The cost of commercial rent in Durango may be causing more businesses to offer mobile services.
Over the last decade, the food truck concept has taken over the restaurant industry, especially in Durango. In 2017, 11th Street Station opened, allowing chefs to serve their cuisine directly to the customer.
In 2022, Lola’s Place followed suit on East Second Avenue.
Multiple taco trucks have popped up in north Durango and at the Hermosa Speedway gas station.
“The cost of leasing space that’s commercial and zoned for a restaurant, but not fitted for a restaurant. I mean, that could be hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said Wells Group owner and broker John Wells about the food truck trend.
The average cost of a commercial lease in Durango is around $25 per square foot, according to online commercial marketplace LoopNet.
But now other services are jumping on the mobile business bandwagon in La Plata County in industries where people are not typically used to seeing them.
Ignacio-based Talk to the Paw is one of two mobile pet grooming services in La Plata County competing with the likes of Dapper Dog.
The business started offering its services at the end of July, and business has been pretty steady for owner Wendy Leazer so far.
Leazer grew up in Durango but moved away until returning after the COVID-19 pandemic. She then started attending a dog grooming academy in Farmington.
Once she earned her certifications, she wanted to open a shop in Durango, but cost was a major roadblock.
She found a space in Bodo Industrial Park for $2,500 per month, the best offer she could find. But it would have cost her $30,000 to renovate the building. It was a hard expense to take on for the newly started business.
Understanding she didn’t have any clients yet, Leazer knew she had to find a cheaper way to open. Instead, with the help of her son, she put her design on a black trailer and started traveling around the county.
But for Leazer, it’s not about the profit. It’s about the service.
“We have a lot of elderly people and some can’t come out of the house, or they don’t have access to do that,” she said. “I wanted to do mobile so that I could help some of the elderly and the elderly dogs.”
The mobile service is especially important to pet owners who may have multiple dogs and not the ability to load them up into their car.
She said it’s also a better environment for the dogs.
“I think the dogs are less stressed,” Leazer said.
Some dogs are skittish about riding in the car while others might feel uncomfortable in a brick and mortar location with many other dogs.
The mobile pet grooming concept allows dogs to be handled in the comfort of their own home, something Leazer said is a game-changer. Other aspects of grooming, such as loud noises from the blow dryer, can create discomfort for the dogs.
She said having their owners nearby and keeping them in a setting they’re used to is a much better environment for the animals.
Leazer tries to commit to grooming five dogs a week, but it can be more depending on how many dogs a customer has. She also grooms cats.
Her average rate is about $90 per dog, but depending on the size of the animal, it could be less or more.
Other businesses like Animas Cycles have been in the mobile game for the better half of a decade. Owner Derek Fiorenza managed Durango Cyclery for 16 years starting in 1991.
But after realizing he wasn’t making enough money to live, he decided to work a plethora of different jobs, including being a delivery driver, owning a water transportation business and working as a welder.
Animas Cycles is a mobile bike repair business where Fiorenza will go to customers’ homes and fix their bikes for an hourly rate.
His standard hourly rate is $80 per hour. But it’s still not enough to lease or purchase a brick and mortar location.
“I couldn’t afford to buy a building and quite frankly, felt like the only person that would be making any money in a repair based business would be the landlord.” Fiorenza said.
He said the mobile business method is convenient for customers. He doesn’t post hours on his website. Instead, he tells them to call or email him and arrange a time.
It creates a better work-life balance for the 62-year-old, who does not want to spend 50 hours per week at work.
“If I want to make room for lunch, or go for a bike ride or take extra time off – I don’t have to really justify my actions, I just schedule accordingly, ” he said.
Other mobile businesses such as Rocky Mountain Mobile Sauna have popped up in the last year. Owner Craig Valkenaar wanted to bring the spa experience to La Plata County homes.
The mobile sauna is 11 feet long, and can accommodate six to eight people at a time. The rental cost is $475 per day with a minimum rental period of two days and includes a $400 deposit.
Driving a vehicle hauling heavy equipment around the county causes a lot wear and tear on an automobile.
That’s why Fiorenza is always completing maintenance on his truck.
The bicycle repair service owner checks his vehicle’s fluids and changes any filters every 7,500 miles. He also inspects tires daily.
“Overall, that’s less of a cost than obviously paying a monthly rent,” he said.
However, the mobile business also means less income opportunity, he added.
Brick and mortar shops not only provide services, but also sell retail items.
Bike shops all over town don’t just provide the service. They also sell clothes, bikes and other products.
“They don’t know where I’m located and they’re not going to be coming in looking for gloves, shorts, shoes and new bikes,” Fiorenza said. “While I’ve cut my overhead, I’ve also limited my income potential.”
A lack of an identifiable location is also a struggle for Talk to the Paw, especially when it comes to Leazer’s marketing efforts. A mobile business means there’s no store front for potential customers to drive by on a daily basis, forcing the pet grooming business to rely heavily on word-of-mouth and online marketing efforts.
Leazer uses Nextdoor, Facebook and her website to promote the business. But she also spends time going to veterinarian offices in the county and letting pet owners and the animal doctors know that she’s available.
Both owners agreed insurance is also another obstacle when running a mobile business.
Leazer has to carry animal, business and auto policies, which can stack up to hundreds of dollars per month. As for Fiorenza, the company he purchases bike parts from requires him to carry a hefty liability insurance policy.
He declined to say how much it costs.
Mobile business owners also have to think about the cost of gas. When gas prices are high, it can really cut into profit margins, Fiorenza said.
While the cost of paying rent on a commercial unit is often a deterrent for businesses, it can be just as hard to even find a location, Wells said.
He said there’s very limited downtown commercial space for lease and it's the same every where else in Durango.
Unlike residential, there’s less turnover when it comes to commercial renters. Commercial leases are often longer than residential.
“(Often), that lease has criteria in regards to what can increase and a lot of times lease will state it can increase or decrease (rent) based on consumer price index increase, but also taxes and insurance might increase the occupancy cost,” he said.
While limited availability can cause rent prices to increase, Wells said landlords are not as inclined to raise the prices as one might think.
“What limits increased rates on commercial real estate is you have to realize there’s a certain cost of doing business that an occupant can pay period,” he said.
If rent is too high, the business will either move or go out of business, which is also bad for the landlord. Without a tenant, landlords would lose their revenue stream, Wells said.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
