Meet Lauren Storeby and Shawn Storeby of Snack Attack Specialty Sandwiches & Brews in Fort Collins

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Storeby and Shawn Storeby.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Lauren and Shawn. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I, Lauren, was born in Vail Colorado but grew up in So Cal and Shawn was born in Minnesota but was stationed at Camp Pendleton in Southern California. We met while working at OC Tavern in San Clemente, and neither of us ever imagined we would be where we are today!

Shawn and I always talked about owning a sandwich and beer shop but never knew when it would actually come to life. We were living in Orange County California at the time and shortly after having our son, I didn’t want to go back to full-time corporate work in the apparel industry and the housing market was booming. We ended up selling our first home just as Shawn was graduating from college using the GI bill, one of the many benefits he received after serving 9 1/2 years in the marine corps.

We had talked about moving back to Colorado, we didn’t know when that would happen but the timing was right and everything fell into place. We jumped ship in California and moved our lives to Fort Collins Colorado, all while raising a six-month-old baby and never physically visiting Foco. We had a few friends recommend this family-centric city and we fell in love with it after a night of googling. We moved here in January of 2017 and a short six months later Snack Attack opened its doors for the first time on June 19th.

Long story short we just celebrated our two-year mark and couldn’t be more grateful for the support we’ve received from the Fort Collins Community!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Ha! Smooth road in the restaurant business? Not really but we are incredibly grateful for the crazy journey we set ourselves upon!

Our first year of business was tough. Keep in mind we are a family-owned, husband and wife operation so yes it was HARD. We are both incredibly passionate people, fully dedicated and somewhat of perfectionists. We gave up everything in California for this so we knew no matter what we had to make it work.

Fort Collins is known to have a plethora of restaurants. So many restaurants, lots of competition with new concepts opening and closing on the monthly. The biggest challenge was (and continues to be) getting Fort Colliner’s out of their regular patterns to come in and give us a try! Luckily we are conveniently located on College Avenue in midtown just south of the college. We often hear “Oh I know where you are, I drive by you EVERY SINGLE DAY!”. Once a new guest comes in 99% of the time they come back and often upset with themselves that they didn’t come in sooner!

Another challenge we face is getting people out of the mentality that we are a “Snack Shop”. People read the first part of our name and seem to miss the Specialty Sandwiches and Brews part of our name, which is the most important! Once guests come in to experience our restaurant, they quickly learn what Snack Attack is all about. It’s a full experience, not just a restaurant. It’s the feeling of having a craving for really good food and not being able to let go of that craving until you have it! It’s about enjoying great quality food, a great local craft brew and enjoying our welcoming space leaving with a smile and feel good attitude!

Please tell us about Snack Attack Specialty Sandwiches & Brews.
We are an independent, family and veteran-owned business located in midtown Fort Collins. Snack Attack is all about great sandwiches, salads and wraps paired with a local craft brew! We are a quick-service concept that takes pride in creating freshly prepared and high-quality menu items. We feel that sandwiches and beers are the perfect pair and want to share this passion with everyone that walks through our doors.

We welcome all ages and love having families come in to enjoy themselves! We even offer a Game Center for the kiddos to play while adults enjoy their meal or local beer.

Snack Attack is known for its colorful menu, offering healthier options and filling you up! Our Chicken Up-In-Da Club is our best sammie seller and our salads are quickly becoming known as the best salads in town, as many customers echo “they are as big as your head!”. Yes, we take our salads very seriously- filled with freshly cut lettuce and lots of toppings guaranteed to leave you fueled for the rest of your day.

Most specifically we are known for the “Snack Attack It” where we put chips in your sammie or wrap! Yes, we crumble up the regular salted potato chips adding that extra crunch! If you haven’t tried, it’s a must!

We are truly a one of a kind sandwich bar. We offer an array of great menu items, healthier options and a great beer selection! Our menu items are made to order and our chicken and bacon are freshly grilled everyday. We take pride in our food quality and offering great customer service! We want our guests to come in and leave feeling they made a new friend and to know they have a place to come back and relax at.

We are proud to have hit our two-year mark last June, we have expanded to a patio out front and won the Small Business of the Year award from the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce! Very proud moment for us to be recognized by the business community for our hard work and commitment!

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Ooo this is a tough question! There are so many! For me, Lauren, I would have to say it was growing up and visiting the mountains as a kid. Even growing up in California, my dad taught me how to ski and around age 12, I learned how to snowboard. In high school, he joined a race team up in the local mountains so I got to snowboarding

For Shawn, his favorite memory from childhood was playing hockey! Growing up in Minnesota hockey was a big sport and he played from a young age! When he was 9, his team went undefeated all season and won their state championship! Hockey was a major outlet for him- he learned discipline, commitment and that sacrifice would lead to big achievements!