Gore Range Trading Company will begin offering resort-themed items at a Manitou Springs brick-and-mortar in early 2022. Co-owner Troy Speakman of Colorado Gifts and Grub, which operates the retail store, told What Now Denver that the company’s goal is to open a second retail location in 2023.
Gore Range Trading Company recently moved out of the Eagle County Regional Airport in Gypsum, and their efforts are now focused on opening the retail shop at 16 Ruxton Ave. in Manitou Springs.
“We’ll still offer the same line of products, which is our resort-themed apparel—hats, souvenirs,” Speakman said. Items will include mugs from Vail and Aspen, as well as T-shirts. “We will bring that resort atmosphere back down to the Front Range,” Speakman said. Pikes Peak and Manitou Springs will also be represented in the upcoming store.
“We’re starting over from scratch. We decided to move out of the airport and reinvent everything. Now is the time to do it.” Speakman also plans to be involved in the community of Manitou Springs. “We support a lot of local causes. I’m a big supporter of mental health issues, homeless issues.”
Speakman is also searching for a spot in Manitou Springs or the west side of Colorado Springs to open Colorado Gifts and Grub’s restaurant concept, 14K Cafe, which also closed its airport location. “We are searching for a new home, but we want to find the right location because we want it to be permanent,” Speakman explained.
For now, he is focused on opening Gore Range Trading Company, and once it’s up and running, Speakman plans to revisit a couple of locations they’ve scoped out for 14K Cafe.
