{"id":2452129,"date":"2019-12-11T22:15:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T05:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=317478"},"modified":"2019-12-12T08:25:47","modified_gmt":"2019-12-12T15:25:47","slug":"50-years-of-pitkin-county-dry-goods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/50-years-of-pitkin-county-dry-goods\/","title":{"rendered":"50 years of Pitkin County Dry Goods"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.125\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-317478-641\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/drygoods-atd-121219-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/drygoods-atd-121219-1-1024x719.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Owner of Pitkin County Dry Goods David Fleischer stands in his store on Tuesday, December 10, 2019. The Aspen retailer is turning 50. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10.519417475728\">\n<p><strong>Owner of Pitkin County Dry Goods David Fleischer stands in his store on Tuesday, December 10, 2019. The Aspen retailer is turning 50. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<br \/><a class=\"buy-link\" href=\"http:\/\/aspentimes.mycapture.com\/mycapture\/remoteimage.asp?backtext=Return+to+AspenTimes.com&amp;backurl=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/50-years-of-pitkin-county-dry-goods\/&amp;image=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/drygoods-atd-121219-1-1024x719.jpg&amp;notes=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/drygoods-atd-121219-1-1024x719.jpg\"><i class=\"fas fa-shopping-cart\"><\/i> Buy Photo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/drygoods-atd-121219-1-1024x719.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Owner of Pitkin County Dry Goods David Fleischer stands in his store on Tuesday, December 10, 2019. The Aspen retailer is turning 50. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/drygoods-atd-121219-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/drygoods-atd-121219-1-1-1024x712.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy photo | The employees of Pitkin County Dry Goods show off their tie-dyes during a recent get together.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.385593220339\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7.3898305084746\">\n<p><strong>The employees of Pitkin County Dry Goods show off their tie-dyes during a recent get together.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy photo<br \/><a class=\"buy-link\" href=\"http:\/\/aspentimes.mycapture.com\/mycapture\/remoteimage.asp?backtext=Return+to+AspenTimes.com&amp;backurl=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/50-years-of-pitkin-county-dry-goods\/&amp;image=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/drygoods-atd-121219-1-1-1024x712.jpg&amp;notes=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/drygoods-atd-121219-1-1-1024x712.jpg\"><i class=\"fas fa-shopping-cart\"><\/i> Buy Photo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/12\/drygoods-atd-121219-1-1-1024x712.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"The employees of Pitkin County Dry Goods show off their tie-dyes during a recent get together.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/50-years-of-pitkin-county-dry-goods\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/50-years-of-pitkin-county-dry-goods\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>David Fleischer has some sage advice for young entrepreneurs eyeing Aspen for a future in retail.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHave a good backing,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd you have to be onsite as a manager to do it well, particularly in a store like this. And have passion for what you\u2019re doing. You can\u2019t be just doing it for the money, or you\u2019re never going to do that well with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> On Friday, Fleischer\u2019s Pitkin County Dry Goods celebrates its 50-year anniversary of selling fashionable men and women\u2019s clothing in Aspen, its most recent location at 520 E. Cooper Ave. It\u2019s been there since 1992.<\/p>\n<p>Customers will be treated to beverages and appetizers with 10% of their purchase amounts benefiting The Buddy Program, an Aspen nonprofit organization that links young Roaring Fork Valley residents with older, mentor-like figures.<\/p>\n<p>Customers also will receive with their purchases a complimentary tie-dye shirt, a nod to 1969, the year the Woodstock music festival was staged, and also the year Pitkin County Dry Goods debuted on the 600 block of East Hyman Avenue.<\/p>\n<p>It was actually July 4, 1969, when Fleischer\u2019s brother, Dan, with two partners, opened the shop because \u201che had this idea that Aspen needed a clothing store,\u201d David recalled.<\/p>\n<p> Other than the Bill Bullock\u2019s, a seller of such Western wear as Levi\u2019s blue jeans and cowboy hats, Aspen didn\u2019t have much of a clothing-store scene, Dan relayed to his brother. Dan\u2019s insight was based on his time as a commercial real estate agent in Aspen, recalled David, who arrived to Aspen by way of San Francisco in August 1970.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe store was almost bankrupt and, long story short, I took it over almost six months later,\u201d David said. \u201cI fell in love with the business. I didn\u2019t know that\u2019s what I wanted to do; I had taken a leave of absence from law school and fell in love with it, and said, \u2018Give me five years and I\u2019ll make it work if we can keep it open.\u2019 And that\u2019s what I did.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt took me a long time, because I didn\u2019t know anything about the business.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> He had an affinity, however, for clothing and the town of Aspen, eventually building Pitkin County Dry Goods into a small yet reputable multi-brand specialty store.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always loved clothes,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd even when I was living in the Bay Area, I would call and give them (at Pitkin County Dry Goods) advice on different lines to buy, but even then I had no idea about being in business.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When the store first opened, bell-bottom jeans were all the rage, T-shirts would become fashionable in the \u201970s, and references to Amazon were about the rainforest and river, not the online retailer behemoth.<\/p>\n<p>Yet while locally owned brick-and-mortar businesses have had a bevy of challenges in Aspen over the years \u2014 recessions, bad snow seasons, competition from deep-pocketed chain retailers, escalating rents and internet consumerism \u2014 Pitkin County Dry Goods has managed to stay afloat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m proud of the fact that we\u2019re certainly one of the oldest businesses in town under the same ownership,\u201d Fleischer said.<\/p>\n<p>He added that \u201cwe\u2019re certainly survivors. Each successive challenge and near disaster, from no-snow years to all the recessions we went through, I suppose I learned how to survive them and get through them. I hate to be glib, but the last recession, I didn\u2019t get too stressed out about it. I knew what to do and did it, so it went to automatic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fleischer would meet his future wife, Aspen native Nora Berko, at the store in 1971. With a full-time staff of about 25 employees, Pitkin County Dry Goods assures them steady employment by staying open year-round. They also receive health insurance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhatever they commit to us, we commit to them year-round,\u201d Fleischer said, adding it is becoming increasingly difficult to hire and retain dependable employees.<\/p>\n<p>Nathan Harris, who has been the men\u2019s buyer and merchandiser for the store for six years, said it\u2019s not just about getting a warm body on the payroll. Workers who believe in the store\u2019s concept are more likely to succeed, stick around and become part of the store\u2019s community-like vibe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGetting people to join your team and be part of that family atmosphere, I think it\u2019s incredibly difficult in this resort town, not only because of where it is but it\u2019s no secret it\u2019s expensive to live here, it\u2019s expensive to eat here, it\u2019s expensive to drink here,\u201d Harris said. \u201cEverything associated with the lifestyle here is very expensive, so it takes a lot of time to find passionate, dedicated people who see the benefits of Aspen outside of just a season or two.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The store\u2019s inventory has changed not only with the times over the years, but also with Aspen\u2019s changing retail landscape, Fleischer said, estimating the clientele is a combination of 70% visitors and Aspen second-home owners, and about 30% local patrons.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFashion continues to evolve, and we evolve with it,\u201d he said. \u201cWe always felt we were selling somewhat wearable clothes for a mountain ski town. And we certainly have evolved with the needs of the clientele, and in the last 15 to 20 years we\u2019ve probably had little bit more of a balance with what I consider those wearable clothes plus wearable luxury, based on the demands of our clientele.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fleischer is now 74. He and his wife have two grown children who aren\u2019t part of the store\u2019s future plans, which are another story for another time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t have any particular plans to close it or anything like that,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cI\u2019ve been very fortunate. Some of it\u2019s luck; it really is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"mailto:rcarroll@aspentimes.com\">rcarroll@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/50-years-of-pitkin-county-dry-goods\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Owner of Pitkin County Dry Goods David Fleischer stands in his store on Tuesday, December 10, 2019. The Aspen retailer is turning 50. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times Buy Photo The employees of Pitkin County Dry Goods show off their tie-dyes during a recent get together.Courtesy photo Buy Photo Show CaptionsHide Captions David [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2452129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-19 02:40:46","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2452129"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2452146,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452129\/revisions\/2452146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2452129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2452129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2452129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}