Seth Lyons was the first Missouri Western alumnus to be awarded a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Store. He graduated in December 2008 and enrolled in the Applied Entrepreneurship class held the following spring. He and his wife, Kelsey ’08, opened a store in Silverthorne, Colo. in August 2009.
In 2011, just 28 months after they opened, Seth repaid his five-year loan from Steve Craig for the store, and this spring, he is opening a second franchise, Which Wich? Superior Sandwiches, adjacent to his RMCF store. He plans to purchase at least three more businesses over the next five years.
Being the first store owner in the partnership program between RMCF, Missouri Western’s Craig School of Business and Steve Craig meant that many people were watching Seth and Kelsey, hoping they would succeed so the program would continue.
But Seth doesn’t believe he deserves any accolades. “Steven Craig deserves all the credit. If it wasn’t for his vision, it would not have happened. I’m just proud to be a part of it.”
Seth’s very excited about the recent expansion of the program, where RMCF will now fund the loans and more alumni will have the opportunity to own stores (see story on p. 14). “I think Missouri Western has done a phenomenal job so far, and this shows the confidence Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has in the type of students Missouri Western is producing.”
One of the benefits of the program, Steve has always said, is that the Missouri Western alumni are helping the economic development of the communities in which they own stores, and Seth’s experience is a perfect example of that.
He estimates he will hire approximately 20 employees to work in the sandwich shop in addition to his five current employees in the RMCF. And, he plans to run for a seat on the Silverthorne City Council in the April 2014 election.
Seth said when they opened the RMCF store in 2009, it was at the end of the tourist season, and he and Kelsey were a little nervous about the decision to take on the store.
“We’d look at each other and say, ‘Did we make a mistake?’ Then the holiday season hit, and we said, ‘No,’” he said with a laugh. “Then we knew we had made a great decision.”