After 87 years in Lower Downtown, Rocky Mountain Seed Co. will till in a new location.
The business, run by the Vetting family for decades, has a new owner, who is planning to move to 6541 N. Washington St. next month.
Rocky Mountain Seed is one of the last reminders of what LoDo was like decades ago and is most likely the oldest existing business around its location at 15th and Market streets.
But selling seeds in an area now known for swank restaurants, bars, clubs, and lofts doesn’t really fit.
“The reality is that it’s not feasible to do this kind of business downtown,” said Barb Barraclough, office manager for Rocky Mountain Seed. “Parking is a huge, huge issue. It’s most difficult for farmers and employees … all of our (bags) have to be moved by hand.”
For three generations, the Vetting family ran Rocky Mountain Seed, with Ken Vetting selling the property and business to the LoDo Group in 2005 for a reported sum of $3 million. In less than a year, the property fell into foreclosure and was purchased by Denver developer Jerry Glick in January.
Scott Barraclough and investor Steve Angelo spun out the Rocky Mountain Seed Group from the real estate holdings. Barraclough’s father, Ed, came out of retirement – he had run a farm in Oregon – to manage the seed company.
“Vetting wanted to ensure that the business was going to continue,” Barb Barraclough, Scott’s mother, said Wednesday. “This business is so important to him, he didn’t want to sell the building until he sold the business.”
Barraclough said that Vetting still occasionally stops in to offer his decades of expert knowledge. He spent the last year working with the Barracloughs to ensure a smooth transition.
Rocky Mountain Seed’s new location will offer ample parking and is more accessible to customers because of its proximity to Interstate 25.
The Barracloughs plan to preserve not only the cabinets and fixtures from the LoDo location, but also some of the horticultural history of the company. The new location will house a museum complete with old scales, cash registers and other equipment.
“The Rocky Mountain Seed Co. has a really good name and we intend to keep it,” said Barb Barraclough. “It’s an important part of the horticultural history of Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and some parts of Arizona.”
Glick intends to keep the building’s exterior facade and remodel the inside as offices.
“The goal is to get it back to a building that really is consistent with Lower Downtown. They’re great old buildings,” he said. “It’s a shame they’re leaving … but probably best for their business to be in another area.”
Rocky Mountain Seed will open in its new location during the week of Aug. 13.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-954-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
