Jessup Farm Opens Artisan Village

This weekend, Jessup Farm in Fort Collins will open the Artisan Village.  Look around and pieces of history are everywhere, from benches made from beams on which the original saddle shop sat, to a light fixture created from the front axle of a wagon to railroad ties discovered underground when crews began digging a trench for the gas line. The ties are now benches in front of the farmhouse.

Who’s there?

•Bindle Coffee: Andrew Webb, the coffee roaster, and his wife, Jenn Webb, the baker, are open in the converted 19th-century mechanics shop.

•Clayton Jenkins Photography moved from its previous location at Drake Road and Shields Street to part of the old loafing shed that once housed farm elements. “I fell in love with the old buildings,” Jenkins said. “I loved the concept of repurposing beautiful old farm buildings.”

•The Farmhouse at Jessup Farm restaurant, owned and operated by Jesse Doerffel of Common-Link food truck and formerly of The Broadmoor and Ritz-Carlton hotels. The farm-to-table restaurant will offer tastings during the grand opening.

•HeyDay clothing and home furnishings. Ryan and Jennifer Little, who live in Bucking Horse, said HeyDay celebrates the community and offers something for everyone. The concept is simple living and living simply. “You don’t need a lot ... just make it count,” Jennifer Little said.

The store sells men’s, women’s and children’s clothing as well as furnishings and apothecary from part of the old loafing shed.

The couple wanted to be part of the vision creating the neighborhood center. “As the city grows it needs to have these pockets,” Ryan Little said.

•Jessup Farm Barrel House, a partnership between Campana and Brad Lincoln and Gordon Schuck of Funkwerks brewery, will be the only shop not yet open for business this weekend, as it awaits its final state licensing. The facility will focus on beer blending and barrel aging, utilizing around 100 wine, bourbon and specialty barrels to give character to various base beer styles. The barrel house is not open, but tours will be offered during the grand opening.

••Kennedy’s Lucky 27 Barbershop & Social Club is an expansion of Lucky 27 Barbershop in Campus West under the direction of Sammie Lynn. Lynn’s sister, Kennedy, is operating the Jessup Farm shop.

••Lovif patisserie is owned and managed by Tammy Liu, a pastry chef trained at Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie and Baking in California. Liu and her husband moved to Fort Collins in 2012 after advancing her skills at the Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton. Everything is baked from scratch using organic and fair-trade mild and dark chocolate and Colorado-raised, cage-free eggs.

Mary Bloom, who closed Maggie McCullough’s Bakery and Cafe in Fort Collins about a decade ago, is working at Lovif baking artisan breads. “Anyone who remembers Mary Bloom, her bread was off the charts ... it should be a real treat for the community getting Maggie’s bread back,” Campana said.

The bakery will be open only during the hours of the grand-opening events, with an eye toward fully opening on Oct. 2.

•Reve fitness center is a boutique gym operated by Miramont Lifestyle Fitness. It offers six fee-based programs: two yoga studios, cycling, barre and personal training including a weight-loss program.

A little history

The Jessup Farm was among the Fort Collins Urban Growth Area’s best preserved and most intact farm complexes, according to Colorado Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation, which evaluated the site.

It received landmark preservation designation from the city, state and federal governments, clearing the way for the Campanas to get the necessary renovation permits.

The farm near the intersection of Prospect and Timberline roads sat vacant for about a decade and fell into foreclosure before the Campanas bought it 2011. It was associated with two other farms owned by the extended Johnson family at 2600 Timberline Road and 2608 E. Drake Road.

The 2600 Timberline Road farm was incorporated into the Rigden Farm development. Campana bought the remaining farm on Drake Road in 2012 and incorporated it into Bucking Horse.

“We preserved those buildings hopefully forever,” Campana said. “At a bare minimum that’s a gift back to the community.”

Jessup Farm Artisan Village grand opening

Thursday

•4 to 7 p.m.: Open-air market, raffles

Friday

•4 to 7 p.m.: Family night with games and activities

• 6 p.m.: Magic show

Saturday

•1 to 3 p.m.: Scavenger hunt and brewery tours

•4:30 p.m.: Family fitness challenges, kids obstacle course, push-up contest, tractor tire flip race, plank contest

•6 p.m.: 2.3 mile run/walk

•6:45 p.m.: Beer/root beer gardens

•7 p.m.: Live music with Steve Manshel

To register visit www.sproutinup.org