Golden Triangle Neighborhood Assoc.

JO GARRETT'S SIR SPEEDY CELEBRATES 30 YEARS

Feb 16, 2000

Looking back to July 30, 1970, Jo and don Garrett bought a Sir Speedy franchise at 11th and Lincoln. The location amounted to a thousand square feet and it was just large enough to include a built-in front counter. Today the company, which now owns 6.500 square feet at that corner, is a small commercial printer with services such as 4-color printing, high speed copying, graphic design, bindery, and digital file transfer.

In 1970 the Garretts decided that the additional income from this new business would be necessary to send their five children to college. That goal and much more has been achieved under Mr. Garrett's leadership. Daughters Liz Adams and Cindy Malone are now president and vice-president respectively of the company.

As Sir Speedy grew and gradually took over more leased space, they wanted to buy the property but their landlord, a professional gambler, had no interest in selling. Then one day he called from Las Vegas saying he would sell the property and needed the money NOW.

Mrs. Garrett recalls many changes in the neighborhood since 1970. The Denver Buffalo Company, across 11th Avenue from her shop, was a gas station and auto repair. The Chancery office building was an old apartment building and a vacant lot.

When Liz Adams joined the business in 1977 she recalls a neighborhood atmosphere with many row houses still along Lincoln where parking lots are found today. A store front, now empty at 11th and Broadway on the southeast corner, was a drug store with a lunch counter. Rental rooms on the second floor of the building now occupied by Vinyl, the bar at 1082 Broadway, were home to several mentally ill people during this time when state mental institutions were closing. Liz fondly recalls two of those people who frequently stopped in the shop to chat with her.

The Garrett's now run a thriving business with 14 employees and the highest gross sales of any Sir Speedy in Colorado. The franchise and Mrs. Garrett have won many awards over the years for sales, business ethics, and community involvement. The location at 11th and Lincoln has proven to be excellent for their business, so we wish Jo Garrett another successful 30 years in the Golden Triangle.