by Lisa Crockett

Two Castle Pines North (CPN) businesses have called it quits. Handmade Colorado, a showcase for local artists, and Castle Cones, an ice-cream parlor, are no longer in business.

“In a nutshell, there wasn’t enough business to keep us going,” said Chris Ogilve, who owned and operated Handmade Colorado with his wife, Becky. “We tried everything we could to get customers in the door: advertising, sales, coupons, contests; we even ran a television commercial on three different channels. In the end, it wasn’t enough.” The Ogilves plan to continue to run their business via the Internet at www.CraftHousegifts.com.

“We definitely want to say thank you to all the customers who did support us and our artists. We ask them all to please keep supporting local artists and local small businesses,” said Ogilve. Handmade Colorado occupied a large space in the Safeway shopping center.

Castle Cones has also closed its doors and another local business, Plum Creek Catering (PCC), has taken its place. PCC is sub-letting the location from the original leaseholder, so the future of the space - located in the Village Square Shops - is uncertain.

“We just use the kitchen. It’s possible that at some point we may share the location with another business, since we’re not using the front portion of the restaurant at all,” said Allison Prescott, owner of Plum Creek Catering.

“These are two more reminders why it is so important to shop locally and support neighborhood businesses,” said Sharon Kollmar, business liaison for the CPN Master Association.