Niwot’s Department Store – Bell, Book, Candle & Coffee

Niwot’s Bell, Book, Candle & Coffee store, located at 198 2nd Avenue, has recently expanded its floor space and is adding many new lines of products. Owner, Chris Lucas’s plans are for the store to be Niwot’s department store.

The store opened a year and a half ago, but in the last seven months, Lucas has slowly remodeled the retail space to include a kitchen where she brews coffee, and she has filled an adjoining room with some new categories of merchandise.

Growing her merchandise lines into various departments will allow Lucas to work with more artisans and vendors, who she refers to as her partners in business. She already offers an enormous variety of goods. The store name obliges that there be bells, books and a variety of candles, along with coffee for sale. The bells come in porcelain and metal, the books are primarily on aviation and, along with coffee, there’s hot chocolate, tea and cold beverages available.

But, what the name of the store does not encompass is the whole host of other items Lucas has out on display -- framed artwork (mostly western), heirloom and new collectibles (vases and other decorative items), body care (including Ostara Organics and Avon products), furniture (antiques and locally made pieces), housewares (linens and wine glasses), vintage and new jewelry, baby items, things that smell good (incense and sachets), stuffed animals (featuring holiday-themed teddy bears), knit items, gloves, handmade glass barrettes, and religious items.

When Lucas first conceived of the store, she thought she would call it The Haven, which captured her attraction for all things that were cozy, warm, pretty and smell nice. But she was drawn to a different name while reading books on metaphysics and garden witches, and the name Bell, Book & Candle simply popped into her head. “At least one person a day would stop in and ask if I had coffee” Lucas said, so she added the kitchen and began offering baked goods from Romana Cake House in Longmont.

Because of her desire to “continually add more product lines”, Lucas said, by May of next year she plans to expand her floor space within the building to accommodate furniture pieces created, collected or repurposed by local artisans. She also envisions there being two outdoor sitting areas, one out front on 2nd Avenue and one on the Murray Street side. She would like to add heating lamps, tables and chairs for people to sit and sip coffee.

Lucas said her wide range of items and her yearning to add more is because “I never grew up. I buy too much and now I can buy for other people.”