Interview with Savory Spice Shop

Interview with Dick and Mary Frieg

Owners of Savory Spice Shop

110 N. Tejon Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80903

If you’ve never been to a speciality spice shop, you’re missing out! We know we’ve been guilty of keeping large tin spice jars in our cabinets for FAR too long. Maybe you’ve done the same. Time to clean out the cabinet and head to Savory Spice Shop for freshly ground spices, herbs and blends!

We’ve loved working with Dick and Mary since our launch in 2010. Their storefront sits right on Tejon Street and is like a candy store for chefs and bakers. They have a warm and welcoming atmosphere, and if you hop on any of our tours that feature their store, you’ll get to take advantage of a 15% discount!

Read our interview with these two fine folks below.

Of the products you sell, which is your favorite?

Oh, it’s too hard to choose one! But among favorites are Ceylon True Cinnamon, Capitol Hill Blend, and Italian Black Truffle Salt.

Are there any fun facts or secrets about the products you sell and/or how they were created?

We receive small batches of freshly ground spices weekly, and from their our staff hand fills every container. It doesn’t get any fresher than this. Also, our Seven Falls Salsa Blend and our Garden of the Gods Pizza Sprinkle were created by our own staff.

How did you get started in the spice industry?

After 20 years in the publishing industry, we noticed there were no spice stores in Colorado Springs, so we decided to open one!

Tell us about some of your core values as business owners?

Customer service is of utmost importance. We value our customers and many have become good friends. A quality product is also important to us.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what food would that be?

Probably ice cream. We have made several wonderful flavors with our spices. We would probably be 10 pounds thinner if we didn’t like ice cream!

Which of your spices and spice ware would your recommend to those new to cooking? To “seasoned” veterans?

Some fresh flavorful staples are important. A good cinnamon, an Italian blend, cumin, a quality salt, and some versatile blends like Mt. Elbert, Pikes Peak Butcher’s Rub, and Capitol Hill will cover a lot of basic cooking needs. A couple of BBQ blends like Red Rocks Hickory and South Fork Sausage Rub are also helpful for easy tasty food.

For the experienced cook, we have some exquisite flavors like California Fennel Pollen and Italian Black Truffle salt. We would also recommend some other gourmet finishing salts like French Fleur de Sel and Maldon Sea Salt. We have a host of chile peppers, too!

What are some of your favorite items sold in the local product section of the shop?

Mary likes making gazpacho with the Bloody Mary mix from the Real Dill. Elevation Ketchup is wonderful as is the Salted Caramel sauce from Sweet & Saucy.

Of course, we know and love your products, but for the person who has never visited a specialty spice shop, what makes you different from the grocery store spice aisle?

Good question! Freshness and flavor are number one! We grind our spices at our warehouse in Denver and get small batches weekly. We then hand fill every container in the store. This is how we keep a close watch on freshness. We also offer small amounts, sometimes as little as half an ounce. And, our prices are very competitive with the grocery store!

Best gift for the upcoming holiday season?

Gift sets are great. Especially fun is our Pikes Peak Pack with Seven Falls Salsa blend, Red Rocks, Pikes Peak Butcher’s Rub and Garden of the Gods Pizza Sprinkle. Another great gift is the salt block with the accompanying cookbook.

Thanks so much, Dick and Mary!

Cheers, Your Rocky Mountain Food Tours Team

(So, what’s a food tour, anyway…?)

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