Nostalgia, loyalty keeps Jones Drug open on the Hill

BOULDER – “Sometimes things are better repaired than replaced,” Louie Moschetti said recently. He’s proven he’s willing to work and take the risks to repair, not replace, a University Hill longtime business.

Moschetti, a former employee of Boulder’s Jones Drug and Camera on the Hill, a store that just a few months ago looked like it was headed for replacement, is now the store’s president.

In April, Tito Roberts, the store’s owner and an employee since 1960, announced the store would close when the lease ran out on June 1.
The reason? Decreasing foot traffic made it nearly impossible to pay the rent on the 2,500-square-foot store.

Reportedly at its peak, the store enjoyed up to 1,600 customers a day, but by last spring that number had dwindled to fewer than 800.

But that wasn’t going to stop Moschetti from keeping the doors open. His history with the store was just too long. He’d worked there since the early 1970s.

Originally Moschetti worked for owner Dick Jones, but when he died, Moschetti worked for his families who took over the store, Chuck and Candy McKinley and Rick and Colleen Jones.

It was during that period he moved from basic duties into management, which he continued to do for the last owner, Roberts.

“I’ve seen many changes over the last 35 years,” Moschetti says. “Stores and people both coming and going.”

He’s always referred to the Jones store as “the crossroads of the world.”

“One minute you’ll have a Nobel Prize winner and the next minute you’ll have an actor or actress, a musician or just a common person passing through town to exchange conversation with,” he says.

“I feel there is a basic need for the store in this area. It is a good service to the surrounding community,” he says.

Moschetti was only able to take over the store with the help of his brother, Roxy Moschetti, who serves as a partner in the venture.

Roxy also has a long history of business management in Boulder. He worked at Boulder Lumber for over 40 years.

“We had numerous concerned customers saddened by the fact that a long-standing business like Jones was going to close,” Moschetti says. “I have always tried to list the customers and their needs to determine the variety of mix of product that we carry. It also was a challenge to see if we could take a store and give new life to it.”

The new improved and renamed Jones General Store and Camera officially opened in July. Moschetti says the overall look and feel of the store is more open and inviting for customers.
“Summer months are usually slow, so this gave us time to make the improvements we needed for the new store,” Moschetti says. “At the start business was slow, but now that the students are back, the store seems to be running at full speed ahead.”

The store has expanded into foods as well as the traditional over-the-counter drugs, hardware, candy, natural-food snacks, drinks, electrical supplies, general merchandise, medicine, vitamins, school supplies, first-aid and tobacco products.

“We’ve had an overwhelming positive response from our returning customers as well as new customers about the store because of the improvements we’ve made to it,” Moschetti says. “We’ve completely remodeled, painted, carpeted and gave a total face-lift to the store, which is very inviting to customers.”

When asked if Jones lost business as a result of the digital photography revolution, Moschetti says he doesn’t think so, and he believes the business is prepared for all kinds of photography customers.

“We continue to have a professionally staffed camera department that’s very knowledgeable about photography and about the needs of traditional and digital photography,” he says.

Moschetti has mixed feelings about redevelopment on the Hill near the University of Colorado campus.

“Of course you want to see improvements made to attract shoppers who do not traditionally shop on the Hill,” he says. “But, at the same time, you want to keep the unique character and flavor of the Hill. You don’t want to turn it into a shopping mall.”

He says he’d like to see a variety of shops that offer “different services and products without totally destroying” the area’s character.

“Roxy and I look forward to the challenges ahead of serving the neighborhood and the students,” he says. “We only hope that other businesses see the potential that is available on the Hill and fill the vacant spaces … to create a good retail community to make the entire area a success.”

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