Content area
Full text
The Wal-Marts, the Home Depots and the Barnes and Nobles have one advantage over the small retailer in addition to discounts, plentiful parking and extended hours. Location.
Commuters welcome the ease of stopping at the nearest shopping center to pick up a box of laundry detergent or the latest bestseller.
Small retailers, nestled in urban areas, tourist locales or quaint, historical towns, like Monument, have to fight to retain a revenue-producing position among the big-box stores.
Monument is one of two incorporated cities (Palmer Lake is north of Monument) in the Tri-Lakes region which sits north of Colorado Springs and south of Castle Rock. Because of the proximity to Denver and the Springs, the area has traditionally been defined as a bedroom community, where residents sleep but work and play in the neighboring metropolitan areas.
Without a particular niche, many merchants in downtown Monument have enjoyed success as a result of hard work, tenacity and personalized customer service.
Tommie Plank, the owner of Covered Treasurers Bookstore, which is on the west side of Interstate 25, has operated her small business for 11 years. Facing competition, like the proposed Wal-Mart and the big-box stores coming to the new Jackson Creek Town Center, Plank said her edge will continue to be customer service.
People enjoy...