Niwot Inn under new ownership

The Niwot Inn has been under the direction of mother and daughter duo Cornelia and Carissa Sawle for just over a month, and they are excited with the new business.

Cornelia is a native of the Chicago area, but lived in Colorado through several periods during her life. Carissa attended the University of Colorado for marketing.

“My daughter loved being out here and talked me into coming back to Colorado, which wasn’t hard to do,” Cornelia said.

Cornelia has owned restaurants in San Francisco and Chicago; most of her life has been in the service industry in some way.

“I’m an entrepreneur,” Cornelia said. “I’ve worked for myself most of my life.”

The draw to come back to Colorado, along with her daughter’s persuasion and marketing skills brought the two to find the Niwot Inn up for sale.

“I fell in love with the Inn the first time I saw it,” Cornelia said. “So we bought it. I love the size of the town, the location, being close to Boulder but just a bit away so it’s more rural.

“The location is great, everything in Niwot is within walking distance.”

Recent renovations were also a big factor in the appeal, she said, and the existing business also helped.

“I wasn’t really interested in something large,” Cornelia said. “We have a lot of return guests. I really like meeting people and getting to know them. It seems like a very high percentage of people who stay here that return.”

She said the charm of Niwot adds to the allure of the Inn.

“I have found from my guests that they love Niwot, and they’re very interested in going to local restaurants and businesses,” Cornelia said. “I try to encourage that as well. We have menus and maps to help people stay local.”

Carissa comes in on the marketing side, and will continue to help bring guests.

“I think that the Inn needs to be marketed more,” Cornelia said. “Carissa is going to be working on that. She’s more savvy on computers too.”

The Inn’s conference room is also a little-known draw for weddings and business conferences such as the Niwot Business Association’s recent meeting.

“We do rent that room out a lot,” Cornelia said. “We also do the breakfast, and if someone wants lunch we can get a local restaurant to cater that.”

Niwot residents who have families come to town to visit get a discount, and they have the spa up and running with massages, facials and other services.

“We’re having a great time,” Cornelia said. “We both want to live in town, and we hope that we can work to get more people to visit and enjoy it while they’re here.”

Niwot Inn is located at 342 Second Ave., and can be reached at 303-652-8452.