30-year-old Fort Collins sandwich shop started as class project

One of Fort Collins’ oldest sandwich shops started as a Colorado State University class project.

The 30-year-old B&B Pickle Barrel was written up as a proposal for a business course  decades ago. Former CSU students Robert “Bob” Piccaro and Brenda Smith — the “B” and “B” behind the storied eatery — made the proposal a reality in 1988.

“Now there’s a kid or two every year that comes and wants to do a class project on the Pickle Barrel,” Smith said. “It is humbling to stay in business for 30 years.”

The business plan for the 122 W. Laurel St. restaurant has altered over the years for survival as Pickle Barrel has seen multiple neighboring businesses open and close.

Smith, a mother of three, has run the operation solo since Piccaro left the business in 1994.

“It gets harder and harder every year,” Smith said. “There’s a lot more competition, rising food costs and increasing wages. It’s all hard on a mom-and-pop business.”

Still, Pickle Barrel remains a community favorite. 

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The sandwich shop that still uses its original exterior sign is open six days a week and currently makes about a thousand sandwiches each week.

The eatery has long attracted CSU students as well as alumni when they return to town. 

“A lot people get nostalgic about this place,” said Andrew Hembd, a Pickle Barrel employee for the past 13 years. “It’s a cool atmosphere and a good sandwich.”

Smith, a New Hampshire native, and Piccaro, a New York native, were originally looking to recreate the East Coast deli culture they had grown up with. The ex-couple initially met working together at the old Bennigan’s restaurant in Fort Collins.

After sharing the business plan project with their parents, Smith and Piccaro found an old fly fishing shop and converted it into the restaurant.

At the time in 1988, their only sandwich shop competitors in Fort Collins were Avogadro's Number, which still operates at 605 S. Mason St., and a couple of Subway locations. Jimmy John's, Silver Mine Subs and Cheba Hut were still years away from opening in the Choice City.

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“We really started it by the seat of our pants,” Smith said. “At first, we would slice every meat and cheese to order. We didn’t weigh them out or anything. The sandwiches were huge and overstuffed.”

Pickle Barrel's systems have become much more sophisticated since then.

The original menu has doubled to more than 30 items, with former employees creating many of the specialty sandwiches. Some are named after former employees and their pets.

Most orders are prepared on a flat top grill. The 17-member staff must memorize the multiple combinations of meats, cheeses, vegetables and sauces of each sandwich. Employees are quizzed at weekly meetings.

“Chicken and turkey are kind of a blank palette you can do anything with,” Smith said. “You have to be creative.”

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The most popular sandwiches over the years have been the "Toonces" — which features grilled turkey, dill havarti cheese, avocado, tomatoes and ranch dressing — and the "Funky Punky," which features grilled turkey, provolone cheese, onions, avocado, tomatoes, mayonnaise and salsa.

Each order comes with the choice of a regular dill pickle or the spicy version that's often doctored up with herbs and peppers grown in a garden just behind the restaurant. 

Though Pickle Barrel currently has its breads baked in Denver, Smith is scheduled to attend baking courses in San Francisco later this spring. She's considering adding a small bakery space in a space behind the restaurant.

“It has always been a goal of mine to bake all of our bread in-house,” she said.

Three years ago, Pickle Barrel's interior was remodeled.

To honor Pickle Barrel's history and Fort Collins, Hembd spent about 140 hours painting a mural of iconic Fort Collins businesses and landmarks in the dining area. Faces of former employees are scattered in — including Hembd's self-portrait.

“It is crazy to think this place has been around since 1988,” Hembd said. “But it says a lot about this place.”

Follow Jacob Laxen on Twitter and Instagram @jacoblaxen.

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