A new business seems to be bringing a little flavor to Oak Creek

For more than three decades, Sasha Stanger has traveled the world in search of good food. Now, the longtime foodie is ready to share his experience with Sascha’s Gourmet items from Oak Creek, Routt County and all of Colorado.

“It’s been his dream for over 19 years that we’ve been together,” said Brooke Stanger, Sascha’s wife. “He’s been talking about doing something like this since we’ve been together, and he’s been talking about it for all those years and probably before that. Seeing the dream come to life has been amazing for me because it’s the passion.”

Sascha’s Gourmet Goods is inviting the community to its store at 312 Myers Street, located behind the Oak Creek Space Station, from noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday, August 27.

“We’ll have lots of samples and lots of drinks,” says Sasha. “Our records will be opened on that day for the first time.”

Next week on August 31st, the store will host its grand opening and stay open until Monday, which is Labor Day.

As the holiday weekend approaches, Sasha said the store will be moving back to regular hours — 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

While the store is Sascha’s dream, the couple maintains other jobs on the side to pay the bills. Brooke works at Super Select Market in Oak Creek, and Sasha continues to work as vice president of sales and marketing for cheese importers Gourmet Warehouse. He also has Sascha’s seasoning line, a line of seasonings, mixes and rubs available throughout Colorado and now at the Oak Creek store.

The couple said they were looking for a space when they found out about the space station. They signed a lease, cleaned, renovated and stocked up on groceries to buy the store soon.

“The way the food is made is elsewhere – usually in Europe. Then someone like me goes to the food show and gets that food, then takes it back to the distributor before we go out to the chefs,” Sasha said. “We tend to get the food first so we don’t see many things around here. There are items that I like, or items that I feel would be good.

As part of his work, Sasha has traveled to places such as Italy, Spain and Portugal to discover many food items.

“We import food from around the world,” Sasha said. We handpick the ingredients and work with small producers. There are many artisans and authentic products.

He says he hasn’t traveled as much in recent years, but still has an appetite for the best flavors around the world — and right here at home.

His company sells to hotels, restaurants and retailers. He said his company works locally with Steamboat Meat and Seafood Co., Rex’s Family of Restaurants, Mambo Italiano, Bésame Steamboat and even Select Supermarket on Sascha Furniture Road.

Sasha says his goal now is to educate consumers and introduce them to many of the flavors he’s come to love over the years. He also plans to hold tastings and demonstrations so people can experience the food he finds in his store.

Among the hundreds of unique items, customers will find bagels from France as well as tomatoes, lady fingers, artichokes and pasta from Italy and olives and olive oil. There are pickles, cookies, chocolates, chocolate-covered fruits and nuts, and even a few CBD products.

Sasha said his customers get a lot of furniture from Colorado.

Many of the food items are displayed on antique furniture owned by Brooke’s mother.

In the year The Stangers moved from Longmont to Oak Creek after her mother died in the spring of 2021. Brooke believes that nothing would be possible without her mother and Brooke will be happy to come to this mountain community with Sacha and open the shop.

“We lost my mother-in-law, Brooke’s mother, a year ago, and we inherited a lot of good things,” says Sasha. “She loves these antiques, and for the last year we’ve had a collection of them in our own home.”

Not only are the furnishings perfectly in keeping with the old world style, but the couple remembers the love and support that Brooke’s mother, Joyce Fullerton, shared over the years.

Now, as the couple moves into the next phase of their lives, Brooke and Sasha are ready to share their passion for food.

“We want to serve not only Root County, but the summer visitor, the person who comes to Colorado and reads about Stagecoach and wants to learn about our area,” Sasha said. We want to be the company that attracts people to Oak Creek. We want to be a destination.

To contact John F. Russell, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@SteamboatPilot.com or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.