For over fifty years, the Michopoulos family owned and operated a local landmark confection store. Michelle’s in Downtown Colorado Springs was located at 122 North Tejon Street. For more than five decades, Valentine’s Day and Easter were highlighted with chocolate hearts, ribbon candy, and homemade ice cream. There were chocolate shelled eggs, chocolate bunnies, and Easter treats so unique to Michelle’s that people lined up outside the door to share in the experience. It was a happy place.
The store was so popular they expanded into the Citadel Mall in east-central Colorado Springs. The Citadel store was open for almost 30 years. Michelle’s also ventured into Greenwood Village in Denver. That location never performed well, but Michelle’s in Downtown Colorado Springs was always popular, always fun.
After closing their other stores, Andy Michopoulous survived a cold winter in 2006 and was looking forward to getting back on his feet. Strong sales of their specialty products would help them do that, highlighted with robust sales of Valentine’s and Easter candy in the Spring of 2007.
A Sad Ending
In May 2007, the IRS showed up . . . locked the doors, seized the business, and Michelle’s was no more. For ten years, the building sat vacant . . . an empty shell that was a reminder of carefree days of taking the grandkids for a treat or date-nights with a spouse and/or kids. No more stopping in to pick up a special treat for a treasured friend, no longer a meeting place for colleagues to grab a soda or a leisurely lunch. Not many times I pass the store and not give a sigh of regret at the loss.
The location was purchased in 2017 by a company named Michelle’s Makery. Unfortunately they are no longer occupying the space. While it is not a confection store and again stands vacant in 2021, the distinctive sign with 248 bulbs still remains.
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I have fond memories of going to Michelles after the Ice Show at the Broadmoor, my father would take our family to Colorado Springs every summer to attend the ice show and rodeo. Without fail we would go to Michelles each night and sometimes during the day. I can still smell the goodies and remember the Michopolous family. They are definitely missed.
Mark Fischer
Dodge City Kansas
How sad!!! I had been on family vacation in high school (early 2000s) and loved it since we share a first name! I just tried to find it to recommend a friend who’s going this year and found your article. Thank you for the info, though!!
Thanks for reaching out. It really is sad and still beloved by those who knew it.
Hello! I have been searching and searching lol over the internet for a menu and can’t seem to find one. Is there any way you could see a picture of the menu that you have and send it to my email? Would be very greatly appreciated. Thank you
Sorry, Tim. Since they’ve been closed for fifteen years, I’d have no idea where to get a menu. Maybe you could contact one of the surviving kids mentioned in the article.
Going through some of my mother’s things, I came across a menu she had kept as a souvenir from Michelle’s. Decided to look it up . . . Saddened to discover it is closed. Members of her senior class from Tyler, TX, travelled to Colorado Springs in either 1961 or 1962. She always spoke fondly of that trip to Michelle’s.
Omg!!!!! I have been looking ALL over the internet for a menu! Would you please take a pic and send the menu? I would be forever grateful! Thanks in advance.
Tim Chalcraft
Did you still have a menu?
I’m sorry. I just wrote the post about what happened to Michelle’s. I had no actual association with the store, so I never had a copy of the menu. I have no idea how to help you find one.
I had shopped Michelle’s from 1973 until it closed. Easter egg treats were special.
Since they closed I have gotten my chocolate Easter eggs from Betty Jane Candies in Dubuque Iowa. They are a best 2nd
They are truly a fond memory. It was always a special treat for my kids when we went to have lunch or buy goodies. Thanks for stopping by!
I WORKED AT MICHELLE’S AS A “ARTIEST OF THE FOUNTAIN’ AND HAD MY PICTURE IN LIFE MAGAZINE SOMETIME BETWEEN 1957 AND 1959. LOOKING TO FIND A COPY OF THAT PICTURE TO SHOW MY GRAND KIDS.
I was delighted to work at Michelle’s for a couple of years in the early eighties. What a fun job and a wonderful family to work for. Work started very early in the morning for about a month before Easter. Those shell eggs were a work of art and people would buy them for their adult children who had been receiving them since their childhood. Mrs. Michelle, Betty, Thym, Andy, and Jimmy thanks for the memories!
It was such a loss to the community when they shut down. All these years later, it’s still and institution.