Cupboard’s not bare: After 42 years, iconic Fort Collins kitchen store still cooking

FORT COLLINS — Thanks in part to the popularity of shows such as Master Chef, Chopped and The Next Food Network Star, cooking continues to be big business. According to the International Housewares Association, U.S. houseware sales increased more than 3 percent to $69.3 billion in 2012. The top four categories alone – cook and bakeware, kitchen tools and accessories, tabletop, and kitchen electrics – accounted for a $36 billion slice of the pie.

While competition for those dollars is fierce, one Fort Collins store has carved out a niche among the crowd of retail giants. The Cupboard, 152 S. College Ave., has been quietly outfitting Northern Colorado kitchens for more than four decades.

According to owner Jim Hewitt, it all began when his dad, Carey, had a revelation.

“He tried teaching math to junior-high students for a year and realized he didn’t want to be a teacher,” Hewitt said. “So he and a friend decided to start their own business, modeled after a store in Boulder at the time called the Board and Barrel.”

The Cupboard opened its doors in 1972, selling an assortment of baskets, macrame, pottery, wooden spoons and cutlery out of a 1,200-square-foot storefront in the Northern Hotel. Then, after attending a gourmet product show, the senior Hewitt felt the shop should be more kitchen-oriented. “So in 1978 he moved the store to its current location,” Jim Hewitt said, “and brought in more product that pertained to cooking.”

It’s fair to say the new business model went over well. The Cupboard doubled its space in 1989 and completed a second expansion, to 10,000 square feet, in 1992.

“We haven’t ever sustained a significant decrease in sales,” Hewitt said. “Even when the recession hit in 2007, we were only down about 4 percent.”

Business peaked in 2012, but since then the company’s growth trend has been relatively flat, something he attributes to increased competition.

While acknowledging there are plenty of other places where people can spend their money, Hewitt believes much of The Cupboard’s success is owed to its knowledgeable staff.

“Our average staff member has been here 12 years,” he said. “They know a lot about the products and they’ve developed relationships with our clientele” which has turned that clientele into loyal customers.

“We try to create an experience,” he said. “You’re able to sample various coffees, participate in demonstrations, food tastings … these are things that you can’t get at the regular retailers or on the Internet.”

Still, Internet sales continue to grow. That same IHA report claims that “non-store” retailing accounted for the second-largest share of housewares sales in 2012 – up almost 2 percent over the previous year.

That fact isn’t lost on Hewitt, who said online competition is his biggest challenge. So The Cupboard plans to implement an online store next year, making available a wide variety of products as well as a gift registry.

Still, staying connected to the community remains a goal. Besides carrying about 1,000 local products,

The Cupboard also is an active member of Fort Collins’ monthly Foodie Walk.

“About a dozen businesses participate,” Hewitt said, “so we do a big demonstration for that, which lasts about three hours and really focuses on education, like how to prepare certain foods, how to use different utensils, things like that.”

All this has caused the store’s reputation to spread beyond just a regional level.

Amy Trudeau lives in Michigan, but visits family in Fort Collins on occasion. Every time she’s in town, she insists on visiting The Cupboard.

“I love it because there are local products, kitchen gadgets I’ve never seen before, a beautiful variety of linens, and a nice assortment of aprons,” she said. “It’s kind of like going to a good bookstore for me. … I can get lost in places like that.”

Hewitt only recently took over as owner of The Cupboard.

“Five years ago I bought into the business, and during those five years we gradually transitioned ownership,” he said. That transition involved the younger Hewitt taking on more responsibilities as his dad began letting go of the reins, a process that Jim Hewitt feels also gave the staff an opportunity to adjust to the changes. Although Jim purchased the business outright earlier this year, he said Carey Hewitt isn’t retiring just yet.

“Dad remains the company CFO and continues to come in on a regular basis,” he said. “He’ll be out there on the floor during the holidays, so he’s still very much involved.”

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