In 2017, the northern corner of Old Town Fort Collins between LaPorte Avenue and Jefferson Street was transformed into a vibrant, inviting community center with restaurants, local businesses, and an indoor mini golf course surrounding an open-air central plaza. Here you can grab a meal, play a round of cornhole or golf, get an innovative new haircut, update your home décor, and cool down from the hot Northern Colorado summers with a fantastic frozen treat, all in one place.
Interested in working in an office within a few blocks of The Exchange? Sign up for a tour of Cohere Coworking today!
The Exchange regularly hosts community events as well. This year’s summer calendar includes bingo events on both Monday and Wednesday, Saturday evening swing dance lessons, and Bluegrass Sundays. Trivia nights, happy hours, and family-friendly activities fill out the rest of the online events calendar.
Here’s a rundown of the businesses that currently call The Exchange home:
Food and drink
Crooked Stave—Crooked Stave blends science and art when developing their beers—from their refreshing core series to their flavorful seasonal options. Keep an eye out for their great events, like Bingo with Bounce Rescue, a mini-terrarium class with Bloom Floral Boutique, and Harry Potter Trivia nights.
Vatos Tacos & Tequila—One of the easiest signs to spot when driving by The Exchange is the large, red sign directing you to Vatos Tacos & Tequilla. Known for both their flavorful Mexican food and their refreshing margaritas, Vatos is a local favorite. *Try their fried avocado taco. You won’t be sorry!
Wing Stop—Wing Stop, on the far side of Board and Brush, offers several varieties of flavorful chicken wings.
La Piadina—Once a well-known food truck in Fort Collins, La Piadina serves Piadinas— authentic Italian-style flatbread sandwiches. Their two varieties of flatbread, one based on an ancient recipe first written in 1371 AD, and the other a vegan option, cradle delicious organic ingredients for an amazing taste sensation.
The Waffle Lab—Fort Collins fan-favorite The Waffle Lab opened their second brick-and-mortar shop at The Exchange at the end of 2021. They have a slightly different menu at this location—omitting their chicken and waffles options, and including some new options, like the Pulled Pork Macffle, a waffle topped with pulled pork, mac and cheese, and a savory bbq sauce.
Old Town Churn—The first thing many people notice when walking into The Exchange is the Old Town Churn ice cream shop. The building, shaped like a giant wooden ice cream churn, is almost as delightful as the delicious sorbet pops, milkshakes, and ice cream cones that it offers. An enchanting option for cooling down on a hot, Colorado summer day.
Penrose Taphouse and Eatery—Penrose Taphouse and Eatery has creative food, an engaging and entertaining atmosphere, and the option to Beer it Forward where you can buy a drink for someone else, and each quarter Penrose will donate $1 for every purchase to a local organization doing good in the community.
Blendings at the Hillside Vineyard Tasting Room—While Colorado is better known for our craft beers, we also have delightful local wineries. The Hillside Vineyard has a tasting room located directly above the Chick’n Cone restaurant where you can explore a variety of delicious wines, many made with grapes and berries grown right here in Fort Collins.
Coppermuse Distillery—The Coppermuse Distillery offers a vast array of delicious hand-crafted cocktail options made with their premium vodka, whiskey, rum, gin, agave spirits, and liqueurs. Curious about how they make all those spirits? They have tours of their distillery throughout the week!
Chick’n Cone—Craving chicken and waffles, but don’t have time to mess around with utensils? Chick’n Cone has you covered! Their delicious chicken bites, served in hand-rolled waffle cones, are offered with a variety of flavorful sauces, from a spicy South African Peri Peri sauce to a sweet Cinna-Maple syrup.
Fitness and Fun
Old Town Putt—Old Town Putt is an indoor mini-golf course and bar dreamed up and brought to life by owners Dana and Nora Snell. They host multiple happy hours each week and on select days each month, college students can golf for free with the purchase of a beer or cocktail. Family-friendly golfing is offered each day until 6:30 PM, and adults-only mini-golf commences after 7.
Board and Brush—Board and Brush is a one-of-a-kind do-it-together creative studio specializing in wooden sign workshops. Combining the latest trends in graphic design and woodworking techniques, they walk you through making simple and stylish home décor, from educating you about the materials you’ll use to taking home your own custom wooden sign or decoration.
Board 30—Board 30, located alongside Club Pilates and Norris Design next door to Board and Brush, offers fitness classes based around a novel fitness system that fuses multiple workout genres with resistance bands for a unique full-body workout.
Club Pilates—Well-known fitness studio Club Pilates is located next door to Board and Brush creative studio, alongside Board 30. Their state-of-the-art equipment combined with passionate, knowledgeable instructors can help unlock the secrets of pilates for any skill level.
Rounding it out
The Foundry Barbers—Foundry Barbers, located directly above LaPiadina restaurant, is a luxury barber shop that offers both modern and traditional haircuts, as well as straight razor shaves and beard trims. The friendly and knowledgeable individuals who work here are passionate about hair and will work with you to ensure the best experience possible.
Norris Design—Design firm Norris Design is located next door to Board and Brush alongside Board 30 and Club Pilates. They specialize in large-scale landscape architecture and branding.
Spending time exploring Old Town is an absolutely fantastic way to experience what Fort Collins has to offer. The Exchange provides a splendid sampling of some of Fort Collins’ most popular flavors in an outstanding family and pet-friendly environment. And while you’re down here, come on down and say hi! Book a tour at Cohere Coworking today!
Penny Leigh Sebring is a Cohere member, experienced freelance writer, neophyte speculative fiction author, and gatherer of information and imaginary friends.