Usually uttered by Dracula, "let’s have a bite" is now heard numerous times on Second Avenue in Niwot. Tourists, antique lovers and workers from north Boulder to south Longmont are making Niwot a lunch and dinner destination. Niwot has an astonishing number of establishments, 14 in all, to satiate their appetite. 

"When I opened in 1994," said Craig Harris the owner of Lefty’s Pizza, "I was the fifth restaurant in town." The number of food service establishments has grown steadily since then. Yung’s Recipes just opened this month, and by the end of the year, two more are scheduled to open; Flanagan’s and Le Chantecler. 

The fare and the prices should satisfy the most penurious eater as well as the fastidious gourmet. We have interviewed many of the owners and operators to see how they are faring and to ascertain how they feel about the astounding growth of food service establishments in Niwot. 

It’s A Matter Of Help

Janet Freytag, owner of the Eye-Opener Coffee shop, stated emphatically, "Help is an issue. It is OK when college is not in session. It is hard, like now. That’s why I’m here [working]!"

"Lots of help just went off to college," Howard Treppeda commented. "If you want good people, pay well. I get college kids from the Colorado Daily. I’m starting a mature person as a cashier soon. I need a trained chef for the counter."

Tom Smathers of CJ’s Cottonwood Café agreed that a labor shortage was the problem. "We advertise monthly," he commented. When asked about the quality of available help, Craig of Lefty’s would only comment that he is working twice as hard himself.

Steele’s Market has had some labor problems too. Linda Berglund, the store manager, explained that the market did not take a food booth for Nostalgia Day’s because it did not have enough people to staff a booth and the store.

Rev. Taylor’s owner Marc Faulkner said, "We are more careful now about selecting staff. College kids, young married, more mature people are what I look for. I’m much more comfortable with my staff now than I was last year." 

Two new establishments, Le Chantecler and Flanagans have not faced the problem yet. Alan Andre, one of the owners of Le Chantecler, said that he anticipated some problems getting experienced staff. "There is a larger pool of help in Denver, even Boulder, for our kind of restaurant," he commented.

Are Franchises Appropriate In Niwot?

When asked about the numerous restaurants in town, Treppeda’s first comment was, "Keep the franchises out of Niwot. And no neon signs," he added. "But quality food places, specialty shops - the more the merrier."

Steele’s deli manager Debbie Colbert is more concerned with getting good help than with competition. "We have gotten busier lately," she said. "We cater to IBMers, Vapor Technology and others. We do parties too. The construction workers who built here come back to eat. Some came from Lyons the other day for lunch."

"The landlords should wonder what’s best for the community," Lefty’s Craig commented on the proliferation of restaurants. "Some diversification is good. We are an older established business but I’m working twice as hard to stay in place. Our business is up over last year."

Lunch Time Parking Crunch

"Parking for lunch is a greater problem, greater than competition," commented Faulkner. "The customers want to get into town and out quickly." Some of the older restaurants in the Gunbarrel, Niwot, Longmont area have had a drop in sales, according to Mark. Elan Saleh, one of the owners of the new Subway Sandwich Shop in Cottonwood Square Shopping Center, selected his site because, "There is a parking problem downtown." 

Saleh expanded, "The center has a different clientele from downtown. They are cost and time conscious customers."

He should know; he helped Subway franchisers for 13 years with Subway’s Tactician Program. The program evaluates the number of people living in a five mile area as well as the quality of the area, such as schools and the competition. He tested the Niwot area first by selling Subway sandwiches in the Conoco station.

"Niwot,…A Destination… Then Pick Your Restaurant."

That is how Mary Snell and her husband/partner Dallas Plese of the new Flanagan’s Bar feel about the wide choice of eating establishments in town. "We will have our niche," they said. "It will be a family place, not for meeting people." 

Snell and Plese have more than 100 signatures on their liquor license application and have not received any adverse feedback. They will serve lunch, dinner and libations. 

Tom of CJ’s Café was not so certain. "I don’t know if we are a destination to go to eat," he said. "That remains to be seen." He felt the Conoco and the deli in Steele’s as well as his café were the real anchors in the shopping center.

Chris Owens, one of the owners of Cottonwood Square Shopping Center, said that they had not done a study but, he felt "multiple use does encourage each other." The center he feels pulls from other areas. He also believes that the center is more destination oriented. It is, he said, "Not a ‘go to’ place to shop."