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ENLARGE
Carl Moak, co-owner of Summit Canyon Mountaineering, said the business had a “tough summer.”
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Some other takes on the summer season
The summer of 2009 was challenging for many Glenwood Springs businesses. Even with city sales tax numbers down considerably over June, July and August, some businesses reported that numbers were just as good as previous summers.
Following are comments from Glenwood businesses about how the summer of 2009 went for them.
“Flat. But flat, I think, is the new norm. Overall, sales are probably going to be down for the year.”
Marshall Foote, Colorado Poolscapes
•••
“This year I did see my bookings for rentals go down about 10 percent, but the other thing is that the numbers were good as far as how revenues go. Sales were in good shape for the year so far. Traditionally things taper off a bit after Labor Day, but we still had some sales last month and this month.”
Curtis Baum, salesperson and rentals manager at Aspen Valley Harley Davidson
•••
“I found it to be very slow. We are hanging in there, but it was slow.”
Mona Lisa Inc. owner Lisa Manzano
•••
“I believe that there was more summer traffic than in summers past in my store. It seemed that most of the traffic was from the Denver and the front range, and they didn't seem to be having a problem with the economy.”
A La Carte owner Vicki Vanengelenburg
•••
“If I had to compare it to last year it was much slower for us in terms of tourists. But the locals are always so wonderful to support our local business, which is always good during a slow time.”
Sweet Notes co-owner Brenda Knutson
“We were down slightly, but not a huge amount.”
Arcella's Retreat owner Tami Campbell, located in the Glenwood Meadows Market Street Stores
•••
“Our summer season went well, we were fortunate. We feel very blessed to have the clientele that we have in Glenwood because they support us through the hard times. We had a lot of tourists from Denver this year coming to Glenwood for a long weekend.”
Fine Things Jewelry owner Trish Pittman
•••
“For us, our business is doing great. Summer was good. Whenever we see things falling off we do a promotion and our business picks up. I would say the summer was better than we anticipated, but we just are very pleased.”
TreadZ owner Erin Zalinski
•••
“We had a good summer, not as busy as previously, but still a good summer.”
Confetti Design manager Cindy Svatos
•••
“It was pretty flat, very similar to last year.”
Matthew McQueen, Sioux Villa Curio
•••
“Just my gut feeling is, we're probably about the same or maybe a little bit better.”
Kenny Swartz, Factory & Army Surplus
•••
“The summer was really good for us. Summer gets so busy anyway that anyone running a good business in a good location is going to stay busy. And we're fortunate to have a good location and are well-established. We're still in the black, which, considering everything that's going on, we're pretty happy with that.”
Ken Jones, brewery manager and partner, Glenwood Canyon Brew Pub
•••
“You'd have to have your head in the sand if you didn't notice that there were fewer people around this summer. Our business kind of patterns with the [hot springs] pool, and they said they were flat. Our summer was a little better than our first year [last year], but not what we'd hoped for.”
Bo Balcomb, co-owner BB's Wings & Q
•••
“We had a great summer. We were definitely a little anxious to see how it was going to turn out for our first full summer. We opened late last August just as the economy crashed and the shoulder season hit. Once summer rolled around, though, it was awesome. We had great tourism traffic, and a great local following.”
Sean Piacentini, general manager, Rib City Grill Glenwood
•••
“We went to seven days and we got a liquor license right at the beginning of summer, which really helped. Last year we didn't have Ride the Rockies, and they came back this year so that kind of helped, too. We saw more foreigners visiting this summer. Now, we're going to close for two weeks and regroup, but we're also stepping up our catering, including several Christmas parties coming up.”
Mark Bartnik, co-owner, The Daily Bread
•••
“The summer trade was every bit as good, if not better, than the previous year. But September and October have been off from last year. It's nothing that will cause us to change anything, though.”
Ashton Durrett, owner, The Italian Underground
Following are comments from Glenwood businesses about how the summer of 2009 went for them.
“Flat. But flat, I think, is the new norm. Overall, sales are probably going to be down for the year.”
Marshall Foote, Colorado Poolscapes
•••
“This year I did see my bookings for rentals go down about 10 percent, but the other thing is that the numbers were good as far as how revenues go. Sales were in good shape for the year so far. Traditionally things taper off a bit after Labor Day, but we still had some sales last month and this month.”
Curtis Baum, salesperson and rentals manager at Aspen Valley Harley Davidson
•••
“I found it to be very slow. We are hanging in there, but it was slow.”
Mona Lisa Inc. owner Lisa Manzano
•••
“I believe that there was more summer traffic than in summers past in my store. It seemed that most of the traffic was from the Denver and the front range, and they didn't seem to be having a problem with the economy.”
A La Carte owner Vicki Vanengelenburg
•••
“If I had to compare it to last year it was much slower for us in terms of tourists. But the locals are always so wonderful to support our local business, which is always good during a slow time.”
Sweet Notes co-owner Brenda Knutson
“We were down slightly, but not a huge amount.”
Arcella's Retreat owner Tami Campbell, located in the Glenwood Meadows Market Street Stores
•••
“Our summer season went well, we were fortunate. We feel very blessed to have the clientele that we have in Glenwood because they support us through the hard times. We had a lot of tourists from Denver this year coming to Glenwood for a long weekend.”
Fine Things Jewelry owner Trish Pittman
•••
“For us, our business is doing great. Summer was good. Whenever we see things falling off we do a promotion and our business picks up. I would say the summer was better than we anticipated, but we just are very pleased.”
TreadZ owner Erin Zalinski
•••
“We had a good summer, not as busy as previously, but still a good summer.”
Confetti Design manager Cindy Svatos
•••
“It was pretty flat, very similar to last year.”
Matthew McQueen, Sioux Villa Curio
•••
“Just my gut feeling is, we're probably about the same or maybe a little bit better.”
Kenny Swartz, Factory & Army Surplus
•••
“The summer was really good for us. Summer gets so busy anyway that anyone running a good business in a good location is going to stay busy. And we're fortunate to have a good location and are well-established. We're still in the black, which, considering everything that's going on, we're pretty happy with that.”
Ken Jones, brewery manager and partner, Glenwood Canyon Brew Pub
•••
“You'd have to have your head in the sand if you didn't notice that there were fewer people around this summer. Our business kind of patterns with the [hot springs] pool, and they said they were flat. Our summer was a little better than our first year [last year], but not what we'd hoped for.”
Bo Balcomb, co-owner BB's Wings & Q
•••
“We had a great summer. We were definitely a little anxious to see how it was going to turn out for our first full summer. We opened late last August just as the economy crashed and the shoulder season hit. Once summer rolled around, though, it was awesome. We had great tourism traffic, and a great local following.”
Sean Piacentini, general manager, Rib City Grill Glenwood
•••
“We went to seven days and we got a liquor license right at the beginning of summer, which really helped. Last year we didn't have Ride the Rockies, and they came back this year so that kind of helped, too. We saw more foreigners visiting this summer. Now, we're going to close for two weeks and regroup, but we're also stepping up our catering, including several Christmas parties coming up.”
Mark Bartnik, co-owner, The Daily Bread
•••
“The summer trade was every bit as good, if not better, than the previous year. But September and October have been off from last year. It's nothing that will cause us to change anything, though.”
Ashton Durrett, owner, The Italian Underground
GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado — Some business owners around town say the summer of 2009 wasn't all that bad, and a few even say it was good in spite of the recession.
But for Carl Moak, co-owner of Summit Canyon Mountaineering, “It was difficult. It was a tough summer.”
He said business was “down in double-digit percentages” over the summer, and while he did not have statistical evidence, he felt the decline both in terms of the money in the till and the numbers of people who came through the doors to shop.
“Definitely, our number of transactions per day were down, and our traffic was down, just anecdotally ... the feel of the store,” he recalled.
That experience echoes the city's sales tax figures, which showed an average decline of more than 17 percent over all categories averaged together from June through August. Individually, the numbers ranged a little less than 5 percent down in food stores, to a decline of 34 percent in furniture and home furnishings.
Miscellaneous retail was down by 15 percent.
But Moak was upbeat about the future, he said.
“The last couple of months we've seen some signs that things are at least leveling off. October was a decent month, September was a decent month, August was a little soft,” he said.
Moak and his wife, Kathy, have owned the business since buying it four and a half years ago.
The couple recently decided to sell off the next door coffee shop, although Moak said it was not because of the recession.
“It was a distraction for us, and it was less than 10 percent of the total business,” he explained. “It took a lot to keep it going. We just want to focus on the retail business.”
And the biggest part of that business, he said, has traditionally been clothing, although the store's sales are “very strong” in outdoor gear for climbers, hikers, backpackers and skiers.
Summit Canyon, which first opened its doors in a different location about three decades ago, markets primarily to a local customer base, from Aspen to Vail to Grand Junction, and for the past 15 years has had two stores, one in Glenwood and the other in Grand Junction.
“Actually, Grand Junction has been doing comparatively much better than Glenwood Springs,” he said of the two locations, explaining that retail sales seem to have rebounded more in Grand Junction, in general, than in the Roaring Fork region.
Among the Moaks' responses to the changing economy, he said, was a decision to alter the store's purchasing patterns.
“We have changed a lot in the way we buy product — how much we buy — to try to control how much inventory we have.”
He admitted that this change has meant that some customers, coming in for a specialty item that might once have been available, now have to special order.
But, he said, “We have some very, very loyal customers, and we try to focus on keeping them happy.” He said his store will place special orders and match prices, “even Internet prices, as long as it's an authorized dealer,” and will often take care of the return shipping and handling if a customer decides not to buy.
He has tried to cut costs, he said, which has included trimming his staff by “about 20 percent overall,” both in Glenwood and in Grand Junction.
Along with his hope that the economy is on the mend, Moak observed, “There's one side effect of the recession that's good, although it's not good if you're unemployed. The market for employees is way better than it used to be,” meaning it is easier to find and keep good employees, who once might have quit to earn more money in the gas industry, construction or real estate.
“We feel good,” Moak repeated. “We feel we're positioned in the right place, with the right product.”
But for Carl Moak, co-owner of Summit Canyon Mountaineering, “It was difficult. It was a tough summer.”
He said business was “down in double-digit percentages” over the summer, and while he did not have statistical evidence, he felt the decline both in terms of the money in the till and the numbers of people who came through the doors to shop.
“Definitely, our number of transactions per day were down, and our traffic was down, just anecdotally ... the feel of the store,” he recalled.
That experience echoes the city's sales tax figures, which showed an average decline of more than 17 percent over all categories averaged together from June through August. Individually, the numbers ranged a little less than 5 percent down in food stores, to a decline of 34 percent in furniture and home furnishings.
Miscellaneous retail was down by 15 percent.
But Moak was upbeat about the future, he said.
“The last couple of months we've seen some signs that things are at least leveling off. October was a decent month, September was a decent month, August was a little soft,” he said.
Moak and his wife, Kathy, have owned the business since buying it four and a half years ago.
The couple recently decided to sell off the next door coffee shop, although Moak said it was not because of the recession.
“It was a distraction for us, and it was less than 10 percent of the total business,” he explained. “It took a lot to keep it going. We just want to focus on the retail business.”
And the biggest part of that business, he said, has traditionally been clothing, although the store's sales are “very strong” in outdoor gear for climbers, hikers, backpackers and skiers.
Summit Canyon, which first opened its doors in a different location about three decades ago, markets primarily to a local customer base, from Aspen to Vail to Grand Junction, and for the past 15 years has had two stores, one in Glenwood and the other in Grand Junction.
“Actually, Grand Junction has been doing comparatively much better than Glenwood Springs,” he said of the two locations, explaining that retail sales seem to have rebounded more in Grand Junction, in general, than in the Roaring Fork region.
Among the Moaks' responses to the changing economy, he said, was a decision to alter the store's purchasing patterns.
“We have changed a lot in the way we buy product — how much we buy — to try to control how much inventory we have.”
He admitted that this change has meant that some customers, coming in for a specialty item that might once have been available, now have to special order.
But, he said, “We have some very, very loyal customers, and we try to focus on keeping them happy.” He said his store will place special orders and match prices, “even Internet prices, as long as it's an authorized dealer,” and will often take care of the return shipping and handling if a customer decides not to buy.
He has tried to cut costs, he said, which has included trimming his staff by “about 20 percent overall,” both in Glenwood and in Grand Junction.
Along with his hope that the economy is on the mend, Moak observed, “There's one side effect of the recession that's good, although it's not good if you're unemployed. The market for employees is way better than it used to be,” meaning it is easier to find and keep good employees, who once might have quit to earn more money in the gas industry, construction or real estate.
“We feel good,” Moak repeated. “We feel we're positioned in the right place, with the right product.”
