The newest taxi cab company in town has a prime spot from which to work.

When Levi Moore, owner of Quick Cabs LLC, parks his blue and white cars in front of his shop at 427 S. 18th St., along Fifth Avenue South, he knows people will see him.

“It’s just a good advertising area,” Moore said. “I park the cab out there and everybody sees it in town.”

But the location isn’t just his taxi headquarters. It’s also Moore’s new jewelry and name-brand fashion shop, The Fashion Hut.

Moore said the shop’s focus on men’s jewelry will set it apart, though it has items for both men and women.

“You can’t even go to Des Moines and get nice jewelry for men, so I’ve got that,” he said. “I have watches. I have high-end wallets, I’ve got bags – that’s all Coach in there. I’ve got Versace, Fendi shoes, sunglasses.”

The shop opened this week, and has already seen some good business, Moore said, but he’s working on a grand opening in the near future.

Quick Cabs officially got its permit from Fort Dodge in the last week of July and started operating.

“We started Tuesday night,” he said. “We’ve already done probably $300, $400 this weekend.”

Moore said there’s a demand in town for more cab services.

“I thought it would be good around here,” he said. “I have a lot of my friends who work in the morning go through me, and they said they couldn’t even get a ride in the morning. That’s how busy they are.”

“It’s surprising,” Moore added. “We’re all grinning and laughing at how surprisingly busy it is. We’re getting great feedback.”

Moore has two cars in his fleet, run by five drivers including Moore himself.

The cars are nonsmoking, and are on-call all hours of the day and night, he said. A ride costs $8 one way or $15 for a two-way trip, with one free stop. Additional stops are $2, and there’s $2 per person for extra riders, with kids 12 and under riding free. The service charges 75 cents per mile outside city limits, and offers complimentary water.

This is Moore’s first time opening a store. He’s done auction work in the past, buying and selling cars, and Moore with his father started Moore Bonding over a year ago.

Moore grew up in Fort Dodge and gratuated from Fort Dodge Senior High.

Although there were others in the past, there are only two licensed taxi cab companies in Fort Dodge now, according to Amber Maxson, Fort Dodge account clerk.

To get a permit, a cab company must provide the city with proof of vehicle inspections, current insurance, and get approval of the City Council.