(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Tucked away in Colorado Springs off Highway 85 is a door with a vibrant red mushroom cap that marks the entrance to Microvora—an indoor growing center specializing in microgreens and mushrooms.

“I initially wanted to empower people in apartments to grow their own food, so we created these indoor gardening centers,” said Owner of Microvora, Patru Dumitru. “As I was working on that project, we were growing bunch of microgreens, the chefs wanted them, we got connected and kind of all took off from there.”

Behind the storefront is where all the work truly lies, with rows upon rows of products growing in different temperature rooms. The process for growing mushrooms is extremely thorough and requires a lot of attention to detail.

“Basically, you mix your substrate, you sterilize it, you inoculate it with your spawn, which is like the equivalent of seeds and the substrates like soil,” Dumitru said. “Then you let it sit in a room for 2 to 4 weeks to colonize and then put it in a fruiting room, which is a lot more humid and a lot colder.”

According to the owner, the most popular mushroom sold is the Lion’s Mane.

Growing fresh mushrooms and microgreens weekly, the business supplies local restaurants along with grocery stores in Southern Colorado. However, in the early winter months, Dumitru was faced with a major challenge as his mushrooms were not blooming.

“We were out of mushrooms for about six weeks there,” Dumitru said. “Thankfully, the chefs worked with us and they’re here for us, to support us when we’re ready again and we’re super grateful for them.”

Now they are back in full bloom after resolving the issue stemming from excessive sterilization of the growing bags.

“So I guess you can be too clean,” Dumitru laughed. “But we got it figured out, and now we’re back up running full speed and look forward to the snow and thawing and us going to the markets.”

In the fruiting room, the rows burst with oyster mushrooms and lion’s mane, showcasing just a glimpse of the wide variety now available.

“We’ve got five different kinds of oysters, gray, gold, pink, black, pearl and snow,” Dumitru stated. “We’ve got lion’s mane, chestnuts, pioppino, king trumpet and then for the medicinal sides, we’ve got the reishi, the cordyceps and the lion’s mane.”

Microvora has nine varieties of mushrooms currently growing inside.

When it comes to the medicinal mushrooms, Dumitru said what is available for purchase in his storefront is also available at his online store, which can be found here.

“As of 2023, Prop 122, you were allowed to grow your own mushrooms, magic mushrooms,” Dumitru said. “You can’t sell the fruiting bodies, but you can give them, we offer grow kits. It’s super easy, basically a three-step process, you inoculate your liquid culture into your bag, keep them in a room 72 to 80, and then within 6 to 8 weeks you’ll have a full harvest and if you’re microdosing, that’ll last you the whole year. It’s about three ounces of harvest.”

A mushroom in bloom could be spotted in the fruiting room on Tuesday morning.

While the business offers a wide variety of mushrooms along with these growing kits, there will soon be a new product, one that will outdo the others in its strength and quality.

“We’ve come out with the world’s most potent and concentrated mushroom extracts, they’re 100 to 1 extract,” Dumitru said. “We call them mushroom crystals, we’ve got them about seven different varieties and if you’re looking for extreme medicinal benefit from the mushroom, try the crystals you will feel it almost immediately. “

Owner, Patru Dumitru places the new crystalized mushroom product inside the storefront.

If you are a picky eater and nervous to try a bite of a mushroom, Dumitru recommends the gray oysters.

“They literally get super crispy when you cook them. I mean, if you cook them with oil and cook them well and it’s just like chicken, a new kind of meat almost,” Dumitru said.

Several products from Microvora are available for sale at Bread & Butter Neighborhood market as well as The Sourdough Boulangerie. The storefront is open Monday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and they also provide home delivery to several cities throughout Southern Colorado.