Dark Posted March 26, 2023 Posted March 26, 2023 Bringing joy in the form of cookies is important to Kristy and Pat Rigdon. After spending time in high-stress jobs, they wanted to open a business that would both be pleasing to them and uplift the community. They found that balance in opening a location for Mary’s Mountain Cookies in Colorado Springs. Kristy Rigdon said she and her husband were at a point in their careers where they were ready to do something different. Pat had been a deputy chief for the Colorado Springs Police Department and had been in law enforcement for 30 years. Kristy had been an educator, principal, and district administrator in the school system. They had always thought Mary’s Mountain Cookies (founded by Mary Johns in 1991 in Fort Collins) would work well in Colorado Springs. The Rigdon family was introduced to Mary’s when they used to visit Breckenridge (in a location that no longer exists). Later their daughter went to Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Rigdon and her husband would joke with their daughter: “Don’t come home unless you have Mary’s Mountain Cookies with you!” So when they reached out to Johns about opening a location in the Springs and then met with her, everything seemed to fall into place. “It fit the criteria we were looking for as far as doing something different that was fun, brought joy to others, and allowed us to contribute to our community.” The Rigdons wanted to find a downtown location since they had also lived in the Old North End for eight years. Johns, who had stopped looking at expansion inquiries when their proposal came in, told the Rigdons, “Timing is everything.” The Rigdons’ proposal struck a chord for some reason and the downtown area in the Springs was expanding. “The business side of it made sense. We really liked her. She seemed to like us. And our previous work experience and leadership skills, just transfer nicely into running this business.” They opened their location in July 2022. Rigdon says that it is also a creative outlet because she does a lot of decorating and putting packages together. But she says rather than creating their own business from scratch, they looked for a franchise or a licensing situation. “Mary’s was nice and packaged. She is a great partner in what we do in the store.” It is not a traditional franchise because it is directly connected with the founder ensuring a texture of authenticity. “Mary’s very responsive and, as far as our guests and our customers, we really just wanted to go for that ‘Wow!’ factor when they walk in the store because that was something that drew us to Mary’s, to begin with, with our kids.” “Going to Mary’s was an experience. So we really aim for, when people come downtown, they’ve got to go to Mary’s. That’s kind of our goal.” Rigdon describes, when customers walk into their store, that there is a cookie case full of 24 varieties of cookies. “And when we say Mary’s Mountain Cookies, we mean it. Our cookies weigh over a quarter of a pound and they are delicious. It’s just visual, the sight, and then the smell when you walk in, you smell delicious cookies baking all day … it’s really a visceral experience https://themaverickobserver.com/marys-mountain-cookies-bringing-joy-through-cookies/
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