GOLDEN, Colo. — Downtown Golden will soon lose some of its oldest small businesses. The shops say they are being pushed out for new development and are questioning the change coming to the city.
“We lost the lease, and the rent is going to be quadrupled,” Rocking Horse Antique Shop manager Lynn Highland said.
“The city does not care about keeping Golden, small-town Golden,” said Shawna Lutz, owner of the Clear Creek Flower Company.
The flower shop and antique shop have both called the heart of the city on Washington Avenue home for more than 30 years and now must find new homes.
Lutz said Scott Crosbie Real Estate Group, the property management firm running the building for the new owners, told the two businesses that they have until June to leave. They’re concerned about how developers are changing Golden and if too many restaurants and bars are coming in and forcing out small businesses.
“My concern for Golden proper are the amount of liquor licenses that are given out,” Lutz said.
Highland said the city is being “turned into Aspen and Boulder.”
The City of Golden declined Denver7’s request for an on-camera interview. In a statement, a city spokeswoman said the city, “deeply values the small businesses in our community" and “does not get involved with negotiations or other matters between private businesses and landlords.”
“Golden needs to call the City Council and tell them what they want for their community,” Lutz said.
Denver7 reached out to the Scott Crosbie Real Estate Group, which is the property management company the businesses said is pushing them out, but they did not return our call.
“This store is going to be sorely missed,” Highland said. “It’s one of a kind.”
For the small mom-and-pop shops, they said they’re left with nothing more than an uncertain future.
“We are losing our identity as a small, family friendly town,” Lutz said.