OPPORTUNITY

Moxie Bread Co. will open in Lyons soon

By Ken Singer Redstone Review

LYONS – People familiar with Moxie Bread Co will often proclaim it as the best bread in the area. Located in Louisville with a branch in North Boulder, it is opening this month in Lyons on Main Street and Fourth at the former bike shop.

Andy Clark, Moxie’s owner, has been a baker for more than 15 years. He and his wife and partner at the bakery, Phillippa, decided to open a bakery shop in Lyons.

Although the Lyons store doesn’t have the room for ovens in this location, Andy said that bread and pastries from the Louisville bakery will provide about a dozen breads and 20-plus pastries for the Lyons shop. A full espresso bar, coffee to go, sandwiches, salads, soups, butter, honey, jams, eggs and some produce from local farms will give the shop a creative feel, he believes. The espresso machine is described as “an eye-catching, electric blue spaceship of an espresso machine, just to let you know we’re pretty serious about coffee.”

The Louisville store has been open for six years and was doing so well he decided to expand. He wanted to have a shop in Lyons for some time. The Lyons store so far has two employees from town and several from Longmont. As needed, the Louisville bakery will supply additional help.

A second shop was set up in 2020 in North Boulder with a nearby stone grinding mill which provides flour for bakeries along the Front Range and promotes organic wheat and grains from small farms in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota. The Boulder store also sells fresh-milled flours and heritage grains, including gluten-free grains and bakery products. They claim to have the best gluten-free bread around.

All the breads undergo a fermentation process which “predigests the grain, increasing the bioavailability of their nutrients” and “decreases any inflammatory qualities, making our breads more tolerable for individuals who are sensitive to processed white flour breads,” according to the Moxie website.

Andy grew up in Rockport, MA. His mother and grandmother baked breads and he learned from them, eventually specializing in sourdough mixtures. This interest in breads gave him a career with Whole Foods for 15 years. When that chain acquired London-based Fresh and Wild, he met his wife-to-be, Phillippa, at a meeting at Whole Foods’ Austin headquarters. They now have three sons and have lived in Louisville for years.

Aside from the bakery products, Andy has a number of antiques and hand-crafted products that give the stores a unique look that stands out from other bakeries. He was asked by the ice machine installer a few days ago what he would do with the “artifacts, “assuming that they would mostly be gone. Andy replied that he was, “a junker, antiquer and yard saler” who enjoys finding unusual objects. Customers would sometimes remark that they or a family member had that same exact telephone or typewriter when they were younger. Singer Most of the objects and artwork will be for sale, providing Andy the opportunity to restock Moxie’s decor from auctions and yard sales. A few years ago, he met an importer from Indonesia who had an enormous stash with barns full of furniture and other collectibles, some of which grace the individual stores and provide a continuous supply of “artifacts” for the stores. Andy said that Lyons has been on his radar since he was 18; he has visited the town for many years mostly for the musical events. When Oracle Lynn, the owner of the building that used to house Redstone Cyclery, told him it was for rent, Lynn not only gave him suggestions for the interior but also helped in the renovation process. “I’ve never had a landlord who said he wanted to help paint.” Although Moxie Bread will be offering some foods that other shops in Lyons have, Andy does not feel that he will be in competition with established stores here. “My intuition is that there is plenty of business to go around,” he said and his hope is that there will be more tourists stopping here which will benefit the town. Plans are for Moxie to be open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week. No opening date has been set at this time.

Andy and Phillippa Clark, owners of Moxie Bread Co.

Ken Singer and his wife Sandy Spellman moved to Lyons 10 weeks before the flood. They are both retired clinical social workers and live near Lyons. Singer loves to write about people and events around Lyons.

Lyons has a long history of fish hatcheries and trout

By Brianna Hoyt Redstone Review

LYONS – The Colt family is perhaps best known for their engineering and construction work on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. In 1929, W. A. Colt took a $500,000 contract to take on the challenging task of constructing 17 miles of road above 10,000 feet. After completing the “rendezvous with the clouds” highway in 400 days, the 72-year-old W.A. Colt decided to settle in the town of Lyons to retire.

He purchased land in 1929, and began working it. He planted walnut trees, fruit trees, and flowers on five acres and dedicated two acres to fish hatcheries. In January of 1942, W. A. Colt announced that the State Fish and Game Commission signed a five-year lease on his fish ponds.

According to an article in the Lyons Recorder in 1942, the value of the ponds was more than $4,000 and represented “one of the best combination ponds grouped for handling the fish from all stages of their growth after hatching to eight inches” (Lyons Recorder, Vol. 41). The state kept a resident caretaker for the ponds, and the ponds successfully supplied trout for the streams through Lyons.

In 1942, W. A. Colt had plans to acquire a quarter of the North St. Vrain River near the point where the river turns west. He planned to tap into his construction experience to dredge a new river channel across that quarter mile. His goal was to create a series of ponds where more trout could be raised. His plan would help mitigate flood danger and increase fishing in Lyons. His plans were never carried out, and the river retained its original shape.

Before W. A. Colt started raising trout, fish were shipped into Lyons by the barrel to stock the streams. On March 23, 1922, the Lyons Recorder reported a shipment of 40,000 baby trout to the South Fork of the St. Vrain River. The fish were transported in large cans similar to 10-gallon milk cans. Trout populations have been an important topic in Lyons for many years due to the number of locals and tourists who enjoy fishing.

After the historic flood in 2013, the river’s ecosystem was damaged and the trout population was depleted. In 2018, Lyons Elementary fifth grade students, staff, and volunteers started a new annual program, Trout in the Classroom. They hatched, tested and monitored trout. In May of 2018, the fifth grade class released approximately 75 rainbow trout into the river.

Trout in the Classroom is a partnership made possible because of funding from the St. Vrain Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the support of Colorado Division of Wildlife. The program not only engages elementary students in monitoring and adjusting the school fish hatchery and working in conjunction with Lyons High School stu-

Hoyt dents to monitor and assess the health of the river ecosystem, but also helps supply trout in Lyons’ portion of the St. Vrain River. The local trout population was impacted again on April 27, 2021 when a gasoline truck rolled near the St. Vrain River north of town, spilling fuel into the water. Several hundred fish were killed during this event.

Trout have had a long history in Lyons; from being transported for miles in 10-gallon tanks to being hatched in the local elementary school. W. A. Colt played a role in keeping the rivers stocked for the river’s ecosystem and for sportsmen who call Lyons home.

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