Old Town Fort Collins flower shop adds bakery stand and wine counter

After three years selling floral arrangements, comic books and thingamajigs in Old Town Fort Collins, Bloom Floral Boutique is expanding its horizons.

The boutique, 153 N. College Ave., welcomed two new businesses to share its space: Mystic Moon Bakery — formerly Loveland's Cupcake Gypsies — opened a bakery stand, and Laporte's Blendings at The Hillside Vineyard opened a wine counter there Friday.

With a central Old Town location and plenty of extra space, Bloom decided to bring in businesses that fit in well with its offerings, according to Brenna Freestone-Gilbert, who took over Bloom with her husband, Caleb Gilbert, in 2020. While Freestone-Gilbert runs the floral side of the boutique, Gilbert operates the comic book shop Beeda's Thingamajigits out of it.

Since Bloom, Mystic Moon Bakery and Blendings are all vendors on the Northern Colorado wedding circuit, Freestone-Gilbert said it felt like a good match to bring the businesses on board.

Mystic Moon Bakery makes move from Loveland

Mystic Moon Bakery — then known as Cupcake Gypsies — started with a cupcake food truck in Northern Colorado and later opened its brick-and-mortar shop on Loveland's Cleveland Avenue in 2019.

The downtown Loveland space was struggling, however, with its rent on the rise, owner and baker Andrea Strick told the Coloradoan.

Strick said they were planning to close the shop and focus on its catering, which makes up a majority of the bakery's business, before Freestone-Gilbert reached out with the opportunity to come to Fort Collins.

As part of the move, the business changed its name to Mystic Moon Bakery, Strick said.

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Blendings to host wine tastings

Blendings at The Hillside Vineyard has expanded its offerings once again in Northern Colorado.

The Laporte-based winery, which has been in a tug-of-war with Larimer County over interpretations of its permit and how many people can patronize its Bingham Hill tasting room, has opened its new wine counter in Bloom Floral Boutique as a way to get out in front of more customers, owner Tiffany Weber said Friday.

The wine counter will conduct wine tastings and sell its wines by the glass or bottle, with a rotating array of roughly 20 wines at Bloom at a given time, Weber said. It will offer two of its frozen wines, which are also available at its satellite frozen wine tasting room in The Exchange.

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When is Bloom Floral Boutique open?

With the addition of its new bakery and wine counters, Bloom Floral Boutique will change its hours to stay open later in the day, Freestone-Gilbert said.

It will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Old Town boutique sharing shop with Loveland bakery, Laporte winery