{"id":1314210,"date":"2019-09-02T19:30:11","date_gmt":"2019-09-03T01:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=987014"},"modified":"2019-09-02T19:30:11","modified_gmt":"2019-09-03T01:30:11","slug":"glenwood-retail-sales-stay-strong-through-mid-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/glenwood-retail-sales-stay-strong-through-mid-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Glenwood retail sales stay strong through mid-year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Big John’s Ace Hardware Store employee Steve Harding helps a customer check out at the store in South Glenwood on Thursday afternoon.<\/strong>
Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

A cold, snowy winter helped make for some hot sales returns through early summer, according to one Glenwood Springs business owner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re having the best year we\u2019ve ever had by a pretty nice margin, for sure,\u201d said John Lindsey, owner of Big John\u2019s Ace Hardware in south Glenwood.<\/p>\n

He can trace that back to the second month of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast February (2018), we sold eight 40-pound bags of ice melt,\u201d Lindsey said of the rather mild winter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, I sold 98 in a day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Lindsey was one beneficiary of a 7.75% increase in the building materials and supplies category that\u2019s reflected in the city of Glenwood Springs mid-year sales tax report that was released last week.<\/p>\n

That category also includes the major home improvement store in Glenwood, Lowe\u2019s, which serves as one of the main anchors at the Glenwood Meadows shopping center.<\/p>\n

Overall, through June, city sales taxes were up 4.68% year over year compared to the first six months of 2018, according to the report.<\/p>\n

Based on the city\u2019s general sales tax rate of 3.7%, the nearly $8.9 million in sales taxes generated equates to $239.7 million in taxable sales within Glenwood Springs city limits through the first six months of 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels really positive so far,\u201d said Lindsey, adding that business seems to be up citywide despite disruptions associated with the ongoing construction projects, including the 27th Street Bridge replacement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think everybody is wanting the construction to be over, but we all understand what it\u2019s about,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While sales were down 2% through June for general merchandise stores \u2014 the largest retail sector for Glenwood that includes national retailers such as Target and Walmart \u2014 most other categories were up, according to the mid-year report.<\/p>\n

Among them:<\/p>\n