Historic Al's Newsstand closing in Old Town Fort Collins

Pat Ferrier | The Coloradoan

Downtown Fort Collins is losing one of its oldest and most nostalgic businesses in September.

Al's Newsstand, occupying a narrow little space at 177 N. College Ave., plans to close Sept. 15, citing a changing industry, changing city and distribution problems. But manager Pam Orzell is encouraging anyone who wants to remember Al's as it has been since 1947 to come visit by Saturday.

"I want people to remember Al's as it was," said Orzell, who has managed the store for 20 years.

After Saturday, the 2,500 or so magazine titles will be sent back to the distributor and the "store closing" sale will begin.

Al's has been a mainstay of downtown Fort Collins for decades, catering to locals who wanted specialty publications, newspapers or magazines, and to tourists browsing through a variety of knickknacks.

"It is very sad for my staff, myself and the owners," Orzell said. "It’s tragic. I can’t even find the words."

Al's magazine distributor went out of business earlier this year, which dealt the death blow to Al's, Orzell said.

The new distributor was less reliable. Titles weren't getting delivered, and her staff was forced to send customers to Barnes & Noble or Costco for their favorite magazines, Orzell said.

"Unfortunately, magazine distribution is such a big part of this and we really do not have the supply chain to keep it going," she said.

"I was finding magazines at DIA, Barnes & Noble and Costco," she said. "Everywhere but in my store."

A year ago, Orzell was relatively optimistic about the business, despite the changing business landscape, parking issues downtown, and the city's growing geography that provides more business pockets along Harmony Road and College Avenue.

"Now you can stay in your own little pocket and neighborhood and it will have a restaurant (or several), a bar and a grocery store," she said. "You don't need to come to downtown like when I came to Fort Collins in the late '70s. The need to come here for most of your shopping is nonexistent."

Al's began in 1947 as Al's and Bud's, owned by two brothers who eventually both went off to do other things. The business was sold twice more before it got to John and Mary Ann Duffey, the current owners.

But three things remained constant. Al's was always a tobacco shop. While other businesses came and went, Al's remained what it always had been at 177 N. College Ave., Orzell said.

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The store still has its regulars, many of whom have been going there for decades, Orzell said.

"The nostalgia of Al’s keeps people coming back," Orzell said. "We get told that every day. We get told every day how fortunate Fort Collins is to still have a store like Al's in it."

If Orzell had her way, she would never close the store. "I never wanted to be the person who was last" at Al's. "It's such a part of my life, but I recognize that things do change unfortunately and we'll have to change with it."

Orzell, who turns 66 next month, says she will look for another job and will be OK. But she worries about her handful of employees, who have become family.

"They are the face and heart of Al's," she said. "I just know it will be a tough time for all of us. But we will put on our game faces and be able to listen. We hear stories every day: people who would come in with Grandma or Grandpa and get penny candy. Or they'd been coming in here buying popcorn for the last 20 years. Or people who come back to town and are amazed we're still here."

The void in downtown Fort Collins will be great, Orzell said.

"But Fort Collins is changing. I wish we could sustain ourselves, but we cannot," she said.