Our Story

The founders of the Dam Spice Company go back to the mid-1980s blending spices, Patricia and Chris Orlowski say that, thanks to Chris's father Leo Orlowski was always cooking up something.

Leo was always smoking brisket, Turkey, hams, bacon, fish just about anything he could get his hands on, each time he fired up the smoker he came up with a recipe for a brine, or a rub and a seasoning of some type.

In early 1990 Leo his wife Jackie, Patricia and Chris opened a meat market in Parker Colorado, in a short amount of time they opened a second one in Castle Rock Colorado.

Leo’s meat market was the perfect environment for a proof of concept for blending seasonings. Sold only in their meat markets the blends where always a hit with the customers, always selling out!

As time went on the meat markets were closed due to health problems.

In 2006 Patricia and Chris opened a restaurant in Calhan Colorado, bringing their expertise with them of cutting meat and blending seasonings. Another great proof of concept that worked well and a big hit with the customers. The restaurant was sold 5 years later and Patricia and Chris moved onto there next project.

Patricia and Chris started a mechanical / consulting business, specializing in restaurants, after being involved with over 200 restaurants along the front range of Colorado, many of these restaurants still use the seasoning recipe’s that were shared with them. The business was sold and flourishes today.

In 2021 Patricia and Chris bought a RV Park in New Mexico, opened a restaurant and meat shop, of course another great place to try their spice blends and proof of concept, some of Leo’s original and some new ones with a New Mexico and Southwest theme, all available to sample on the tables at the Dam Diner today.

Summary:

Chris and Pat Orlowski have over 40 years in the industry of,

Restaurant Owners (2), Meat Shops Owners (3), 50 years of experience Smoking Meats, in fact Chris is still a Butcher, Pit Master and Sausage Maker, (practiced under a European Master Sausage maker for 15 years). 

Today they have a collection of recipes for, spice blends, sausage, smoking and BBQ rubs, brines, soup mixes, chip dips and much more, these recipes total over 1000 in the collection.

Now for the big question, where dose the name Dam Spice Co. come from?

We are located 1 mile away from a El Vado Dam / reservoir, when brainstorming name’s, Dam Diner came up and it stuck, thinking it was catchy they now use it as the Dam Diner, Dam Meat co. and now Dam Spice Co. Our Seasoning are 100% all natural, No additives or fillers of any kind, we like to say,

“Just DAM Spices”