Niwot Abo's Pizza on the comeback trail

Abo's Pizza in Niwot's Cottonwood Square has been closed ever since a fire broke out in the oven at the business on August 10, 2022. Since then, the popular restaurant's reopening has been delayed multiple times by insurance issues, building permit delays, asbestos mitigation requirements and electrical issues related to the oven.

Jeff Riegel, who purchased the business from Tom Smathers in 2020, operated the pizza business for two years before an early morning fire shut it down. Smathers, who owns the North Boulder Abo's, ran the Niwot location for 24 years before selling to Riegel.

Boulder County records show that a permit for "remodel and repair due to fire" was not issued until 2023. Late in 2023, another permit was issued for commercial electrical work related to the oven.

Tara Shaheen, co-owner of Niwot Tavern in Cottonwood Square, recently responded to an inquiry on social media about Abo's reopening, saying, "They just got the approval to rebuild and he is hoping to be reopened in the first quarter, so hopefully sometime in the next three months."