New business model popping up in Colorado Springs

Inside Provision Bread and Bakery in downtown Colorado Springs, a long line of people wait patiently, chatting as the smell of freshly baked bread wafts through the air. Although croissants piped with pistachio cream and tarts dusted with powdered sugar are clustered behind the counter, the customers aren’t just there for the pastries. They’re waiting for the hottest shot of espresso in town: a latte from Cinchona , a new coffee pop-up in the Springs.

Local culinary artisans are embracing a new kind of economic model: the pop-up business. Part of a larger nationwide trend, the pop-up business facilitates small-scale production of creative goods while promoting a sense of exclusivity and allure. Without some of the usual risks of starting a small business, pop-up founders say they appreciate the chance to experiment.



“I have this question: is Cinchona commerce, or is Cinchona art?” said Shepherd Combs, the founder and operator of Cinchona. “It’s a balancing act, but I focus on the art first, and then I try to ignore the commerce until I'm losing money, then I'll focus on the commerce.” These pop-up businesses — not the same as the seasonal pop-ups that surface downtown during the holidays — use social media and word of mouth to advertise where and when they’ll be selling.

They don’t have one static location. Some choose to take advantage of local markets or preexisting shops, while others use mobile or peddler’s licenses to sell their goods anywhere with high foot traffic. Getting started can take a bit of improvisation, Combs said.

“We didn't have any construction skills, so we had to figure out how to design the cart, build it, and do the plumbing and electrical,” he said. “It was all completely new. We had to either ask for help or use a lot of YouTube, ChatGPT, whatever it took.

” Pop-up businesses have quickly gained popularity in larger cities like New York or Los Angeles as business owners seek new, low-cost ways to attract consumers. The ephemeral nature of the pop-up can help them gain attention. But they can also come with challenges for business owners, such as navigating the necessary permitting and trying to find a stable customer base.

Still, as Colorado Springs sees an influx of younger generations with disposable income, the pop-up is becoming a popular model for small business owners selling high-quality products. Over the past year, at least five local pop-up businesses specializing in food or drink have launched their businesses and gained a significant following. Cinchona is enjoying success selling specialty espresso-based drinks and beans from high-end roasters.

Combs started it out of a desire to brew healthier drinks. Once he realized making coffee was something he wanted to share with other people, Combs teamed up with a friend to begin a mobile coffee cart selling a curated drink menu. Using their peddler’s license, which allows a vendor to sell goods on the street, the team began selling coffee at various restaurants and bars around town, as well as at weddings, spas and other private events.

In Colorado Springs, the license costs $110, so it’s a relatively cheap way to begin selling a product. After the brand began to gain some recognition, Combs broke off on his own to establish a larger online presence and begin brewing coffee at Provision Bread and Bakery. Pop-ups have enjoyed success when partnering with a local business and renting out their space.

Selling goods inside of a preexisting venue has the advantage of cultivating a wider customer base for both parties, and allows pop-up owners to gauge the potential of their product. “Partnering is something that I'm really a fan of,” said Joel Bogdanoff, the founder of Third Wave Chocolate . “I want to build more of a community than just a client or an audience.

” Bogdanoff started selling high-end chocolate bars out of his home last year. After encouragement from family and friends, he began selling at the Old Colorado City Farmers Market, and is now manufacturing and selling his bars at Provision. In the future, he plans to open a nighttime dessert bar operating out of the bakery, offering “brownie flights” and other chocolate-based dishes.

A few years ago, high-end coffee and chocolate products were virtually unheard of in the Springs. As a more sophisticated culinary culture has developed, however, so have customers’ tastes. “That’s the long-term goal: bringing better and higher quality chocolate to Colorado Springs,” Bogdanoff said.

Part of this wave of culinary devotion is coming from an influx of newcomers into the city after the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2045, Colorado Springs is projected to grow to be the size of Denver. The proportion of millennials is growing, and is projected to rise over the next 30 years, according to data from the Colorado State Demography Office.

Laura Reitzel, who runs an art pop-up called Deliberate Hands, said the Springs has a uniquely supportive arts community. Originally from North Carolina, Reitzel moved to the Springs a few years ago in search of outdoor space and community. In addition to her paintings, she buys vintage items on Etsy and paints new designs on them to sell as refurbished pieces.

Reitzel sells her art at local galleries, markets and concerts. Connection is a key theme among pop-up owners seeking success. Although social media has dominated conversations about marketing in the 21st century, some owners aren’t focusing their effort on promoting their business online.

“I do feel like a lot of the way that you connect with abstract art is experiencing it, and sometimes you have to sit with something for longer than seven seconds for it to feel like it belongs in your life. So I think that there's a higher likelihood of a sale happening in person,” Reitzel said. Marketing on social media also has other drawbacks.

“You can end up with a lot of inorganic followers that are essentially just bots, which is not actually useful to producing sales," Combs said. "If you can detach your ego from the number of followers you have, you notice the few followers who are really interactive with whatever you’re doing." “I want to build more of a community than just a client or an audience,” said Bogdanoff.

The pop-up model is a youthful business: The owners range in age from mid-20s to early 40s. They’re still trying things out and dipping their toes in the water. The flexibility of the pop-up allows creativity without fully committing to a new life.

But while it’s less of a commitment than a full restaurant or store, the model still brings a set of unique challenges. “It's complex to start a small business in Colorado," Combs said. "At the beginning, we had no idea how to get all the different licensing.

We didn't know what the licensing was or how the regulations worked." In addition to that, calculating accurate supply and inventory is hard to nail down for someone just starting a business. “That's something I really struggled with: There's not a super clear and defined path of how to get cacao from places all over the world," Bogdanoff said.

"You know, most cacao farmers, they're growing and selling to places like Hershey's where it's hundreds of thousands of tons at a time, not 20 pounds." The pop-up businesses in the Springs aren’t operated just to rake in profits. Instead, they’re a way for young professionals to express themselves creatively without a financial commitment to a space.

Uri Yochelman, who works full time as a real estate agent, recently opened a hummus pop-up called Hamsa Hummus inside the CityRock climbing gym downtown. “There isn’t a monetary aspiration here,” said Yochelman. “It’s my passion project.

” That being said, some pop-ups are becoming wildly popular. Cinchona Coffee was recently featured on the Instagram account of J. Kenji Lopez Alt, a New York Times columnist and founder of Serious Eats, an award-winning food and drink website.

The day after Kenji’s video was published, Cinchona’s entire online inventory sold out. A little over three weeks later, Cinchona announced a six-month extension of the pop-up at Provision. Other owners have also found that their product has already reached the right audience.

“There's so much demand right now that I haven't needed to advertise,” said Bogdanoff. As younger generations with a taste for new, creative cuisines continue to help the city grow, the demand for high-end food products is expected to follow. “My ideal client is somebody who can appreciate the process.

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And thankfully, there's a whole lot of that out here in Colorado Springs already,” said Boganoff..