Kirk C. Watkins, Allenspark. The need for food, gas, and other supplies can factor in as a high priority for residents and guests of the Rocky Mountains. If lucky, they can be rewarded with the rustic charm of the family owned stores and gas stations that are one of the hallmarks of mountain living. Holly and Cal Moore, are on a mission to do just that at the Ferncliff Food & Fuel, located in the Allenspark, Colorado.
Moore remarks, “It was literally left empty for fifteen years,” She said, laughing, “there was still flood mud in the store when we were cleaning up, yeah from 2013.”
Cal, originally from Ohio, and Holly, from Michigan, moved to Colorado in 2002. Previously, they had owned The Mad Moose, a retail business in Estes Park for almost twenty years. They sold it and purchased the Ferncliff property in March that includes the grocery store, the gas pumps, and the building behind the grocery store with rooms that can be used commercially for various types of businesses or retail stores.
They first began with work on the liquor store, Ferncliff Fine Liquors, simply because it needed the least amount of work. After it was opened in the early part of April, they went to work on to the grocery store and the fuel pumps. Both are currently up and running. The last thing was the laundromat. In fact, as Holly spoke with The Mountain-Ear, Cal, was putting the finishing touches on the laundromat which was slated to open that afternoon.
She said that the main hurdle had been that the water tanks had been left with water in them for the fifteen years as the building had stood empty. The water had frozen and thawed over the course of years causing major damage to the water storage tanks. Fortunately, the coin operated machines were in great shape. They had been purchased just prior to the laundromats closing and had hardly been used.
Several sections of the surrounding property are designated of historical importance, which limits their ability to be developed. One is a cabin, and another is a barn.
“It was used as a dairy farm before in the early 1920’s to 1930’s,” stated Holly.
There are two huge rows of milking stalls in the barn, possibly fitting twelve to fifteen cows at one time. Four of the cow’s name signs, that were previously in the old dairy barn, now hang in the store above the dairy case. The Moore’s plan is to put a plaque alongside names of the dairy cows Diana, Annette, Daisy and Charlotte acknowledging their place in the property’s history.
The commercial building is not included as a historical site; therefore, they have more freedom in how they update the building. The Moore’s intend to rent out office spaces for both commercial and retail use.
As to what brought the Moore’s to the Ferncliff area, Holly explained the process. In 2002, when she had first come to this area, she had seen there was something there in Ferncliff. And even as it had sat vacant for the past fifteen years, she would be drawn to the area as she drove by.
“It happened on a lark, completely,” she said, “I have some friends in Arvada, and they just offhandedly mentioned one day, ‘we would love to have a cabin somewhere between here and Allenspark.’” So, she started looking for property for her, and it popped up on her screen that the whole town was for sale. She mentioned that to her friend as a joke, saying, “here, you can buy a whole town instead of just a cabin. Ha ha, isn’t that funny!”
However, two weeks later she decided to go see it. “We came down to look at it with Ken Kvols, the son of the original owner that created this whole thing.” She said, “His father originally owned this piece and bought other properties as they became available, sorta creating a little resort community.” The owner, Ken, now lives in Colorado Springs.
“Everything was in a trust, there were siblings involved and there was nobody there to oversee it, so it was in no shape to rent.”
By the time the deal was complete, Kvols had taken over a year to get the property ready for the sale to go through. Part of the problem, Holly recalls, was that when he had submitted the original plans to Boulder County, the property had to be replotted because the property line went directly through the building on the site.
“We walked away thinking that was a lot to bite off at this point of our lives. They kept in touch and when there was a buyer interested in rehabbing the cabins and getting that going again, he put us together and there we go.”
Her two sons come and help out, and the community really seems excited to have the activity in the area. “People pull up and tell stories of when they were kids at the location, it’s really neat.”
They plan to stock as many groceries as possible, most of which they are able to procure from a restaurant supply company, due to complications with Covid 19 disrupting normal supply chains.
Ferncliff Food & Fuel, Ferncliff Fine Liquors, and Ferncliff Laundromat are located at 1083 Bus. Loop 7, Allenspark, Colorado 80510. Ferncliff Food & Fuel is open Monday through Sunday 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. Ferncliff Fine Liquors is open Monday through Sunday 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. Ferncliff Laundromat is open Monday through Sunday 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and the website for Ferncliff Food and Fuel is http://fernclifffoodandfuel.wixsite.com/specials
(Originally published in the October 1, 2020, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)
