There will be a new store joining the already bustling 17th Street, downtown. The Hawthorn Tree (112 E. 17th Street) announced it will be opening an herbal apothecary and tea room sometime this spring or early summer.
Owner of The Hawthorn Tree, Susan Allen said, “Cheyenne is ready. I have been watching the area grow, especially downtown, and I felt the community is ready to embrace something unique and different. Several apothecaries have been popping up in the Denver and Northern Colorado areas, and I think Cheyenne is a great place to start this type of business.”
The Hawthorn Tree will carry close to 100 different herbs, teas, and spices along with a tea room for sipping your favorite blend.
Allen said, “We don’t want to compete with places that are doing high tea. We will be offering a more casual place to enjoy several different blends of herbal tisanes (herbal teas) and black, green and white teas.”
According to longtime resident and historian Bill Dubois the location, which used to be the “Little Shop,” served tea back in the 1930s.
In addition to the herb and tea offerings, the Hawthorn Tree will sell a complete line of herbal products made in the store. The store currently has a commercial kitchen that will be converted into a lab for handcrafted herbal products.
Allen said, “We plan to have other new-age, meditation items, and common general store sundries. We used to have access to more common items downtown before the old pharmacies closed.” Allen said she recalls a time when downtown was bustling.
“We used to spend hours downtown on 17th Street as kids, shopping and riding the escalator at JC Penny’s,” she said. Allen purchased old department store fixtures, including an antique counter from JC Penny’s and plans on incorporating them into the décor.
The company will release several products in advance of the store opening and start selling to the general public.
“Instead of doing a start-up capital campaign, we hope to sell products to raise money if people are interested in supporting us, they can purchase a product or follow us on social media,” she said.
Apothecary means “storehouse” in Greek, but traditional apothecaries predated modern pharmacies that dispensed herbal preparations for everything from the common cold to more serious diseases. Today, the FDA heavily regulates the herbal market to prevent false claims.
“We want to comply with the regulations and let people know that herbs are available to them, but their use shouldn’t replace the advice of a doctor,” Allen said.
Allen and her family-owned and operated McIntyre’s Garden Center in Cheyenne for close to 20 years, and Allen, herself, ran an organic produce farm in Windsor, Colorado for two years. Allen has more than 30 years of experience in horticulture. Previously, she was president of Garden Centers of Colorado, hosted a local gardening program on CBS News Channel 5 and provided gardening tips to many Cheyenne residents.
“This just made sense for me after working with plants for so many years; working with plants from a supportive standpoint has been a game-changer,” she said.
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