Meet the Couples Behind 8 of Northern Colorado’s Local Businesses

The Group

If you’ve been in Northern Colorado for very long — or if you’ve been reading Northern Colorado Speaks long — you know Fort Collins, Greeley and Loveland are packed with outstanding local businesses. From craft breweries and mouth-watering eateries to home designers and big dreamers, our communities are filled with entrepreneurs, makers and doers.

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we spoke with a few of the couples behind eight of those businesses. They’re telling their stories, sharing details about their accomplishments, and giving you their best relationship advice. Enjoy!

Steve and Aimée Phillips

You may recognize them from Waltzing Kangaroo.

He was born and raised in Australia. His father was a pastry chef and, while he and Aimée were living together in Australia, he landed a job as a baker specializing in gourmet meat pies and traditional sweets.

She is the yin to Steve’s yang. Born and raised in New Orleans, she lived and worked in Austin, Texas and Grand Teton National Park before moving to Australia with Steve.

They met at Keystone Resort where they worked together for a season then went on a month-long road trip across the United States before Steve’s work visa expired. After Steve returned to Australia, he was offered a managerial role at his company which brought Aimée to Australia instead of the other way around. Much later, when looking for a place to call the home of Waltzing Kangaroo, they settled in Denver and began driving around to locate the perfect spot. “We found pockets we really liked but nothing really excited us,” Aimée said. “Then, we drove to Fort Collins and, although it was a cold, rainy, quiet Monday in May, we liked it immediately. We knew the weather would improve (it hasn’t rained like that since) and honestly it just felt right.”

Steve + Aimée’s best marriage advice: “Honor each others’ differences.”