This dedication to cultivating a truly local product would not have been possible without the assistance of organizations such as the Colorado Grain Chain, which has been a driving factor in their mission to reintroduce ancient and heritage grains specific to Colorado. When we asked Wroe how the partnership with the Colorado Grain Chain came about, Wroe mentioned, “The Colorado Grain Chain was a serendipitous discovery two years into our history. We didn’t know of the organization until after we started the distillery; had we known of them in advance, it would have saved us a lot of effort and time. Once we discovered the CGC, it was a natural fit — and the amount of knowledge and connections in the CGC has been invaluable.” After discussing the Colorado Grain Chain and its impact on Dry Land, it became apparent that the physical location of Dry Land plays a prominent role in its mission to showcase Colorado ingredients, artisans and farmers authentically.

We are really trying to do as much as we can ourselves so that we can control the quality.

“We're pretty transparent as a business about how important it is for us to source our ingredients locally. Most of the fruits and vegetables that we get that are incorporated into specialty breads and pastries are locally sourced from the market often,” she says. “All of the flour that we get is also locally sourced, and there's really a lot of heart and soul that goes into that kind of regional pride and wanting to support that local economy”

The épicerie is firmly grounded in brick-and-mortar tradition, gaining customers not through novelty or Instagrammable branding, but by reviving the regional culinary know-how and personal relationships with farmers and customers that empowered épiciers of the past.

To restore a balance of supply and demand, farmers and ranchers across the valley need to drastically cut how much water they pump out of the ground, according to the Colorado Division of Water Resources. If they don’t, the state has threatened to step in and shut off hundreds of wells, which local water managers say would devastate the valley’s agriculture-driven economy. 

I was happily retired once, but my wife got sick, so I went back to work.

I love taking something from someone's hands that they think is worthless, and bring it back to life.