BRIGHTON, Colo. — A near-absence of snow this winter has upended some Denver metro area businesses while giving others an unexpected boost.
Joe Carley is co-owner of Curascapes in Brighton, a commercial landscaping company with a fleet of 20 snow plows. He said that with almost no snow to plow, winter revenue so far is about 25% less than at this point in previous years.
“What that means for our employees is… less hours and less income for them,” Carley said. “Which is a little bit unfortunate, especially after the holidays.”
Carley said crews have shifted to more cleanup work, like leaf removal and tree trimming, and have been using their water truck on plants they maintain to make up for the lack of precipitation.
Meanwhile, golf courses are enjoying heavier traffic. Nolan Dodson, first assistant professional at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie, said the course — which is home to the University of Colorado golf team — has seen rounds surge as would-be skiers opt for the links.
“Our projected rounds in January was 153 for the whole month,” Dodson said. “We’ve already cracked that on Jan. 2.”
The club has an indoor practice facility that has seen barely any use this winter, though that may change soon. There is a chance of snow across the Denver metro later this week, especially on Thursday and Friday.
“We're crossing our fingers,” Carley said. “We're hopeful that we're going to get a bunch of snow.”
