Colorado Coffee Company

Creating Community Through Coffee 

Expanding a business during the difficulties that 2020 brought may seem impossible, but Colorado Coffee Company has managed to do that and more. The business has been a Northern Colorado staple for about 30 years, originally starting in the Foothills Mall in Fort Collins, but current owner Stacy Kliner has built a community around the established brand in the last five years as they’ve refocused in Loveland. 

It was poised to be a great year for the business, with an established location at Centerrastandout coffee roaster, award winning cinnamon rolls and a new location opening in downtown Loveland’s Foundry plaza. Throughout owning her first business, Coffee Klatch, the process of purchasing Colorado Coffee Company in 2015, and opening their two Loveland locations, Stacy has worked with the SBDC  and LBDC for about eight yearsI have always utilized the SBDC and the LBDC. Whenever I get stuck in a rut, I always realize that there’s this amazing tool that’s available to us and we take advantage of it… to get a jumpstart or new ideas. It’s been a gamechanger for me and all of our business ideas. As with most business owners, the year turned out to be quite different than planned. 

One thing Stacy knew before opening their new location at the Foundry was they wanted to create a community around the coffee shop, a mission which has shined through despite the challenges of the pandemic. In early 2020, Stacy gave birth to a new baby, shortly before the new location was slated to open in conjunction with the Loveland Sweetheart Festival. Come March, shutdowns started affecting local businesses and their brand-new location shut down in compliance with local health guidelines, compounded by their Centerra location being closed due to road construction. While at home with her family and two closed businesses, Stacy knew she wanted to support others. She put a call out on her social media, wanting to donate coffee and cinnamon rolls to new moms who were likely alone in the hospital, giving birth during a pandemic. The response was overwhelming and she was able to donate to new moms in Loveland, Fort Collins, and Greeley hospitals, eventually running out of mothers to donate to but the outpouring of support continuedThis quickly grew into supporting the COVID affected ICU nursing staff, hospital support staff like janitors, essential grocery workers, and even local law enforcement. “People locally were looking for ways to help and our place has been a vessel for people to give.” 

On top of providing thousands of cups of coffee and breakfasts to the people who kept our community running during the pandemic, the year was not even half over. Fires hit the Rocky Mountains hard in the summer of 2020, forcing many to evacuate their homes and bringing fire fighting support from all over the country to Loveland as a staging ground. We were driving by the hotel near our shop one morning and realized everyone coming in and out was affected by the fire. There were 120 people that were stranded at our doorstep and basically they didn’t know if they were going to lose everything, so we opened our doors and said we’ll provide you a free meal every day you’re here.” Over the summer they provided hundreds of meals to affected individuals and the community rallied around the business, with customers often giving money above and beyond the cost of the cup of coffee to help. 

Colorado Coffee Company is much more than just your local coffee shop. They continue to listen to the community and provide people the opportunity to give back. Throughout winter 2020 they’ve supported House of Neighborly Service with a toy drive and tree auction, are collecting socks and crossword puzzles for a local nursing home, and are happy to be a spot for coffee, caring and community, even through another round of shutdowns. Their example has even been an inspiration to their business neighbors, many of whom stepped up to give back as well. “It was awesome how it grew and people just hopped on board. A lot of people have been positively impacted this year.  

The Cooking Studio

Fifteen years ago, Trish O’Neill took her first cooking class and she was hooked! She began cooking inspired meals from scratch and it soon became her passion. Over the next 15 years she traveled for her career, all the while taking cooking classes as a hobby while on her travels. This cultivated the idea that would eventually bring Trish and her talent to Fort Collins to open The Cooking Studio, a place for amateur cooks,

Read More »
The Fox and the Crow

What do cheese and art have in common? Both excite the pallet and have rich stories, according to The Fox and the Crow owner Tina Mooney, a cheesemonger and art history major. The Fox and the Crow brings artisan cheeses and meats to mid-town Fort Collins. They understand that the world of artisan cheese can be intimidating and have crafted their shop to welcome people who may stumble in serendipitously. Little signs like: “We cut

Read More »
CF&G Public Market & Coffeehouse

CF&G Public Market & Coffeehouse, located inside the historic Colorado Feed & Grain landmark in the heart of Timnath, is owned and operated by Becca Bay.   The building has a long history that begins with its original construction in 1920. You can read all about it on the café table tops! Becca’s Public Market-style layout includes a café, artisan goods, and a Farmer’s Market that runs May through October as well an event venue.   Becca

Read More »
The Magic Bus Tours

Fort Collins has an amazing amount of things to see and do. No business, however, had offered a service as fun and forward thinking as Magic Bus Tours to create a unique and educational experience around the local activities. “When I first started visiting Fort Collins, I loved learning about the local history, lifestyles and culture, but I couldn’t find another bus-tour service in town,” said Michael Murphy, founder and visionary behind Magic Bus Tours.

Read More »
Spidertrax Off-Road

Thom Kingston helped start Loveland-based Spidertrax Off-Road not in a garage like some startups but in a fully equipped shop at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. In 1999, Kingston and his former partner and co-founder, Eddie Casanueva, initially snuck into the school after-hours to develop and manufacture parts for the off-road industry until they got official approval and could work during the daytime. “We were manufacturing all of our parts, using the tools of

Read More »
Little Bird Bakeshop

The Little Bird Bakeshop opened its doors on December 14, 2010 and since then has developed a loyal following. On any given morning, a passerby wandering through Old Town Square in Fort Collins can peer through the bakeshop’s inviting façade and watch customers sipping coffee and enjoying delicious chocolate croissants, chocolate walnut cookies, and other pastries. With its friendly atmosphere and fresh, creative confections, it will take only a glance before you walk through the

Read More »
Skip to content