Since 1981 Stephen Rollman has been commuting from his home in Thornton, CO to his shop on Second Avenue in Niwot.
The 69-year-old veteran has built a loyal customer base at Niwot Rental & Feed with his selection of animal feed, ranging from food for chickens to alpacas, dog food and wild bird food. He rents equipment too.
We met with Stephen between customers at his business on a busy Thursday morning.
1. So I can come here to buy my dog and cat food, but also rent a tractor, is that right?
The rental is just a small part of it now; it used to be a much bigger part of the business. It used to be 80 percent, now it's the other way around. We rented construction equipment. Then the construction went away and it never came back. Boulder County is getting built out. So there is less building.
I was with the fire department in Thornton. But I had two back surgeries and they said "find something else," and so I did. I didn't expect to get into the feed business, which is actually more work. It was a feed store before we came here. The building was built in 1974. I added the rentals when I got here, and it worked out. But it's hard work. It's a hard road to go.
For more questions with Stephen Rollman of Niwot Rental & Feed...
