Smithsonian of Cookstores - Peppercorn
Have you ever walked into a shop to browse, only to discover something you didn’t know you needed? Something you really needed. That’s Peppercorn, Boulder’s oldest and largest kitchen and home goods store. It’s hard to walk out empty-handed.
Besides cooking tools, plates, and glassware, the store sells items as diverse as lamps, pet toys, jewelry, board games, rugs, purses, hats, and artwork. Indeed, according to owner Doris Houghland, Peppercorn’s inventory includes more than 100,000 different things. If Peppercorn doesn’t have it, you probably don’t need it.
Founded by Doris in 1977, Peppercorn will join the Pearl Street Mall in jointly celebrating their 50th anniversaries next year. Five decades ago, Doris and a childhood friend left their hometown in Indiana on a cross-country adventure. They were in their early 20s and wanted to start their own business. Arriving in Boulder, Doris declared, “This is it.”
The two women settled in and opened a combination cooking school and cookware store in downtown Boulder. Before long, selling cookware became the principal business. Doris soon bought out her partner and moved the store into a 19th-century building in the heart of the new Pearl Street Mall. Peppercorn is still there.
“My mother always had a desire to help people create the home they wanted,” says Doris’s son, Chance Kraegel, who is now Peppercorn’s vice president. “And she always knew that she wanted to be her own boss.” Chance tells me that his mother still hand-curates each of the thousands of items the store carries. “She’s always go-go-go. She never stops,” Chance says. “I swear she will be buried under this building.”
The store’s webpage asserts, “Peppercorn is more than just a store; it’s an adventure.” To test this, I stood out in front of Peppercorn on a recent Thursday morning to eavesdrop on shoppers as they exited.
Within a few minutes, a three-generation family walks out carrying their purchases in signature blue Peppercorn bags. They have that tourist look about them (you know what I mean). The family gets a few yards down Pearl Street when suddenly the mother stops and exclaims, “Wait, where’s Grandpa?” Her husband heads back into the store and re-emerges moments later with an elderly man in tow. “He was still inside,” Dad reports. “He was having the time of his life.” Responds Grandpa sheepishly, “I was reading the soup books.”
One of my favorite parts of the store is the hot sauce section. Peppercorn carries more than 100 brands, with spice levels ranging from mild and fruity all the way to volcanic fiery that would blister paint off a car. They carry hundreds of styles of socks, embossed with cats, flamingos, and snarky sayings, some of which would make you blush. And Peppercorn is the only place in town I can find the Hobnob biscuits I enjoyed when I lived in London.
“We have two types of customers,” Chance explains. “One is the hard-core Boulder resident who comes in with a specific purchase in mind, although they often find new things. The second is the tourist, who just wanders in to browse.” Invariably, the visitor departs with a Peppercorn shopping bag, containing a small piece of Boulder to take back home.
He estimates that, depending on the time of year, upwards of half of Peppercorn’s customers come from out of town. “At times, the influx of tourists and CU parents is insane,” Chance observes. “During spring break this year, it seemed like half the people in the store were from New Jersey.”
Chance says he’s pleased that people chose to visit Peppercorn to make their purchases, rather than buying online. “We have visitors come in from around the country and around the world who say, ‘This is my spot. Every time I come to Boulder, I come here.’ They chose us. I think that’s great.”
I suppose that’s what makes Peppercorn successful. While you can certainly buy things in the store, the warm welcome you receive when you walk through the front door and the dizzying array of products carefully curated on tables and hanging from walls makes you feel you’ve entered a museum. Maybe that’s why Frommer’s calls it the “Smithsonian of Cookstores.”
“My favorite part about the store is that it’s an institution,” Chance reflects. He tells me he was born in Boulder in 1988 and went to Centennial Middle School with one of my sons (which makes me feel old). “I grew up in this store. There are employees who now work for me here who changed my diapers. It’s this cool part of Boulder’s history that I get to be part of. People have met their future spouses in Peppercorn and have taken their wedding pictures in front of the store. We are part of their lives. That’s special.”
Chance says he’s not sure how the arrival of the Sundance Film Festival next January will affect Peppercorn. “There’s certainly a lot of potential,” he observes, echoing the cautious optimism of many in Boulder.
Regardless of the festival’s impact, Chance says that, as it moves into its second halfcentury, Peppercorn isn’t going anywhere. “Our store means so many things to so many people, and we do our best to include everyone in that. We have been through all the changes in Boulder, and we optimistically look forward to the ones coming. We’re always going to be here.
Interview Courtesy of Bob Yates
