All Local, All The Time
Sorted by date Results 1 - 32 of 32
Fortitude and resilience are two words that perfectly describe Sarah Magee. The office manager of a tax accounting firm with clients across the United States, Magee, the mother of two young men, is also owner of The Little Shop Niwot in Cottonwood Square. The Little Shop features lovely local art, gifts and children's toys and books, and sits next to Winot Coffee Company. Born in Denver and now living in Erie, Magee said, "I moved all around as a kid and went to 15 different schools. My past is...
Panasas, Inc. is renting the office space above the restaurant Farow in Cottonwood Square. The space was recently vacated by Skyland Analytics, a company that dealt with cloud-based data management and analytics. The company left the Niwot location sometime after it was bought by IDBS in November 2021. The space was vacant for only about two months before Panasas moved in. Panasas, Inc., is a computer storage company based in Sunnyvale, California. The Niwot office manager is Peter Maddocks, Vice President of Engineering, who previously worked...
Niwot is home to the architectural firm Fletemeyer & Lee Associates (FLA). Dave Lee and Chad Fletemeyer and their team are actively engaged in the local business community and offer a complete selection of professional services that include site analysis and selection, architecture, landscape architecture, facility needs assessment and construction. The Niwot Local Improvement District Advisory Committee (NLIDAC) retained FLA to update the 2012 Master Plan for Niwot. The Master Plan will...
As general dentists, we are routinely asked by mom and dad, “When should my child first see a dentist?” Or even more commonly, “My child still has baby teeth, why would they need a dentist this young?” The short and sweet answer is, “Whenever they have their first tooth fully erupted in their mouth.” This can be as early as when the child is one year old! Are we generally concerned with dental disease on a single tooth in a one-year-old? No. But it is crucial to the child to establish a dental home, and to become familiar and...
Inkberry Books, founded by Gene Hayworth and Keith Waters in 2018, holds a collection of over 6,000 books on its shelves. Rows of hardback books are neatly placed on large bookshelves, often featuring Colorado based writers and first edition fiction novels. Hayworth retired from the University of Colorado at Boulder as an Associate Professor Emeritus with the University Libraries in 2021. “I've been collecting and selling books for about 30 years,” Hayworth said. “I started selling books o...
Building a culture of respect among his employees, to say nothing of rehabilitating an historic building in Niwot and turning it into a terrific restaurant – 1914 House – are just a few of the many accomplishments of Nick Mastronardi. A former Wall Street trader for Goldman Sachs in Manhattan, Mastronardi moved west to Colorado, and seven years ago, created a fascinating new life in Niwot. "I snowboard now," he said. "I love spending time with my wife and four children and five...
Sunburst Window Washing, LLC, is a Niwot business founded by two high school students, Jamison Weise and Joshua Longenecker. Their friendship began at Sunset Middle School, where they met through the robotics program in sixth grade. They both shared a love of video games, but they also felt driven to create something of their own. In their sophomore year at Niwot High School, they started their first business, growing and selling tomatoes door-to-door. After only a two-week-long period of...
"You treat people the way you want to be treated," says Sheri Sutton, owner of Classic Looks salon in Cottonwood Square for the past 33 years. "I love the small town feel here in Niwot, and this business is my safe area. I'm comfortable here." Taking an hour break from her work cutting and styling hair and running her business, Sutton offered tea seated in the middle of the small salon, where she employs a smiling Vietnamese–born manicurist appropriately named Sunshine, her son Chris Sutton,...
One might say that the jewelry business is in Jan Kahl's blood. Her father was a jeweler in Boulder and she eventually took up the mantle; now she and her son run Niwot Jewelry and Gifts on 2nd Avenue and have for the past twenty-six years. "This is a fun business," Kahl said with a smile. "When people are buying jewelry or getting something fixed, it's a happy occasion." In addition to selling and designing an array of jewelry-everything from sterling silver to platinum-the shop also...
On Saturday, April 23, Niwot celebrated the post-Covid ribbon-cutting ceremony at Kru Scott Meier's Haystack Muay Thai & Kickboxing studio on the north end of the former Excel Electric building in Niwot. Niwot Business Association Economic Development Director Catherine McHale and NBA President Eric Bergeson were on hand to officially welcome the business to Niwot, in a ceremony conducted long after the business opened, due to previous gathering restrictions. Meier explained that the Haystac...
First Sip, a restaurant week-like event for mixologists and other beverage purveyors, is coming to Boulder April 28 to May 1. You may have noticed all of the social media chatter and advertising about it. There are classes, tastings and events that, together, are designed to introduce area residents to new drinks, expand their knowledge of what might be in their glass, expose them to delightful and challenging food-beverage pairings, or all of the above. A Niwot restaurant has fully embraced...
Cimmini's was packed last Tuesday for the monthly Niwot Business Association meeting. It might have had something to do with the refreshments provided by the popular Italian restaurant, and it might have had something to do with the speaker for the evening. NBA president Eric Bergeson began by welcoming new NBA members, including Lisa Nesper with Cross Country Mortgage in Niwot Square and Kristin Dura with Una Vida in Cottonwood Square. Bergeson then shifted to announcements and a number of...
There's no place in Colorado quite like Niwot, and, with its high quality schools, close-knit community, and bucolic setting, no better place to live, local resident Pat Murphy contends. That was true in 1976 when she was an up-and-coming realtor selling residential lots in Morton Heights, and remains true 46 years later, even as her beloved town has more than doubled in size. Through it all, the now-seasoned real estate professional has been a tireless advocate for the little enclave outside...
Two years after the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns sent a shock through the local economy, Niwot isn't just back in business, it's booming. Over the past 12 months, shoppers, diners, and retailers have been flocking to Cottonwood Square and 2nd Avenue, driving sales tax revenues to all-time highs while driving the commercial vacancy rate to an all-time low. Part of this growth is due to an economy that is on the rebound from a slowdown in 2020, plus the easing of many pandemic restrictions....
The Little Holiday Shops at Niwot, the Cottonwood Square microbusiness retail store that closed its doors at the end of last year, is poised to reappear permanently as the Little Shops at Niwot. On March 1st, it will set out a welcome mat in the old Shopgirl space next to Winot Coffee. "There were so many festivals and markets that were canceled due to COVID 19, and so many artists. We wanted to give them a place where they could still sell," Leigh Suskin, the Little Shops proprietor, said. ""Th...
Most Niwot residents know that the Niwot Business Association (NBA) offers business support and networking, and also hosts Rock & Rails with the Niwot Cultural Arts Association on summer Thursday nights, as well as sponsoring other community events such as the Great Pumpkin Party, Enchanted Evening and the Holiday Parade. Fewer residents know the NBA is responsible for things that are easy to take for granted. Tasks such as changing street light bulbs, paying the electric bill for the...
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment recently announced that businesses and communities can now apply for a COVID certification program that allows certain areas of the community to open up to a less-restrictive level. The 5 Star Certification Program is voluntary, and it is up to each county to determine whether or not to implement it. According to the program's site, it is "set up at the county level through an administrative committee... It encourages businesses to...
Each Wednesday morning, small business owners gather in a side dining room at the Niwot Tavern to strategize about keeping their businesses healthy in the wake of the pandemic. Before mid-March, their meeting space was used for seating the Tavern's customers. By mid-November, as the restaurant has shifted to a take-out focused business model, it has become a storage space for restaurant supplies, baskets and holiday donations. During their meeting, participants sit six feet apart with their chai...
Luring new businesses to town has been an ongoing challenge for the Niwot Business Association, so they've decided to start growing their own. Last month, the group launched the Little Holiday Shops of Niwot, a new retail project to help fledgling entrepreneurs get off the ground. "We've been working on it for about a year," NBA member and project leader Leigh Suskin said about the initiative, which was set to debut in March 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Our intention was...
There are, according to CoStar (a primary information exchange of commercial real estate data in our market) approximately 12,644,300 square feet of total commercial real estate (office, industrial warehouse, and retail) in the Niwot, SW Longmont, and Gunbarrel markets. Broken down by category, the square footages look like this: *Office 2,900,000 sf *Industrial 5,484,000 sf *Retail 4,260,300 sf Of these square footages, current vacancy rates average 12 percent for office space and approximately...
Last week, the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners announced that it has awarded funding to 11 businesses in Niwot through the Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grant Program, a $200,000 fund that launched in May to provide "immediate financial support" to those businesses negatively impacted by the pandemic in unincorporated parts of the county. In all, the county awarded grants totaling $192,500 to 34 businesses. "We were interested in really supporting small businesses...
The pandemic has been especially hard on local business, and the "Left Hand Valley Courier" wants to help. Starting next week, the "Courier" will feature the Best of Niwot and Gunbarrel businesses. But rather than turn it into a popularity contest, the feature will highlight what customers or clients say is "best" about the business. We will start with some of our advertisers. Feel free to chime in with your comments at [email protected]. Tell us what you like Best about Wya...
Many Boulder County businesses are just days away from reopening and there is a lot to learn. That's why Boulder County Public Health is holding webinars and providing online information to give them a safe path forward. "We are in a complex and ever-changing landscape and it is tough to keep track of," said Zac Swank of Boulder County Public Health in a recent webinar hosted by the Boulder Small Business Development Center. Boulder County delayed its full participation in Colorado's new...
The coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdowns have taken a steep toll on Niwot businesses, and the path to recovery is still uncertain. But Eric Bergeson and the Niwot Business Association are working to get their members started on that path and hopefully back to a thriving downtown commercial district. "The NBA Executive Committee has been trying to respond to this and provide whatever assistance we can," said Bergeson, who was elected to his first term as NBA president in February. "We're...
According to IQVIA, a health information and technology company, 3.79 billion prescriptions were filled by pharmacies across the country in 2018. That's 11 times the population of the United States. While Western medicine has certainly developed over time, we still hear near-constant reports of prescription drug abuse. But what if there was an alternative? Natural medicine has been around as long as ailments have been, and many of our modern medicines still draw from plants. This struggle...
Fly Away Home is a cozy little shop tucked away in Niwot's Cottonwood Square. Its owner Kathy Trauner has high hopes for the home décor and gift boutique, and those hopes have to do with celebrating local artists. "It was one of my goals at the very beginning...I want this to feel like a place of community and give them [local artists] the space to share their work!" she said. So far, Trauner has recognized a few local artists, mostly painters, but hopes to expand past that medium to include...
Beyond The Mountain Brewing Co. in Gunbarrel is one of Boulder County's many awesome breweries just steps from our backyards. Some years ago, two home brew fanatics and lifelong friends, Morgan Way and Chuck Hixon, set their sites on starting a brewery focused on tasty, inventive craft beer and live music. Fans of both, Way and Hix honed their skills at a variety of breweries around Boulder and Denver, until they each felt ready to take the plunge. After a successful start in 2017, Beyond The...
A spontaneous chorus of cheers went up as the red ribbon was cut by the Front Range Leading Ladies professional group. FRiLLs was officially inducted into the Longmont Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Oct. 22, in the Niwot offices of Colorado Landmark Realtors at a gathering of more than 20 women. The organization is a revamping of the group, Take a Chair Lady, which, after 10 years was in need of modernization, FRiLL's chairperson Deborah Read Fowler explained. "We all got together and decided...
A frustrating quest to find the ideal elegant, simple, and convertible bag led Ann Whitehill to the conclusion that she would need to create it herself. So Ann Whitehill Studio, maker of fine leather bags and portfolios was born in 2013. Her handmade bags are beautiful, functional, extremely durable, and meticulously crafted completely by hand. Because Whitehill loved traveling, commuting by bike and creating art, the bag needed to be large enough to hold a lot of gear and had to be incredibly...
The U.S. Small Business Administration states that within the first five years, 95% of small businesses will fail. Such failures aren't necessarily due to a lack of product; instead, many of those "failures" occur at the beginning stages of execution. This irony is not lost on two Niwot High alumni, Evan Clark or Sandeep Kaushik, since their own business is also navigating these dangerous developmental stages. The hope is that with their knowledge and experience, they will be able to help...
According to the 2019 Colorado Business Economic Outlook, published annually by the CU Leeds School of Business, Boulder County’s economy is robust and growing, outpacing state and national statistics. This fact reaffirms the tenor of upbeat local leasing experts. The Niwot and Gunbarrel commercial leasing environment continues to be very strong. Being on the fringe of high-end Boulder proper, available office spaces don’t sit unoccupied for long, while the restaurant scene is experiencing...
The most substantial update in more than a decade took effect in Colorado’s oft-lamented liquor laws on Jan. 1, 2019, when the sale of full-strength beer and wine was finally allowed in grocery and convenience stores statewide. Though welcome by most, especially chain retailers and mass-market brewers, the new law is largely regarded as a blow to independent liquor stores, who stand to lose a big chunk of their daily sales. Bridging the uneasy gap between the two are independent craft... Full story