Food Co-op comes to Castle Pines
By Shaun Kernahan; photo courtesy of Lisa Storey
If you have lived in the Castle Pines community for any length of time, you likely know Lisa Storey, otherwise known as “Mama Lisa.” A savvy business woman, Storey has become very resourceful in the decades she’s been in the food business.
From opening Mama Lisa’s Little Italy in 2002 to transitioning to Roux World Kitchen (catering) in 2018, to sharing her kitchen space with the new Tandoori Flames restaurant earlier this year, Storey’s latest venture is bringing a food co-op to neighbors in Castle Pines.
“We found our employees were having a hard time getting food,” Storey said about one of the reasons she began this co-op. When she realized there were multiple people within her 20 employees who had underlying medical concerns that left them more susceptible to COVID-19, she said there must be quite a few more within the community, and the co-op was born.
This venture transported Storey back to her youth when she would go down to the Saturday morning co-op with her “hippie” mom to get their groceries for the week. One thing Storey didn’t expect to come from this experience is that it nearly brings tears to her eyes on a daily basis to hear the stories of those she is serving.
Lisa Storey’s son, Justis, delivers food to residents in the Castle Pines community through a recently-established food co-op.
Storey is delivering food to cancer patients, parents of newborns who have had health issues, and even one customer who recently had a kidney transplant. Add to that the people who have asthma, homeowners in the 65 or older age bracket who are considered higher risk, or just people who don’t want to deal with the craziness of the grocery store. “This has quickly moved from serving my employees to a full-time job,” said Storey.
Customers can place orders twice a week to have food and supplies delivered right to their doorstep. Everything from meat to rice and pasta, to napkins and paper towels, but she admits she hasn’t been able to get toilet paper yet!
There is even a pre-prepared meal for each delivery cycle for “dinner that night and groceries for a couple extra days.” To place an order with Storey, keep an eye on the Mama Lisa’s/Roux World Kitchen Facebook page, or email lisalittleitaly@msn.com.
