If you haven’t yet visited Cured in Boulder, they are a small shop focused on preserving a personal connection to food, and they do an incredible job in doing so. They offer a variety of cheeses, wines, Colorado beers and spirits, and unique grocery items. Owned by a husband and wife, Cured brings us back to the days of the mom and pop shop. Once you try their unique products, you’ll be thinking about them for a long time. We had the opportunity to sit down with Cured’s own Will Frischkorn to talk about their new location.
We understand that you will be sharing your new home with Cedar & Hyde and Fawn’s Leap. Tell us what it is about the new location at 10th & Pearl that has attracted such local favorites (including Cured!).
We’ve been looking for another small spot around town passively for a while now, but to nobody’s surprise, real estate is tricky! When an opportunity arose to partner with two other great businesses, not dis-similar from our shared space currently with Boxcar, we jumped. The west end, heck, all of downtown, is in a boom and we’re excited to bring what we do on the east end to a whole new group of potential regulars on the other side of downtown.
Should we expect to see all of the same offerings at your second location, or do you have any “surprises” in store for us? Additionally, will there be coffee or alcohol?
With Cured West we’ll be taking Cured and distilling it down even further. Less of a full cheese and charcuterie focus, more great grab and go lunch options and snacks for people that live and work downtown, and our famous picnics for out-of-towners staying at the Julien or Boulderado. We’ll expand our chocolate selection, house products, and have a section of fresh breads, pretzels, ready to go salads, dips, spreads, and a small section of small whole-wheel cheeses and a couple pre-cut chunks of favorite cheeses and salamis. No alcohol at this location, and coffee will be just the cold brew Bottle Rockets from our friends at Boxcar.
When are you expecting to open the second location? Will there be an official grand opening or any other exciting events that we should look out for?
We’re hoping for early October and will keep you posted! Any construction project in an old building comes with its share of surprises, but we’re hoping for less than more!
If you were to choose one item from your store that is an absolute “must-have” staple item for someone’s home pantry, what would it be?
Great salt and our house pepper blend. We have over 40 salts, but the classic Chef Jar from Jacobsen’s Sea Salt in Oregon is our staple at home. It’s a huge jug, suitably sized for the way we use salt in our house, and is hand harvested from the Oregon coast by a family operation. We partner with Savory Spice to create our House Pepper Blend, and it’s amazing…3 different Peppercorns, and a touch of Coriander and Allspice, and it truly elevates the everyday twist of pepper on any dish.
What is the “Cured of the Month” club? How can people join (or give membership as a gift)?
We have a handful of monthly clubs, from just cheese, just wine or beer, to the full spread monthly with cheese, meats, and a paired bottle of wine. Our website is quick and easy for this, and all of our gift boxes, but feel free to call us at the shop and we can take care of all of the details quickly over the phone.
What do I need to know if I am hosting an event and would like for Cured to cater? (how much advanced notice? approx cost? who to call, etc?)
We love to help with any event, big or small, ranging from our famous platters of cheeses and meats that are in the 10 dollar per person range, to a fully catered sit down meal. While we send boards and sandwich deliveries out the door daily, this summer we hosted a 6 course plated farm dinner in Lyons, a 50th birthday bash (complete with a helicopter dropping off the birthday boy, surprising all of his guests to say the least!). A quick call to the shop for any catering questions gets you to the right person.
What are Fresh Fish Fridays, and are there any special ordering requirements?
We just started doing these recently, and with a huge response. We love fish…so many people do…but our options in Boulder are limited for access to the best at retail. With a selfish motivation, we started bringing in a special shipment of fish, something different each time, every other week. We select our fish early in the week that we’re bringing it in and put information in our newsletter and online. Orders are pre-order only, though we typically tack on a few extra pounds. This summer we’re celebrating our 4th anniversary at the shop and figured that fresh Maine lobsters from my Uncle’s next door neighbor seemed to fit the bill!
It seems like you also have something going on every other day of the week, as well. Tell us more about those weekly dinner specials. (Thursday Roast Chicken, Wednesday Hand-Rolled Pasta, etc)
We’re trying to make lives easy for our regulars (and ourselves:), and have been slowly adding in take-out dinner options over the last year. Every Wednesday Brad, one of our longest employees and a pasta making ninja, comes in early and hand rolls dough on our marble counters. Flavors change weekly, and from day one, his pasta was a reminder about just how good fresh pasta can be.
On Thursdays we roast off a dozen (all our oven can hold in one go!) locally raised chickens, rubbed in duck fat, salt and herbs, and accompany them with a tub of duck fat mashed potatoes.
Back when I was racing bikes and had more time, home made pasta and roast chicken were two of my favorite meals. With time a bit tighter now, my cravings are taken care of by the shop instead!
Your shop sells a variety of olive oils from various locations around the globe; what are some of the distinguishing factors that set one oil apart from another? Why would someone need more than one kind of olive oil?
We LOVE olive oil, and I have personally taken huge satisfaction watching that category in the shop pick up steam over the last couple of years. Much like wine, olive oils come from a variety of olives, a variety of climates, and from producers with different ideas for how they would like their oils to taste and perform. Some oils are peppery, some rounder and buttery, some incredibly floral, others fruity and soft. I pick my oil based upon the dish, the flavors that are going to be mingling, and like to think of it almost like a sauce in how it complements the dish and can elevate the everyday plate to something special with little to no effort. We probably have 5 or 6 oils at home at any given time, but that said, oils are perishable once opened, and I recommend 2-3 oils with different flavor profiles for most people, in addition to a great everyday bulk olive oil for cooking. We have two bulk oils, one softer, one more peppery, and they fly off the shelf in our re-fillable Cured bottles.
What are a couple of your favorite Colorado-sourced items?
Honeys…all of our honey is from Colorado and I love them all. The New Beat Quinoa based crackers are a current top seller, and even for a gluten lover like myself, they might be one of my favorite crackers on our shelf. Lastly, our pickled section is huge, and all Colorado based as well. From The Real Dill’s Okra spears to their classic Habanero, to the Ozuke live fermented products, to MM Local and Srirachas, we’re blessed with a huge variety of amazing local products to feature in the shop.
Will you have grab & go boxed lunch options for the downtown office crowd?
Grab and go will be a huge focus for us at Cured West. Our goal is to offer delicious, healthy, real foods to people who can only escape from the office for a few minutes. They can come by and quickly head back to work with something amazing to fuel the rest of their day. As always, we will offer delivery by bicycle courier as well for those who can’t escape their desks or want to take care of their co-workers with a full spread.
When you visit Cured, you’ll find yourself coming back again and again. Featured in several magazines, there is no doubt that we aren’t the only ones who appreciate the unique products and services they bring to our community. To learn more about them and their unique products, visit their website and stop by to see for yourself!