Back To Previous PageWelcome to Fort Collins Community Connections. This will be a recurring blog from Visit Fort Collins where we introduce you to incredible local businesses and their owners and share their connection to Fort Collins. This is a chance to get to know these hardworking, interesting and unique local business owners a little more behind the scenes. This week we talked to Sean Godbey, owner of the Old Town Spice Shop.
What makes Old Town Spice Shop unique?
Our business is unique because we make almost everything in our shop. Because we process and package our product ourselves the quality is higher than any grocery store. We are constantly bringing out new products to be able to stretch people’s imagination on what they can do with their food and how to enjoy their morning cup of tea or coffee.
What is the story behind how Old Town Spice Shop started ?
Our business was started in 2010 with the hope to bring high quality spices to Northern Colorado. At that time there weren't any other stores like ours. As we have grown over the years, we have introduced new products that now are common household seasonings throughout Fort Collins. We have always enjoyed the ability for like-minded businesses to work together, so we helped start the Downtown Foodie Walk to bring more exposure to the budding specialty food industry in Fort Collins. (The Fort Collins Downtown Foodie Walk is a self-guided walk that occurs each month and features new presentations, tasting opportunities, and themes.)
What do you love about Fort Collins?
The culture in Fort Collins is unlike anywhere else. There is a strong appreciation for quality throughout Fort Collins. Everything from how the parks are kept to the quality of food you can get and the enjoyment of good beer on a sunny day.
What are some of your favorite things to do in Fort Collins?
My family loves to go on hikes in our local natural areas, watch for wildlife and fish in the numerous ponds. I love to play disc golf when time allows for it. Of course, I enjoy hanging out with good friends enjoying locally brewed beer. This time of year my family loves visiting one of the numerous pumpkin patches to get a local harvest of vegetables and gourds, go on a hay ride, get lost in a corn maze and enjoy the Colorado sunshine.
Tell us a little about yourself?
I was born in Phoenix, AZ and moved to Fort Collins when I was just a baby. From a young age I was able to travel to a lot of amazing places. Our family took time to travel all around the world. I was fortunate enough to travel throughout parts of the Middle East, Central America, the Bahamas, Europe and some places in between. These travels really crafted how I see the world and the types of food and culture I love. It allowed me to learn how to love the small things in other cultures that are so different than in the United States.
Since being here for 30+ years I have really seen Fort Collins grow and find its own culture. Going to Colorado State University to get a degree in tourism allowed me to better understand all the things that make Fort Collins such a great place to live, work and raise a family.
When I got married to my wonderful wife, my passion for cooking quality food grew. Over the past decade together we have made some amazing meals (along with some really bad ones). Now with two kids we are always challenged with finding new foods that they love and we enjoy as well.
What do you want people to experience when they come to Old Town Spice Shop?
My hope is that when customers come into our store they learn something, are able to find what they are looking for and hopefully find something they didn’t know they wanted.
Old Town Spice Shop
Address: 130A S. College Ave, Fort Collins, CO 80524
Phone: 970-493-7206
Contact Online: https://oldtownspiceshop.com/contact.php
Hours of Operation: M-TH 10a-7p, F-S 10a-8p, Sun 11a-5p
Website: oldtownspiceshop.com
Twitter: @oldtownspice
Facebook: facebook.com/oldtownspiceshop
Instagram: instagram.com/oldtownspiceshop
(all photos courtesy of Old Town Spice Shop)
