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.