I’m supposed to be on vacation, but just this one thing ….
Right before I left for Idaho, I was tasked to pick up a case of O’Dell’s IPA. So, I tried this place I’d heard booze was first sold legally in Fort Collins.
I pass it all the time, but never even noticed North College Discount Liquors before. Apparently, that’s not an accident.
Old advertisement found in the back room of No. College Discount Liquors. (Click for readable view)
The old ad in the photo above more or less reads:
If visibility is a key element in the success of a retail business, why did Lloyd and Ellie build a liquor store behind a bowling alley where no one can see it? Go take a look at North College Discount Liquors.
In 1964 when the Bickels built their store, Fort Collins was a “dry town” (i.e., no liquor could be bought within city limits), 814 N. College Ave behind Monte Carlo Lanes was 40 feet outside the city limits of Fort Collins.
There were only seven liquor stores serving the city then.
…Fort Collins went “wet” in 1970. Now there are over 100 liquor licenses within the city limits. But if you want to see a little history in action, go out to 814 N. College Ave ….
The store still has two original coolers.
Original cooler. Somehow, cold drinks are better from behind old heavy slider doors.
I won’t go into the history of our dry town turned brewery tourist mecca because Josh Johnson does a nice job of it here: http://www.rmchronicle.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1879
And so, back to vacation….
I couldn’t place it until I saw the old photo with the roofline. Oh, yeah. I’ve seen that one. From back when liquor stores were EVIL.
Amazing! I’m going to look for it. Josh Johnson’s article brings to life the fact that I live “out West!”
Ladd’s Covered Wagon. 287 between FtC and LaPorte which operated until 1965 (pictured in the post on “11 Lost Fort Collins businesses”) was not too far outside of town… and that’s where the business folks went for a drink… “in front of each other”.
In 1970 Bill Goff the owner of Aggie market split the building in half, one side being a liquor store and the other still containing a smaller version of Aggie market. As the liquor store was producing more profits then the market side, he closed the market side and expanded the liquor store. Shortly after the expansion someone threw a molitoff cocktail through the front window and gutted the building-they never found out who did it-but there were a few suspects-for the sake of possible living relatives I won’t share who they were.
It wasn’t easy to get a packaged liquor license outside of the city limits in fort collins-the Hauf Brau applied in 1958 for a packaged license, and was denied. The case went to the supreme court of Colorado in 1961 and as I count it, it was 5 attorneys against one. Google this case if you want to see. Granted in my opinion they should have lost, due to not having the support of the neighborhood-however the reasons are lame. One if the employees wanted a drink all they had to do was sit at the bar and order one-they had a license to sell drinks. At the time there were no open container laws pertaining to beer (3.2) and weren’t until the late 60′s.
Brau v. Board of County Commissioners of Larimer County
I am totally politically incorrect and am not afraid to ask the obvious-back in the day-how could a person, take communion legally in a “dry town” oh oh I bad.
Hey Captain…
Was Bill Goff related to Harper Goff who helped design Main Street USA in Disneyland (based on FC Old Town)?
Anyone…
What happened to developer Lloyd Goff’s research campus which was to be developed as Airpark village? Same Goff family? The airpark village site is still up, but last status update was 11/08 concerning a right of way for the Greeley water line: http://airparkvillage.com/
The land has been for sale for some time. The developer is unloading all but a small swath of land at the Mulberry/Timberline intersection that he hopes to develop into a hotel/convention center. I highly doubt anything will come out of this….
Thanks, Grow…
I really liked the concept and was “wishing upon a star” so to speak…
Too bad : – (