All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
Niwot Rental & Feed opened at 291 2nd Avenue in 1981, and four decades later, it is still the town's go-to destination for animal care needs and small equipment rental. It is also among the oldest remaining businesses in town, along with Niwot Realty, Niwot Jewelry and the law offices of Warren, Carlson & Moore.
Steve Rollman, the longtime proprietor of Niwot Rental and Feed, received cake and balloons from Pat Murphy to celebrate 40 years in business.
Niwot Rental & Feed co-owner Steve Rollman has seen a lot of change during the store's 40 years at 291 2nd Avenue, but one thing that hasn't changed over four decades is the warmth and generosity of their customers and the people of Niwot.
"It's been a really great community to have a business in," he said, reflecting on the store's longevity. "There are a lot of really nice people."
Rollman opened the combination equipment rental and animal care retailer along with his wife Kay in 1981, and they were later joined by their son Tim. They didn't necessarily have Niwot in mind when scouting for a location beforehand, but decided "it looked okay," when the 2nd Avenue property became available. That was a stroke of luck for the town, according to longtime realtor Pat Murphy of Niwot Real Estate, another decades-old local business.
"Where else but in Niwot can you have a feed store next to the Mercedes dealership," Murphy said. "It's my granddaughter's favorite place to go when she's in town. There are so many neat things there. And the people, Steve and his family, are just nice. We've been blessed to be able to work with each other all of these years and I feel like we have a special bond."
Business has been steady over the decades, Rollman said, although animal feed has come to replace rentals as their main profit center, "since people do less on their own now. The population is getting older, so they get someone else to do it."
Fortunately, Niwot's semi-rural setting means there are still plenty of animals around to care for, with chickens and horses being among the most popular, along with household pets. Rollman has also seen a recent uptick in sales of his wild bird food as birding and bird feeding becomes more popular.
"It's essential in an area where there are horse ranches and people have dogs and other animals," Murphy said.
As for the next 40 years, Rollman isn't looking quite that far ahead, but he has no plans to relocate or retire for at least the next decade. Until then, he will continue to serve the loyal customers and friends of Niwot Rental & Feed as well as they've served him and his family over the decades.
"I could tell you a lot of great stories about them," Rollman said of the community. "We've had people come in and write their own invoices-they look up on the board and write their own tickets when we're busy. They've answered the phone for us. If they'd bounce a check, they call us and say 'We screwed up. We'll be in in a couple of days to fix it'. How good is that? We haven't had to worry about people. They take care of us."
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