Taste buddies: Central Platte shop spices up Denver food scene.

• Author: Grice, Carrie Le

As you approach the Savory Spice Shop off 15th Street in the Central Platte Valley, the aroma of freshly ground ginger or some other spice of the day tells your taste buds they're in for a treat. The shop is a haven for cooks and food lovers alike. From the special Moroccan curry blend, Ras el Hanout, to what's called Longs Peak, a smoky blend of seasonings perfect for barbecued pork chops, to something as simple and satisfying as cinnamon, the Savory Spice Shop has everything a beginner or expert cook needs, wants and didn't know existed.

Savory Spice offers Denver residents a gourmet alternative to shopping for spices at ethnic food shops that provide only spices specific to a certain cuisine, or grocery stores that sell spices from large-scale suppliers, like McCormick. It was that market opportunity that co-owners Mike Johnston and Janet Chambers recognized when they opened their shop in 2004.

Judging by the overflow of eager customers pouring onto sidewalks outside the shop during tasting nights or the constant flow of shoppers on any average day, it's clear that residents from throughout metro Denver have embraced the shop.

"We chose Denver because we realized there was a need," says Johnston, a Chicago native who has been in the spice business for more than five years. "We saw that the average person here was concerned about what they put in their bodies."

Denver was ranked as the fifth-fittest city in the country in 2005. To cater to this demanding and health-conscious market, Savory Spice is continually creating and shelving innovative and alternative products, from low-salt seasonings to vegan cheese sprinkles.

The shop takes pride in its 350-plus varieties of spices, seasonings and other products...