Brief by Allen Best
Commerce – February 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine
For some towns, having a big box store is a sign of homogenization, a repulsive emblem of Anywhere USA (or Canada).
Not so Leadville. After years of seeing everybody spending their money at Wal-Mart and Target stories in Frisco, Silverthorne, Avon, and Salida, the town will soon have it’s own bigger box variety store, an Alco.
At 20,000 square feet, it’s less than half the size of most big boxes.
It’s operated by Duckwalls, the company that used to have variety stores located on small-town main streets across the land.
For Leadville, Alco is a plum, as town officials hope it will generate the sales taxes that are the basis for most municipal operations in Colorado.
Currently, Leadville residents tend to spend their money at the big-box stores of Avon, Frisco, and Silverthorne, or down-valley in Salida.
