Home

• Email
• Post a comment
• Print
• 

Jeff and Kristi Brown swear they're the best cotton candy makers in town - just don't expect to find it on the menu of their downtown Steamboat Springs Mexican restaurant.

The Browns' move from the East Coast to Northwest Colorado is anything but atypical in a ski town, but not many Steamboat residents can claim their path to a successful life in the mountains began with a cotton candy stand on a New Jersey boardwalk.

Jeff and Kristi met while students at Boston University, where Jeff majored in finance and Kristi majored in marketing. Shortly after graduation, the couple purchased a cotton candy stand in Seaside Heights, N.J. - the same cotton candy stand at which Jeff worked since he was a 13-year-old. The Browns quickly began to expand their food stand business, purchasing nearby funnel cake and French fry stands as well. They eventually owned and operated 14 food stands in Seaside Heights and were responsible for more than 100 employees.

"We were in the ideal situation - no job from October to March," Jeff said about the short summertime business season at the beach. "We didn't have any responsibilities; we could travel whenever we wanted."

Their winter ski vacations took them to places like Breckenridge; Whitefish, Mont.; and Steamboat Springs. Kristi said they always were on the lookout for where they might eventually settle and start a family.

They eventually decided to spend their winters in Steamboat. A former food stand employee of theirs who also had moved to Steamboat suggested they purchase the Cantina restaurant downtown, and the idea took hold after a new property owner in Seaside Heights decided not to renew their food stand leases.

"It ended up being the best thing that happened to us," Jeff said.

They purchased the restaurant in 2002 and moved to Steamboat full time in 2004, the same year they also purchased Mambo Italiano (which they sold in 2007).

The Browns, especially Kristi, have since immersed themselves in the community. Kristi continues to work part time at Planned Parenthood in addition to serving on the Education Fund Board and the Yampa Valley Housing Authority's board of directors. She also was active with the Youth Wellness Initiative, particularly its efforts to curb underage drinking.

"If you make an effort, you can make changes," Kristi said. "I just grew up with that community spirit and willingness to be involved."

Jeff has coached youth hockey, Little League baseball and soccer.

The couple has two children, Jackie, 8, and Scott, 10.