A B O U T
Peak microgreens all started as an idea. Chace and Dave were both working in the restaurant and service industry when they met in Vail. After working together for a short time, they both realized that they shared a passion for the natural world and Chace started brainstorming ideas to create a career out of our passions. He came across some urban farms growing microgreens and they knew they landed on the right idea. Then began a simple mission to find out what the local produce scene was like, and found that there was a big space in the market for a new, high quality microgreens company.
One day, out of the blue, Chace called Dave to go to Home Depot to check on some prices for equipment, and they ended up walking out with everything needed for a simple set up. And so it began, in Dave’s spare bedroom.
Just having access to a spare room with no roommates provided Peak with the unique, small window needed to bootstrap this business together. The demand was increasing and the space was decreasing as they continued to fill both bedrooms and a good portion of the rest of the apartment with equipment. This pressure forced Peak Microgreens to find a commercial space as quickly as
possible. The road to the this space was a rocky one, with many dead ends, and the future of the business seemed uncertain for a moment. However, each missed opportunity provided a new learning experience and Peak Microgreens ended up in just the right place. It is the perfect combination of size, location, and price and this new facility now allows the delivery of fresh, local microgreens to the beautiful Vail Valley.
M E E T
T H E
O W N E R S
CHACE
DAVE
My name is Chace MacDermott and I grew up in Connecticut. I spent all my time playing outdoors as a kid fascinated by the natural world. This led me to study environmental conservation and community planning at University of New Hampshire.
I was drawn to live in Colorado since I was a teenager since snowboarding and outdoor activity was my passion. Before moving to Colorado I graduated with a BS in Community and Environmental Planning and worked for Enterprise Rent-a-Car for a year in NH.
The corporate life wasn’t for me but I saved up and after a year moved to Australia to travel for a year. I went to 4 other countries including Fiji, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam.
Once I got back I packed up my van and drove across the country to Colorado and moved to Denver first. I thought Denver was in the mountains since I had never visited before moving. It wasn’t. I began to move west after the city making it to Silverthorne and then Vail.
I worked at the RedLion serving tables for two years and that is where I met Dave. We started brainstorming ideas about growing food and trying to supply the high density of restaurants in Vail. After considering gourmet mushrooms I stumbled upon Microgreens. I ran the idea past Dave and we saw the need for them in the Vail village restaurants. The rest is history.
My name is Dave Curulewski and I grew up in New Lenox, IL which is about an hour south of Chicago. I was raised to appreciate the outdoors and began hunting and fishing with my older brother, Mike, at a young age. As I got older, we started to hike and camp and my interest in nature grew greatly. The love for the outdoors that Mike and I shared led to us starting a honeybee farm in Illinois, which he still runs and operates.
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I eventually completed a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and was given an opportunity to live and work on a boat in The Bahamas performing research on coral reef systems. When I returned, I decided to pack up and head to Colorado before I got too used to being back in Illinois. I have now been in Vail for two years working in the service industry, where I met Chace.
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Chace and I had immediately started talking about our similar interests in nature, growing our own food, beekeeping, etc. and one day he approached me with an idea to start a microgreens business. YES! This was a no-brainer for me. We immediately made a trip to Home Depot to stock up on some basic supplies, learned how to grow, and the rest is history!
