Sometimes out here in the mountains what is considered convenient is also considered sacred. In cities there are “convenience stores” around nearly every corner, each one carrying milk and eggs, chapstick and Tylenol, a sleeve of Oreos and a soda, all at gouged prices. The “convenience” of these stores is in their sheer abundance on city streets, but is not reflected in their prices or in the quality of goods that they carry.
Mountain living dictates that convenience be represented not just in the store’s location, but in the store’s inventory as well. Residents of the Peak to Peak area require quality, dependable goods at a fair, affordable price, that is preferably supporting locally owned and operated businesses.
In Gilpin County, along Highway 119, Taggert’s has been the epitome of convenience, according to the standards of mountain living, due to it being one of the only bastions of civilization in the 20 miles between Nederland and Black Hawk.
The gas station seems as though it has always existed there, in some form or function, but in recent months Taggert’s was showing signs that it was in need of some help, in terms of the building’s management as well as the business’s. With many of the gas station’s pumps being bagged and taped off, labeled as “out of order,” the crucially located spot was quickly losing its status of being convenient.
As the high costs of real estate continue to rise, and with the maintenance and sometimes restorative efforts required for so many structures out here in the mountains, sometimes certain buildings or land, certain entities known to the community can sit empty for years, waiting for someone with the means to save it.
Often there’s a fear and inherent distrust in those who can actually afford the undertaking of saving these community institutions, because not often do the goals and objectives of the community match those with that kind of equity. But every once and a while a unicorn does appear, as is the case with Taggert’s and its new owner, Hawk GS LLC.
“My boss is a very thoughtful, conscientious person,” Maddi Arrowood, General Manager of the new Taggert’s, which will now be named Hi Market Black Hawk, described to The Mountain-Ear how she had been working on refurbishing the basement at 14936 Highway 119, so that one of their employees has a place to live.
“We were up there trying to figure out how to build it out for the employee and he could see that I loved it in the mountains, and he said, ‘why don’t you furnish one of the rooms for yourself?’ and he said I could make it whatever I wanted and come up here on one of my work-from-home days or use it on the weekends.”
The aim of for Taggert’s becoming part of the “Hi Market” brand isn’t to envelope the friendly neighborhood store in a cold, gray corporate blanket, but is rather to nourish and improve on what makes these stores, that not just tourists visit but that residents shop at every day, so special. Local, friendly service from those knowledgeable of the area around them, providing locally sourced goods as well as manufactured guilty pleasures.
“We really want to focus more on the local community. A lot of people stop in and tell us that it’s basically their one-stop shop, that it kind of needs to be,” Maddi explained how things at Hi Market Black Hawk will look a little different but hopefully feel the same.
“So upstairs is getting the facelift; it desperately needs to be sanded, stained, and sealed…the wood is begging for it! Outside is going to be brightened up a little bit, it’ll be a lighter color.”
“We’ve already put a ton of money into repairing the pumps; they’ve been worked on extensively in the last few weeks as a show of good faith. And we’re keeping the pre-existing staff; they’re just amazing.”
“Karen and Eddie have helped me out quite a bit any time I’ve gone up when the store was still open,” Maddi continued. “They had answers to all my questions, they had a lot of great ideas, and they introduced me to a bunch of people. We’re so thankful to be keeping them.”
In addition to creating space for local artisans to supply and sell their goods, Maddi and the Hi Market Black Hawk team hope to offer some homestyle cooking with hot soups and chili, while continuing to maintain an impeccable gas station and convenience store.
“When you first walk in you’re going to see the traditional gas station/convenience store aspect of it, candy bars, sodas, all that sort of stuff, but along that wall we want to have big retail display tables and towers and have a lot of local sellers each with a section that they maintain and keep stocked.”
“We want to commit a huge portion of the store to more of a grocery aspect and we’ve been in talks with Dan Ball at the B&F and he’s happy to help us get some supplies to have a legitimate grocery section.”
“At the end of that building we’re making sure that we have a soup and chili bar and that there’s hot food available, like specialized sandwiches and burritos,” Maddi said. “And then we’re also building out a hunting, camping, biking, fishing…a general outdoors section, so anything that you need that you might’ve forgotten or broken you can just hop in and grab it!”
Hi Market Black Hawk will be the tenth store in the Hi Market family, which Maddi calls a “mom and pop chain” and describes them as a corporation that maintains the ability to not just understand the local community around their stores but to actually care about it. Maddi spoke of how working for Hawk GS LLC is so different from her experience in other retail industries.
“It’s a huge change from what I’m used to, especially in the cannabis industry where they say ‘there’s never enough money, there’s never enough revenue,’” Maddi detailed, “I started in the cannabis industry for about a decade; for entry-level positions it’s a pretty cool industry to work in, but once you get higher up it gets a little more volatile, with really high stress.”
“I got out of the industry a few years ago, and I wanted the most boring 9 to 5 job I could think of, so I got into insurance and I was really good at it but I just hated it. So I started applying for jobs left and right and I just happened to find this opportunity.”
“It’s awesome to work for someone who is a humanitarian, who is very thoughtful and intentional, and who really wants to make a positive change, community by community.”
As Maddi and crew work to complete the basement remodel to include an apartment to be used specifically for staff, as well as completes the painting and touch ups that the building requires, a party is being planned for the Grand Reopening, tentatively planned for the weekend of July 1 and 2.
“I was there all morning painting today!” Maddi said excitedly. “We can’t get it done fast enough. I’ve been handling the acquisition so I’m the one who digs in and gets all the certifications and licensings, and every stone I overturn there’s another mess to be dealt with. But I finally have our acquisition date.”
“We’re really shooting to open by the 4th of July; we’d love to do it sooner but it’s a matter of all the last-minute things that you can’t do until the paperwork is signed. Then it’s 90 miles per hour, everybody, everywhere doing all the things at once; so there’s a lot that I’m sitting on, waiting for that green light.”
“We really want to do a big grand opening party. It will be on a weekend starting early afternoon and going until probably 7 or 8 at night. We want to have food trucks, live music, stuff for the kids, and we have plenty of room to do it!”
“I’m probably not going to sleep for the next three weeks, but I love this sort of thing, I thrive in chaos especially if I’m the one who gets to organize it all. We’ve got all our players, we’ve got all our pieces, and we’ve got a game plan; it should go off without a hitch.”
With the day of the grand reopening quickly approaching, Maddi and the Hi Market Black Hawk team want to integrate into the community as best they can, and they desire to hear feedback and input from the local community, especially pertaining to what products residents would like to see available and what hot foods should be served.
Hi Market Black Hawk is located at 14936 Highway 119, Black Hawk. Contact hello@himarketstores.com and let this local store know how it can best be of convenience to you.
