The MECO Coffee Collective at 627 Main Street celebrated its grand opening over the weekend in conjunction with Longmont’s 150th anniversary and ArtWalk celebration.
The coffee shop and retail store had its soft opening in early August, but owners Isaac Olson and Shane Stinn celebrated MECO’s new space in downtown Longmont on Sept. 11 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m..
The owners, being partners in life and business, pay homage to their home states Maine and Colorado in the company name and in its products. Throughout the grand opening, MECO handed out samples of their in-house baked “Maine whoopie pies,” a popular New England treat.
MECO’s goal is to promote local vendors from snacks and beauty products, to games and artwork. Currently, MECO has 27 Colorado-based vendors selling in the Main Street store and has space for more. MECO’s owners were pleased with the reception and support for their business before and after the soft open.
“It was really nice to be able to see all of that community support, especially as a new business, even before we open the doors,” Olson said.
After meeting organizers at Longmont’s Summer on the Streets and ArtWalk from the Firehouse Art Center, Olson and Stinn figured opening on Longmont’s 150th anniversary ArtWalk would be the perfect time to introduce themselves to the locals.
Olson said some of the MECO vendors also participate in the summer ArtWalk series. He hopes the community will consider MECO as a year-round indoor art walk and that vendors will join the collective.
“Longmont supports these guys during the summertime outside, we can house their product throughout the winter,” he said.
Some of MECO’s vendors attended the grand opening, mingling with customers pursuing the store.
Jaki Lane, a Denver-based artist of IAmTheYaki, started making traditional American tattoo-inspired art throughout the pandemic. Lane said she’s been surprised with how well received her work has been at MECO.
“When you make something and you're kind of unsure about if anyone's gonna like it or not. I've been surprised with the feedback that I've gotten from people, actually being able to sell pieces,” Lane said. “And it brings me a lot of joy when people buy my art and it brings them joy.”
Paul and Sarah Parker, owners of Joyful Chaos Creations in Kiowa, helped visitors at the MECO grand opening with their businesses’ handmade puzzles. Paul said they were connected with MECO through a friend. He added that after meeting the MECO owners, he liked Olson and Stinn’s goal for their new collective: helping vendors find their success and they found their own.
“It's kind of that heart behind it of, you know, if we do well, we want to make other people do well as well,” Paul said. “And so, I just felt like, that's a great vision or a great purpose.”
