jewelry store in Niwot so he could visit his customers. And so she did. Irby worked at the shop with Kahl and her husband Vern until his death, “And here we are, 15 years later.”

Kahl credits their longevity to the loyalty of their customers. “People like to see the same familiar faces rather than go to the big boxes.”

Although the name of the store includes “Jewelry and Gifts,” much of the business involves service and repair. The sign on the door mentions clock, watch and jewelry repair, but Kahl said, “We seldom turn down repairs.”

In addition to repairing customers’ clocks, watches and jewelry, Kahl said they’ve repaired horse bridles, shoes, glasses and music boxes.
The Kahls can also help with jewelry redesign.
“With the economy being what it is, people are looking to repurpose and repair things. And because we’re a family owned business, people feel more comfortable asking you to repair things.”

In addition to having champagne and cake at the First Friday celebration, Niwot Jewelry and Gifts will be offering discounts and giveaways through the month of May.

Treppeda’s, which celebrates its 15th anniversary on June 1, has gradually grown into the space it currently occupies. Fifteen years ago, Treppeda’s was a 900-square-foot Italian market, which gradually expanded into a trattoria and café, and finally into its current state as a bustling lunch spot by day and an elegant Italian restaurant serving dinner and wine by night.

In an industry that is notoriously difficult, owner Howard Treppeda credits his success to his decision to start small, and not take on too much too soon. “I’m always listening to the tempo of the economy.”
Treppeda said he got into the restaurant business, “because I was hungry.” His family all lived in the area and he chose Niwot as the location for his first venture. “I thought Niwot was a great little town. It seemed like a little neighborhood Italian restaurant would be fitting.”

Running a restaurant in a small town is perhaps more challenging than in a bigger city, “It can be lively or it can be dead quiet.” But despite these frustrations, Treppeda said he has really valued “being a part of the thread of the community.”

One of the more recent developments at Treppeda’s has been his acquisition of a portable pizza oven which he brings to local farmer’s markets, and the addition of live music at the restaurant. “We’ve had some really magical musical evenings here. Whether it’s classical, jazz or opera. Food, wine and music - they all weave together.”

It’s only natural to expect that Treppeda’s will be featuring live music to celebrate its anniversary. It turns out that June 1 is a very special day for Treppeda’s (the restaurant) and Treppeda (the owner). Not only is it the day Treppeda’s market opened for business, and the day (several years later) when the restaurant opened for dinner, it’s also Howard Treppeda’s birthday. So if you go in to join the anniversary celebrations, be sure to wish the proprietor many happy returns.

Photo by Liz Emmett-Mattox
Howard Treppeda (Treppeda’s), Nancy Armstrong (2nd Avenue Hair Studio) and Jan Kahl (Niwot Jewelery & Gifts) outside the building they have shared for 15 years.