From farmers markets to five-star experiences, Denver’s food scene is blossoming and makes for big business. That’s why the Denver Metro Small Business Development Center is bringing back its fast-paced pitch series Trout Tank with a foodie focus in December. Five entrepreneurs with restaurants or food products, the Denver Metro SBDC and Mission Yogurt will kick off Trout Tank: Food Frenzy at 5 p.m. on Dec. 1.
Click here to get in on the fun. In the meantime, get to know the five who will pitch their businesses to 30 investors and lenders—and a special panel of judges—with a $5,000 cash prize on the line.
Just BE Kitchen a gluten, grain and refined sugar-free food operation. Their aim is to inspire the planet with “conscious cooking” and enable others to eat great, feel great and be great.
We caught up with Just BE Kitchen’s Jennifer Peters:
Taking Care of Business: What does it mean to you to be an entrepreneur in Colorado?
Jennifer Peters: Colorado’s mountainous beauty, weather and kind spirit speaks to my soul—having a business here is the perfect way of closing the gap between who I am and what I do.
TCB: What’s one thing that you wish you had known before starting your business?
JP: It can be very lonely, so it’s really important to build a network of other business owners around you to inspire you, to bounce ideas off of and to remind you that most entrepreneurs share the same problems.
TCB: How would you describe Denver’s food and restaurant scene in five words or less?
JP: Supportive, encouraging, collaborative, expanding and playful.
As a new food entrepreneur coming to Denver, the city has welcomed me with open arms. Everyone wants everyone to succeed and that attitude elicits more for everyone rather than scarcity. Denver is playing with new flavors and products all the time and food establishments are starting to really push the boundaries. It’s an exciting city to be in for food.
Komotodo Sushi Burrito is an Asian and Latin fusion, chef-inspired fast casual restaurant in LoDo.
We caught up with Komotodo Sushi Burrito’s Alonzo Martinez:
TCB: What have you learned since being your own boss?
Alonzo Martinez: Being your own boss means choosing how well you want to do. Marketing is a huge part of your success. You have to have a great team with employees who care a lot about the business in order to succeed.
TCB: How would you describe Denver’s food and restaurant scene in five words or less?
AM: Demand exceeds supply.
Denver is a medium/small city with much potential. People are spending more on dining out year after year across the US and restaurant concepts are still limited in Colorado.
TCB: What restaurateurs or food entrepreneurs in Colorado inspire you?
AM: Personally I only know one Colorado restauranteur, and that is a guy named Troy Guard. He owns seven very successful and unique restaurant concepts and has plans to open more restaurants in 2016.
Kulture Superfoods makes “the most delicious dehydrated kale chips on the planet.” The company is also working to expand our product list in the future with other dehydrated superfood snacks while always maintaining the highest quality ingredients and processes.
We caught up with Kulture Superfoods’ Mike Milakovic:
TCB: What’s one thing that you wish you had known before starting your business?
Mike Milakovic: I honestly don’t think there is anything I “wish” that I would have known before starting my business. I am enjoying the entire learning process. All the ups and downs are teaching me how to become a better entrepreneur. People always associate failure as a negative thing. In reality it is teaching us lessons. It is very important to keep a positive perspective along the journey to success.
TCB: What have you learned since being your own boss?
MM: As an entrepreneur there will always be a long daily to-do list, and some days it can seem quite overwhelming. Don’t stress out about it! It’s about prioritizing your list and also using good self-care methods to destress. I have taken my experience as an Olympic-hopeful athlete into the business world and continue to take care of my mind, body and spirit so the stressful days don’t get the best of me! I exercise daily, do yoga, meditate and stay on top of healthy nutrition to make sure my mind and body are always ready to perform at its best.
TCB: How would you describe Denver’s food and restaurant scene in five words or less?
MM: Fun-creative-hip-sustainable-tasty
Everywhere I look around Denver I see so much positive energy and creativity. For me it makes for a super fun environment and I love going out and exploring new places. There are so many cool places with a hip vibe, but also I am so pleasantly surprised by how many establishments here in Denver promote local and sustainable. There is no shortage of great tasting local food here in Denver!
Peteybird is reinventing the ice cream sandwich experience, using real ice cream and real cookies to craft gourmet, right-size ice cream sandwiches
We caught up with peteybird’s Pete Bredemann:
TCB: What does it mean to you to be an entrepreneur in Colorado?
Pete Bredemann: I personally don’t use the term entrepreneur when describing myself. I moved to Colorado 10 years ago to create a life that fit me. Peteybird is part of that vision.
TCB: What have you learned since being your own boss?
PB: When you have to do everything, you quickly figure two things out: What you like to do and what you are good at. These lessons will help make both peteybird and me more successful.
TCB: How would you describe Denver’s food and restaurant scene in five words or less?
PB: Growing, diversifying and challenged.
Growing is obvious and known. Diversifying is also fairly obvious, and with growth should come more options. Challenged can be misconstrued as being a negative. It is not. By challenged I mean that Denver needs to find its own place in the food universe. A large percentage of our population that has transplanted to Denver for the lifestyle (including me). As such, our dining habits and interests can’t be compared to many other cities; concepts can’t just be copied from somewhere like New York City and expected to be popular. Our food innovators need to look at that challenge as opportunity and define the Denver food scene. It’s not just about great food, it’s about the fitting the population’s lifestyle choices.
Mac ‘N Noodles is a new fast-casual restaurant creating artisan mac ‘n cheese in front of the customer.
We caught up with Mac ‘N Noodles’ David Sevcik:
TCB: What does it mean to you to be an entrepreneur in Colorado?
David Sevcik: It means an exciting opportunity. Colorado is growing fast and it is the perfect place to test a new restaurant concept.
TCB: What’s one thing that you wish you had known before starting your business?
DS: How it’ll turn out in four to five years.
TCB: How would you describe Denver’s food and restaurant scene in five words or less?
DS: New, exciting and reinventing.
TCB: What restaurateurs or food entrepreneurs in Colorado inspire you?
DS: I’m really impressed with what Steve Ells has done with Chipotle.
Sara Crocker is the communications manager for the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.