Dry Storage is more than just a bakery

Great taste is deeply ingrained

Story and Photos By Kristin Owens

Dry Storage isn’t just a bakery. It’s a mill. And a laboratory. Basically, it’s a complete concept that champions a new food ecosystem. A tall order, but one the health-conscious and environmentally friendly Boulder community has embraced. 

James Beard-nominated chef Kelly Whitaker is the force behind Dry Storage. After years of culinary experience around the world, he moved back to Colorado in 2010. Whitaker understood the farm-to-table movement, but wanted to embrace Colorado cuisine. He asked, what makes it unique? How does the soil, water and altitude affect baking? It turns out, it’s all about the grains. 

Dry Storage uses five varieties of heirloom grains that have more robust roots and regenerative factors than large industrial crops. They are more sustainable and reduce climate change impacts – a better farming solution for everyone. By using locally grown grains, carbon footprints are reduced during transportation. They’re also, “culturally relevant,” Whitaker says. And in Colorado, there’s no shortage of them. As a trained chef, he recognized the grains are a “beautiful medium for year-round menus.”

With that in mind, Whitaker built a mill: a 3,000-square-foot facility that grinds 200 acres of Colorado grains into flour using traditional granite stone. The bakery uses the flour in-house, sells bags to retail customers and offers it wholesale to chefs and restaurants. The result? “A regional grain opportunity at the highest level,” Whitaker says. In a year nearly wrecked by a pandemic, Dry Storage sold nearly 1 million pounds of its milled flours. 

Inside the bakery, it’s a state-of-the-art operation. Clean lines, black and white simplicity, and a bespoke selection of gourmet breads resting under a cube of plexiglass. They bake sourdough, French baguettes, English muffins and seeded loaves. Co-owner Erika Whitaker says customers call it “the Apple store for bread.” She says their goal is to, “change the white-bread sandwich mentality.” There are many delicious options that they provide to customers.

But as with any successful business, it’s a learning process. The research and development room offers opportunities to continually tweak recipes and evolve. Recently, staff was researching laminations, a program used in producing croissants. And when you think it couldn’t be more scientific, they even use the metric system. Kelly Whitaker says, “it’s a pivotal moment for Colorado … the grain business fuels so many people.” Distillers, maltsters, brewers, bakers and others are all tied to the farmland. 

A select menu offers delicious quiche, miso soup, and Smorrebrod with a daily rotating topping on rye. Is it breakfast or lunch? Who cares? With a natural wine, beer and Devocion coffee, Dry Storage also has all the drink options covered. Between buying local, supporting locally produced organic grains, and positively impacting the local food climate, customers deserve that extra croissant. Just make sure to show up Tuesday through Sunday between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.  

Contributor Kristin Owens passed the Court of Master Sommeliers’ Introductory Examination and travels the world looking for a good $10 bottle of wine. She’s a full-time writer based in Fort Collins.

Ute Indian Museum in Montrose honors the past

Explore the traditions of Colorado’s early inhabitants

By Jay McKinney

For more than 60 years, Colorado’s first inhabitants have been honored through the renowned Ute Indian Museum located in Montrose. Originally built in 1956 near the ranch of Chief Ouray’s original 8.65-acre homestead site, it is a unique Native American museum because it is dedicated specifically to the Utes. The museum and its grounds are listed in the National Register of Historic Places and are linked to a citywide trail system that includes picnic areas and walking paths. Also located on the grounds is a native plants garden, Chief Ouray memorial park and the gravesite of Ouray’s wife, Chipeta. 

The museum connects the past with contemporary Ute life, and the exhibits emphasize their history of adaptation and persistence, with a central theme of geography as significant locations in Ute history are highlighted. One Ute tradition that is examined through the museum is the celebration of the Bear Dance. 

“It’s every spring that they celebrate the bear coming out of hibernation, and this is something that was given to them long ago,” says museum director CJ Brafford. “It brings the three Ute tribes together and so it’s about coming together, telling the stories of the past year, how everything went, how the winter went, it’s just a great time for storytelling.” 

Brafford compares the Bear Dance to Christmas or Easter in the non-Ute world: an annual event that has a storied history. While all three Ute tribes recognize the Bear Dance as a time of renewal, seeing relatives and celebrating new births and marriages, each tribe has its own particular Bear Dance. 

If you’re interested in seeing some prehistoric Ute art, make sure to check out the Shavano Valley Rock Art Site that is regarded as one of the most amazing prehistoric art sites in the world. Located on the cliff face and surrounding boulders of the southwest end of the Shavano Valley, hundreds of years of petroglyphs can be seen if you book a docent-led tour with the Ute Indian Museum. The rock art of the Shavano Valley is roughly 5 miles from Montrose and the museum suggests booking tours in advance, as availability is limited. 

The museum also offers a Hands-On History Summer Camp for children ages 6 and up. “Every week is a different theme, so just for the first few weeks we’ve got an archeology camp, the second week is a rocks and fossils camp, followed by an explore mother earth camp and then week four is going to be everything artsy,” says museum education director Carly Jones. 

With award-winning exhibits and multiple educational opportunities, the Ute Indian Museum is a gem in the Montrose community and is well worth the visit when in the area. Given their status as the first inhabitants of Colorado, residents and visitors could benefit by learning about the Ute Indians and their connection to this beautiful state. 

Jay McKinney is a Colorado native who recently graduated from Metro State University of Denver with a bachelor’s degree in communications. He loves spending time outdoors, playing golf and hiking.

Ute Indian history in Colorado

Dating back to at least the 1300s, The Ute Indians were the earliest people to reside in Colorado, with their ancestral land covering vast portions of Colorado and Utah. In fact, Utah is actually named after the Ute Indians. Given their nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle, some Ute bands would frequently venture into surrounding areas that now encompass Wyoming, New Mexico, and Arizona as they searched for reliable food sources. Their reputation as resilient Rocky Mountain travelers is evidenced by the fact that many of the modern highway systems follow ancient Ute trails.

The Ute Indians had a deep connection to the land they inhabited, and they idolized some of the state’s natural wonders that people still flock to today. For instance, Pikes Peak was a sacred ceremonial site, with the Tabeguache Ute’s calling it Tavakiev, which means sun mountain. While the Utes occupied a large area of land throughout Colorado and Utah, the Colorado Springs region was known as their domain. Artifacts have been found in nearby Garden of the Gods, and Manitou Springs was also regarded as a sacred place, where the Utes and other tribes would spend winters and share the mineral springs in peace.

Known for scenic views that are reminiscent of the Swiss Alps, the mountain town of Ouray is actually named after the legendary Ute Chief Ouray, who was appointed as the spokesman for the tribe during the 1800s. While the Utes did not have one designated chief for the entire tribe, Ouray’s ability to speak multiple languages allowed him to negotiate with the European settlers who were infringing upon their territory in an effort to mine the land for gold and silver.

Today there are only three remaining Ute tribes: the Southern Utes reside in southern Colorado along with the Ute Mountain Utes, who also inhabit portions of New Mexico and Utah. The largest population of Utes reside in northeastern Utah on the Uintah-Ouray Reservation.

Eef the “Tall Dutch girl” showcases two bands at Blues N BBQ

By Steve Graham

A leading Colorado blues musician has had many titles, but just one name: Eef.

She currently leads Eef and the Blues Express, a funky blues sextet that will play at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 17, at the Blues & BBQ Festival for Better Housing. She also plays rhythm guitar and sings backup for Nick of Time, a Bonnie Raitt cover band that kicks off Blues & BBQ at 11 a.m.

Blues & BBQ Festival for Better Housing

Time: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Date: Saturday, July 17 Place: Citizens Park, 5560 W. 24th Ave., Edgewater Cost: $10 Info: www.bluesnbbq.com

For 11 years, she has been driving ((Eef and)) the Blues Express, an acclaimed funky blues mainstay on the local scene. The band officially debuted in 2010. After some lineup changes in the early years, the five members haven’t changed for five years.

"Eef's band has rocked our festival for years," says Ranger Miller, who founded Blues & BBQ for Better Housing. "Her band is tight and they get the crowd on their feet every time."

Eef and the Blues Express was selected to play at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, and was a semi-finalist in 2017. The group has also opened for major blues acts such as Coco Montoya and Tommy Castro, and won local blues awards. Eef is well-known in the scene as “the tall Dutch girl with the red guitar.”

She calls the band’s funky style “Eef Blues,” and steers away from playing traditional blues.

“I wasn’t born in Mississippi. I think it’s disrespectful, honestly, to try to mimic the real traditional blues,” she said. “I’m a white girl from Europe, so I play my own stuff.”

She has a particularly full slate this week. In addition to the two sets at Blues & BBQ, she is playing at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 14, at Larimer Square with Stacey Turpenoff. Eef and the Blues Express also is closing out the Paint the Town Blue series on Thursday, July 15, at Thorndale Park in Colorado Springs. Click here for all her upcoming gigs. 

Check out the September issue of Thirst Colorado for a more complete profile of Eef and her band. 

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More about the festival

The 24th annual Blues & BBQ Festival for Better Housing is once again raising money for Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver while bringing great music and fantastic barbecue to Edgewater. The event has raised $355,000 for affordable housing to date.   

"We powered through COVID and kept the fundraising going to help people find affordable housing," says Ranger Miller, the festival founder. "Our sponsors are phenomenal and they believe in our mission to put roofs over people's heads. After 24 years, the festival has so much support from volunteers and people who just like to show up and spend the day rocking and chilling." 

Festival tickets cost $10. VIP tickets cost $100, and include food, craft beer and wine in an exclusive area near the stage.

This year’s lineup is almost entirely female-fronted:

11 a.m. Nick of Time (Bonnie Raitt cover band)

12 p.m. Teledonna (R&B soul-rock)

1 p.m. MojoMama (blues rock)

2 p.m. Eef and the Blues Express (Eef blues) 

3 p.m. Cass Clayton Band (roots music)

4 p.m. Zepp11 (Led Zeppelin cover band)

5 p.m. Cast Iron Queens (neo-soul and blues)

6 p.m. Wild Love Tigress (funk, soul and blues)  

7 p.m. Duke Street Kings

Ron Miles Stays on the Beat

Denver Jazz Icon Continues to Compose Music While Inspiring the Next Generation

By Jay McKinney

If you’re not well versed in contemporary jazz, it may come as a surprise to find out that Denver is home to one of the genre’s heavy hitters. Ron Miles is a cornetist, trumpeter and composer who is as modest as the day is long, despite his career achievements. He’s quick to give credit to his fellow bandmates and his kind, soft-spoken demeanor makes him seem like a character out of “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Miles has lived in Denver since he moved from Indiana with his family when he was 11. Since then, he has established himself as a prominent figure in jazz, as well as the Denver community.

Miles developed an interest in jazz when he was in middle school and instrumental music was still a major part of the culture. In his youth, musicians like Maynard Ferguson and Chuck Mangione could be heard on the radio and helped foster his love of the genre. His parents also spoke of the monumental impact that legends such as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery, Thelonious Monk and Ella Fitzgerald had on the culture and this laid the groundwork for him to become a jazz master.  

His preferred instrument is the often-overlooked cornet, which is related to the trumpet but provides a mellower tone. “The cornet lets me sit in the texture of the band,” Miles says. “The cornet originally was the jazz instrument. But when Louis (Armstrong) switched to trumpet, basically everyone switched as he is the most important figure in the music.” 

Miles says there have been some notable cornetists since Armstrong’s decision to switch, with some of his personal influences being Don Cherry, Olu Dara, Ruby Braff and Thad Jones. 

Listen to Miles’ latest album, “Rainbow Sign,” released in October 2020, and get a true sense of what the cornet can bring to a jazz ensemble. Recorded with fellow musicians Bill Frisell (guitar), Jason Moran (piano), Thomas Morgan (bass) and Brian Blade (drums), the album has been critically successful and contains elements of pop and blues in addition to jazz. 

Miles admits he was an unabashed jazz and classical snob, but the influence of pop music found in Rainbow Sign has been profound. “In my heart there was always a love for pop music, and once I let that influence resonate, my music started to sing,” Miles says. Some of his pop music influences include artists such as Prince, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Bee Gees and Public Enemy. 

““It’s lucky for us to have someone who’s such a world-class, innovative musician like that here in Denver. Just the fact that he’s been able to build this international career from this home base in Denver has always been something really kind of unique and cool about Ron’s career.””

— jazz trumpeter Shane Endsley

When Miles isn’t composing and performing his own music, he shares his love of jazz with younger generations as a teacher at the Metropolitan State University of Denver where he has taught for nearly 30 years. 

One of his colleagues at Metro, fellow jazz trumpet player Shane Endsley, describes Miles as an incredibly important inspiration and mentor. 

Endsley has been at Metro for just five years but he has known Miles his entire life. Endsley’s father was a professional trumpet player, music publisher and instrument maker who would collaborate with Miles frequently.

When Endsley started falling in love with jazz in high school, he took advantage of the family connection and started informally studying under Miles by going over to his house whenever he could. In addition, Endsley would often check out his gigs, noting that he was more active playing live music in those days. 

Now that Endsley teaches jazz at the same university with Miles, one might say their relationship has come full circle. “I think a really thoughtful teacher is someone who is always looking to develop the personal voice of their student,” Endsley says. “I just always get the sense with him that he’s just really trying to open up creativity and inspiration for the person he’s working with, and also of course, imparting the important technical and fundamental information.”

As expected, Endsley is encouraged by Miles’ teaching style and implements that same approach in his own career as a teacher. And while his inspiration among Metro students is undeniable, Endsley says Miles is also an inspiration to Denver musicians in general. 

“It’s lucky for us to have someone who’s such a world-class, innovative musician like that here in Denver,” Endsley says. “Just the fact that he’s been able to build this international career from this home base in Denver has always been something really kind of unique and cool about Ron’s career.”

When asked about his own mentors as a young musician, Miles mentioned Jerry Noonan, Neil Bridge, Dave Caffey, Ron Jolly, Fred Hess, Bruno Carr, Bruce Odland and many others as people he met in Denver before turning 20 who helped shape his career.

“The biggest common denominator is they all saw potential in me and gave me a chance without expecting anything in return,” Miles says. “Beyond that I love and respect this art form and try my darnedest to get as good as I could. Outside of my biological family, the Lord has made music, musicians and music lovers the shepherds for my life.”

That potential guided him to the Duke Performance Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the Village Vanguard in New York City, two of his favorite venues. Closer to home, he cites Old Main on the CU Boulder campus as his favorite venue in Colorado.

In a city like Denver, with no particular musical identity, it can be difficult for up-and-coming musicians to attain success. Miles has established himself as a prominent figure in jazz, but he acknowledges the challenges the city can pose. He says, “It’s really hard to make music in a vacuum here. You are going to be exposed to different styles and traditions and if you welcome and respect that variety, you can be happy. Fight it and you will be frustrated.” 

He says the greatest musicians from here embody that respect of musical variety with Bill Frisell and Rudy Royston immediately coming to mind.  

Given Miles’ prestigious career, one could envision him living somewhere like New Orleans, playing in esteemed nightclubs late into the night. But there’s no place like home, and Denver is home to Miles. “My family is here,” he says. “This is the community that has supported and guided me.”

Unfortunately, the restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic kept Miles from playing his latest music live, but as things return to normal, be on the lookout for one of his performances. 

Jay McKinney is a Colorado native who recently graduated from Metro State University of Denver with a bachelor’s degree in communications. He loves spending time outdoors, playing golf and hiking.

Peachy in Palisade — the history of Colorado's most alluring fruit

The famed Western Slope orchards have been growing for more than a century

By Steve Graham

It all started with a letter to an Iowa farmer. Talbott’s Farm grows some of Colorado’s most coveted fruit, and crafts plenty of hard cider and wine. And the whole operation began 114 years ago with a letter.

Before TV advertising and Facebook campaigns, land developers on the Western Slope tried to attract buyers by sending letters directly to Iowa farmers. Joseph Evan Yeager was one of those grain farmers, attracted by the promise of better weather and rich alluvial soils.

He was among a wave of rural Iowans who settled in the Grand Valley. Yeager’s 5th generation descendent Bruce Talbott said at least half of the Palisade population was originally from Iowa, inspiring an Iowa Street in town, and Iowa Day celebrations in Grand Junction in the early 1900s.

Yeager moved to Palisade and started growing peaches and other fruit in 1907. The Talbott family married into the Yeager family and more than a century later, the family now oversees a 550-acre operation that includes the Talbott’s Mountain Gold orchards and wine vineyards, as well as Talbott’s Cider Company, Centennial Cellars wines, and a popular line of sweet ciders and juices.

Talbott’s has the largest orchards in the area, and is known for supporting and helping other Mesa County businesses.

“The Talbott family are icons in the Palisade area,” said Julia Durmaj, acting director of the Palisade Chamber of Commerce. “Not only have they been farming here for over 100 years but they have been a predominant influence to so many other farmers in the area, always willing to give a ‘hand up’ to those who need advice about their crops.”

Yeager’s great great grandson Harry Talbott is credited with building both the family business and the larger Palisade peach industry. He died earlier this year, and his sons and grandsons now help run the business. 

The Grand Valley is known for an ideal combination of climate and soil conditions, resulting in large, sweet and flavorful fruit. Talbott’s Mountain Gold was once primarily an apple farm, but it is now best known for piles of peaches every August.

“The peach industry is our sweetheart,” Bruce said. “It’s what allows us to do the other things we do.”

In the mid-20th Century, Colorado peach farmers were mostly supplying a large population of home canners. 

“People back then had big gardens,” Bruce said. “They were already canning tomatoes and sweet corn and pickles and whatever else. Peaches were just one more thing that they canned.” 

He said home canning started to phase out in the 1970s, when Del Monte and other large companies started selling really cheap canned fruit. The Talbotts’ business took a hit, but by the 1980s, they started selling fresh peaches directly to supermarkets in the region.

Now, Talbott’s grows enough peaches to drive them over the Continental Divide every day and stock pop-up peach stands along the Front Range and in neighboring states.

“We try to keep an endless parade of peaches headed into the system,” Bruce said.

Talbott’s now grows 35 varieties, and sells ripe peaches from July 1 to Oct. 1. Last year, only 15 percent of the peach harvest survived a cold and late spring. Bruce expects about 80 percent of the peach harvest to make it to stores and farm stands this year. 

Talbott’s orchards used to be 90-percent apples, but consolidation and industry changes have moved nearly all domestic apple production to the Pacific Northwest. 

In 1983, Bruce started pressing apples and making sweet cider. 

“We were trying to find something to do with our off-grade (apples),” Bruce said.

Now Talbott’s grows no apples, but still makes plenty of cider — both sweet and hard.

Harry’s grandson Charles Talbott turned his interest in home brewing into a new Talbott’s venture in 2015. He is the director of operations for Talbott’s Cider Company. It is one of the state’s most recognizable hard cider brands, even though Washington and Oregon apples comprise most of the cider.

In 2019, the family launched the Centennial Cellars wine brand. Charles said it has been hard to compete on crowded bottled wine shelves, but he jumped on the canned wine bandwagon in May. 

Following in the footsteps of Denver trailblazer Infinite Monkey Theorem, the company is now focusing on a variety of 375 ml wine cans, and only bottling special reserve wines. He said he is hoping to help boost the reputation of Colorado wines.

“I’m starting to have a little more confidence that in the next 20 years, the Colorado wine industry is going to be pretty big. I think we are putting ourselves on the map,” Charles said.

The wine and cider is available in the Talbott’s taproom on a hill overlooking Palisade. The taproom also hosts guest wines and ciders, and has a small market that sells a wide variety of local produce and other Colorado products.

“We really focus on collaboration,” Charles said. “We want the entire industry working together, and that will raise everyone’s boat.”

Steve Graham is a freelance writer and former newspaper editor who takes his two boys biking, hiking and brewery-hopping in northern Colorado.