If you’ve walked through Old Town Fort Collins recently, you might have noticed something: more events, more energy, more reasons to stick around after dinner. That’s not an accident. That’s the Downtown Fort Collins Business Collective — and if you haven’t heard of us yet, let’s fix that.
It started with a conversation
In the spring of 2025, Jessica Dizmang and Lisa Paugh were doing what small business owners in Old Town do — talking shop, comparing notes, and trying to figure out how to get more people walking through their doors.
Jessica owns the Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop on Mountain Avenue. Lisa runs Walrus Ice Cream, which has been a Fort Collins institution for 37 years. Two ice cream shop owners, two blocks apart, same goal: a downtown that feels alive.
The conversation kept coming back to the same thing. We used to have more going on downtown. More events, more foot traffic, more of that “let’s go hang out in Old Town” energy. And instead of waiting for someone else to bring it back, they decided to do something about it.
By June 2025, the Downtown Fort Collins Business Collective was official.
So what is the DBC, exactly?
We’re a group of downtown business owners — shops, restaurants, venues, nonprofits — who got together with a pretty simple idea: if we work together, we can bring more people downtown. More events. More collaborations. More reasons for folks to spend their evenings and weekends in Old Town instead of somewhere else.
We’re not the city. We’re not a chamber of commerce. We’re the people who are here every day, running our businesses, and we’re pooling our energy to make downtown better for everyone — business owners, residents, and visitors.
Our mission is straightforward: build momentum, drive traffic, and help downtown thrive through local connections and creativity. One event, one collaboration, one great experience at a time.
Who’s behind it
Jessica Dizmang — Chair of the Board
Jessica runs three Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops across Colorado with an all-female executive team. She’s a builder — the kind of person who sees a gap and fills it. Her background is in operations, team development, and getting people organized around a shared goal. Which, when you think about it, is basically what the DBC is.
Lisa Paugh — Board Treasurer
Lisa took over Walrus Ice Cream and kept a 37-year legacy going strong. Before that, she spent years in corporate project management, so she knows how to keep the trains running. But ask her why she does this, and it comes down to something simpler: Walrus has been a gathering place for generations, and she wants to make sure downtown stays a place worth gathering in.
What we’re doing
Right now, we’re focused on three things:
Events. We’re bringing live music, movie nights, and community gatherings back to Old Town Square. This summer alone, we’ve got music nights, movies every Monday, line dancing, and more in the works. (Check the full event calendar here.)
Community. We’re building a network where downtown businesses actually talk to each other, support each other, and collaborate. That means a member directory, cross-promotion, and showing up for each other.
Visibility. We want it to be easy for people to find out what’s happening downtown. Our website, our events calendar, our social channels — they’re all designed to be the go-to place for “what’s going on in Old Town this week?”
Want in?
If you’re a downtown business owner, a venue, a nonprofit, or just someone who wants to support what we’re building, we’d love to hear from you. Learn about membership or just come to one of our events and say hi.
This is still early. We’re figuring things out as we go, and that’s part of what makes it fun. But the energy is real, the events are happening, and downtown is feeling a little more like itself again.
Come be part of it.
The Downtown Fort Collins Business Collective (DBC) is a group of local business owners working together to bring more events, energy, and people to Old Town. Learn more at downtownfortcollinsevents.com.
