We remember when Broadway was a dirt road and the kids played in the fields that are now the new, burgeoning North Boulder neighborhoods. While the store has been in our family for nearly 40 years, North Boulder Liquor has been serving wine, beer and spirits to Boulder County neighbors since 1939.
Originally founded by Dick Jones, the store hasn’t moved locations for all these years. Under the new brick façade, the original wooden structure Jones built still stands. We often wonder what if these walls could talk?
Dubbed as “a Coloradan of rugged mining stock,” the second owner of North Boulder Liquor was Bauldie Moschetti who bought the business in 1942. Ownership changed hands only once more in 1959 when Bill Miller became the owner. Since then, the Conis family has been committed to holding up a history of personal service and long-standing value. We often say we’ve got 40 years of deals and experience for our Boulder customers.
Through all the history and change, what’s remained consistent all these years is the close-knit neighborhood connection.
In a town bloated with rapid new growth and inundated with national chain stores, North Boulder Liquor is an oasis of old-style neighborhood character. Though the modern, brick building and the shopping center it occupies are products of the area’s recent building boom, the store’s exterior belies its 60 years of rich history.
The store originator, Dick Jones, opened North Boulder Liquor in 1939, selling it three years later to Baldie Maschetti, a Coloradan of rugged mining stock. Another change of ownership occurred in 1959 when Maschetti sold the business to Bill Miller. Current owners Pete and Lynda Conis purchased the business from Miller in 1972. Today they run the store with the help of their daughter, Stephana. Though each successive owner has updated the building to meet the area’s changing needs, North Boulder Liquor has not moved from its original site. The brick exterior we see today actually encases the wooden structure first built by Jones in 1939.
North Boulder’s residential settlement dates back to the years following World War II, when a patriotic developer procured large tracts of land in the area with the goal of selling them at low cost to returning soldiers. The close-knit neighborhood bond which characterized the area in its early years has remained North Boulder’s defining quality for decades. In the 1960’s, the north end of town actually sought to incorporate as a separate community, distinct from the city of Boulder. Though the neighborhood lost to the city in the Colorado Supreme Court, North Boulderites even today take pride in the area’s distinctive identity.
Like the rest of the city, North Boulder has seen explosive growth in recent decades. Thanks to business owners like Pete and Lynda Conis, however, the area has preserved a neighborhood character all its own, even through this period of dramatic change. When the Conis family took over North Boulder Liquor in the early 70s, they were struck by the fact that the neighborhood’s residential growth was rapidly outstripping its available commercial services. The family built North Boulder Market, a commercial complex which includes a locally owned and operated grocery store and several other Boulder businesses, as well as North Boulder Liquor.
Like North Boulder itself, North Boulder Liquor combines the character and charm of an old-time neighborhood with the style and sophistication of a modern community. The store boasts one of the area’s largest selection of California wines, as well as a vast port collection. With over 90 single-malt scotches in stock, North Boulder Liquor is Colorado’s leading single-malt scotch retailer. Since Colorado produces more beer than any other state in the nation, no Boulder liquor store would be complete without an expansive inventory of domestic and imported beers. The Conis family is particularly proud to promote beers from the area’s many renowned microbreweries.
Patrons of North Boulder Liquor will be impresses not only by the store’s outstanding selection of quality products, but also by the courtesy and personal attention which the Conis family shows each customer. For North Boulder residents, the store is a neighborhood gem. For the rest of the city, it is destination well worth the short drive up Broadway.
