FC Chamber recognizes 4 small businesses

FORT COLLINS — Four Fort Collins small businesses were recognized Thursday by the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce in its 2019 Small Business of the Year Awards at the Drake Center.

The winners were:

• Small category (1-10 employees) —  Technical Framework.
• Medium category (11-50 employees) — All Star Cleaning Services.
• Large category (51-200 employees) — Charco Broiler Restaurant.
• New Kid on the Block category (business in operation for less than three years) — Snack Attack Specialty Sandwiches & Brews.

Dennis and Mat Dinsmore, operators of Wilbur’s Total Beverage in Fort Collins and Wyatt’s Wet Good in Longmont, keynoted the event. The two, together with their families, turned Beverage Nation in Fort Collins into a 24,000-square-foot liquor retail giant that annually sees 750,000 customers. The company, which has grown from 12 to 40 employees, has been ranked among the top 100 retailers in the country by an industry group.

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The Dinsmores have been active in support of nonprofit organizations in the area, assisting upward of 100 or more nonprofits, especially Foothills Gateway and Pathways Hospice. “You can donate yourself out of business,” Mat Dinsmore said, “but you can offer product at cost to help out organizations.”

Winner of the small-business category, Technical Framework, was founded in 2010 with a mission to provide the highest quality information technology services in Northern Colorado. Their goal is to serve as a resource first, and a consultancy second. They provide both holistic and fractional services depending on needs and budget.

All Star Cleaning Services, founded in 2006, has grown to provide all-natural home cleaning services to more than 750 homes in Northern Colorado with its staff of 40 professionally trained house cleaners. It attributes its success to a strong focus on client feedback and staff development.

Charco Broiler Restaurant opened in the fall of 1957 as a simple coffee shop and burger joint. Lee Stark, Gib and his wife Lynn McGarvey worked to make the business a success. The restaurant has been family-owned and operated for three generations. Today, the second and third generation McGarveys are carrying on the business, along with the help of some life-long employees.

The New Kid on the Block Award winner, Snack Attack Specialty Sandwiches & Brews, is a local and veteran-owned small business created by the husband and wife team of Shawn and Lauren Storeby. Founded in 2017, this specialty sandwich bar set out to create a fresh dining experience offering quality food, great local craft beer and a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.