Couple bring Maine lobster to Fort Collins

The best food tells a story, and in the case of Fort Collins' latest food cart, Mile High Lobster Shack, it's one about new beginnings and a homecoming.

Nancy and Doug Van Reeth first met in Loveland in 1998 while working for the Loveland Reporter-Herald. She was a graphic designer, he was the chief photographer.

The couple moved to Maine eight years ago for a change of career and some coastline, and then just four months ago, they found themselves back in Northern Colorado, without work, living in the industrial district of Windsor.

At first, Nancy, 56, said, "it was like starting all over again." She would turn to Doug, 59, and ask, "What are we going to do for dinner tonight?"

In their temporary apartment, they had a Crock-Pot and a microwave.

Last month, though, the two started selling food from a cart, complete with grill and refrigerator, to their neighborhood workers. They served buttered and toasted buns filled with chunky Maine lobster, tossed in mayonnaise. The sandwich is placed on a bed of Utz Potato Stix with a side of dill pickle.

"What do we know that nobody knows in Colorado?" the Van Reeths had asked themselves.

"In Maine, you can find a lobster roll on just about every street corner," Doug said. "Here, we've kind of got a corner on the market."

As of now, the Mile High Lobster Shack is stationed at the southeast corner of College Avenue and Oak Street in Old Town Fort Collins. The couple sell to lunchtime customers there on weekdays, for now Wednesday through Friday, and they park outside the Fort Collins Nursery and breweries on the weekend.

Along with lobster rolls, priced at $13 (a reasonable rate, Doug says, considering the lobster comes from Maine), they sell sugary whoopie pies, cream and chocolate-filled, that rival Little Debbie. They also stock Maine's official state soda, Moxie, a botanical drink that predates Coke and Pepsi.

The couple will be out all fall selling their chilled lobster rolls and, come winter, will offer lobster chowder, lobster mac and cheese, and other warming Maine dishes.

Lobster on the go

What? Maine lobster packed in buttered and toasted buns, Utz Potato Stix, dill pickles, and also New England style hot dogs and brats.

Where? Some weekdays at the southeast corner of College Avenue and Oak Street and weekends at Fort Collins Nursery and breweries.

Want to know more?www.facebook.com/MileHighLobsterShack or https://twitter.com/MileHighLobster

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