Community concerned about closing of business

NUCLA  — The closing of Nucla’s only grocery store, Nucla Mercantile, has left residents and city officials wondering what problems it might cause the small isolated West End town.

According to public documents, the owners of Nucla Mercantile filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in late February.

The store’s closing several days ago was a topic of discussion at the town’s regular board meeting Wednesday, said Nucla Mayor Roxy Allex.

Allex said the store’s closing is going to affect the town’s budget because it was a major source of sales tax revenue. She also said, however, the town has enough of a “cushion” that it should be all right for 2008.

“We have discussed putting on another person for public works,” she said. “The money was there, but we hadn’t hired anyone yet. It looks like that will be put on hold.”

How the town will deal with its lack of a local grocer is also a concern, Allex said.

There is the Family Market in Naturita, about five miles away, but Allex is worried about the Nucla residents who do not have transportation.

Eva Veitch, executive director of Montrose County Senior Citizens’ Transportation, said they can “absolutely” help.

She said the senior transportation van will leave Nucla around 1 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The fare is $1.50 per trip donation for anyone over 60 and $2 per trip for any aged disabled person.

To contact the senior transportation van, Veitch said to call Brenda at (970) 428-4288.

Allex is hopeful that the town will pull together to help others.

“I know our community, they’ll pitch in a give people rides,” she said.

Others are also trying to help, but without knowing what is happening to the property, located at 460 Main St., they’re unsure about how much they can do.

“We’ve having some real problems because we aren’t sure what is going on,” Don Colcord, who owns the Apothecary Shoppe in Nucla, said.

On Feb. 29, Nucla Mercantile owners Larry and Frances Robuck filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, according to the U.S. Bankruptcy County District of Colorado records. The Robucks could not be reached for comment.

“It’s difficult because we don’t know what to do to jump in and help the community,” Colcord said.

He said that he’s considered buying a certified cooler to store such items as milk, however a cooler that meets the state laws costs around $10,000 to $20,000. He’s worried that if someone is planning to reopen the store or open another grocery store, his efforts will create a great loss for him.

“It’s hard to take that risk,” he said. “The banks won’t tell us anything and we don’t know what to do. It’s a difficult situation. If we could be told someone is looking ... we could get a better picture how to help out. I just want to help the town, but I can’t go broke to help the town and then find out it was worthless.”

Contact Kati O’Hare via e-mail at katio@montrosepress.com