Longmont businesses swap storefronts downtown

Bricks Retail and Visit Longmont are trading places in downtown Longmont.

The marketplace hub, which started as a pop-up location at the front of the Longmont Downtown Development Association’s office at 320 Main Street, has found a permanent home for itself just around the corner at 512 4th Ave. The current tenant, Visit Longmont, will take Bricks Retails’ place in the LDDA office.

Bricks owner Jennifer Ferguson, who also owns the local tour bus WonderTours, was optimistic about the future of her companies. 

“WonderTours started as Discover Longmont, because I wanted people to discover new local favorites,” Ferguson said. “So now people can discover new local places, companies and products in one place, and we can connect brands with an audience that hasn’t found them yet.”

The move is only an opportunity for growth, to bring in new local brands to the marketplace. The new location will have nearly double the available retail space, allowing Ferguson and the companies she works with more display space and opportunities for new vendors to join up.

“Bricks started as this idea we tested and there is a lot of demand for local products,” Ferguson said. “So now the next phase is growth and building out bigger.”

Sara Geerdes, owner of Spruced Hen Candle Co., sells her candles in Bricks for the past few months now, but said the experience has been welcoming.

“Jennifer really helps get your products out there, especially when it’s challenging as a new business owner,” Geerdes said. “I was thrilled to get my candles and wax melts into the store. It’s given me the opportunity to share with the public something I’m very proud of.”

The new space will also open up opportunities for Branded Beet, Bricks’ social media managers. Sharing the space, the social media management and photography firm will have better connections with their clients and expand their brand photography offerings for new clientele. Branded Beet co-owners Nikki Knez and Jennifer Bridge were also excited to add in-person educational opportunities for local businesses that want a better social media presence.

“Bricks Retail is a perfect company for Branded Beet to share a space with,” Bridge said. “We have an aligned vision and collective mission to grow the local support network for entrepreneurs and small business owners in our community.”

For Ferguson, it helps her consolidate WonderTours and Bricks Retail into one location. Ferguson has already put the WonderTours bus to work with the retail marketplace, using it to set up pop-ups at the Niwot Sidewalk Sale along with other events and festivals to bring local favorites to new people. 

“It’s exciting to give WonderTours a home base to launch tours from,” Ferguson said. “It’s a nice match with helping people discover all local things.”

Ferguson has plans for adding walking tours, as well as bringing more Bricks pop-ups to events in the county with the bus. Ferguson was also excited about new offerings and vendors, including what she calls “Build-A-Brick,” custom gift boxes from Longmont and Colorado products.

“There are a lot of stores that have a local section for retail products, but this is an entire store dedicated to local makers,” Ferguson said. “We want people to come in and put together the perfect gift for celebrations, or when they want to send a piece of Colorado to friends and family out of state.”

Bricks will stay open in the current location through Aug. 14. The grand opening of the new location will be Aug. 27 to coincide with the downtown concert featuring the Long Run Eagles Tribute Band.

Update/Correction: Typography and mispelling corrections