Simply Premium Lean Pork and Spices!
Every one of our great varieties of sausage is prepared to the exact standards Don set forth.
Sausage should be simple, fresh, lean pork shoulder, and spices. Simple as that. We work hard to bring fresher, tastier, and better sausage from our family to yours.
We think about what should (and shouldn't) be in your sausage so you don't need to.
How the Sausage Is Made
What Makes Boulder Sausage So Good?
Don used only the finest cuts of premium lean pork, seasoned with all-natural spices, and never any Fillers, Additives, MSG, Preservatives or Artificial Ingredients. That’s exactly how we make Boulder Sausages today!
Our Beliefs
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What We Believe
We believe good food starts with good ingredients, real people, and doing things the right way. Our customers care about what they serve their families and friends. They want food that tastes great, is made with quality ingredients, and is something they can feel good about bringing to the table.
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We believe better sausage starts with better ingredients. Fresh pork, real spices, and a careful process create the rich, satisfying flavor people come back for. Great taste and ingredients you can feel good about belong together.
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We believe in making sausage the way it should be made. Fresh, flavorful, and made with real ingredients. No unnecessary extras. Just great sausage that makes everyday meals more satisfying.
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We believe in treating our customers like family. We take pride in what we make because we know it ends up on your table. If it isn’t good enough for our families, it isn’t good enough for yours.
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We believe our people make the difference. Our team takes pride in their work, our Colorado roots keep us connected to our community, and our commitment to quality guides the decisions we make every day.
- We believe animals deserve to be treated with care and respect. That’s why we offer select products made with Certified Humane® pork, sourced from farms that meet verified animal welfare standards. We believe better sausage starts with better choices, including giving animals room to move freely in open-pen environments and treating them humanely throughout their lives.
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Taste the Difference Quality Makes
- 100% Premium Lean Pork shoulder only—never any fatty, substandard cuts of meat.
- Always FRESH!
- Cravable bold flavor every time.
- 100% All-Natural Spices—No MSG, preservatives, or artificial flavors of any kind.
- No water or fillers added.
- All-natural casings, for that perfect snap and real sausage flavor when you take a bite.
Simply crafted sausage. Fresher. Tastier. Better.
Most people know Boulder Sausage due to its same signature recipes and Boulder roots for the past 50+ years; however, the story of Boulder Sausage actually began in the early 1900’s when the parents of Don Olk traveled from Germany to Racine, Wisconsin and started hand crafting sausage. In 1961, World War II veteran Don and his wife Frieda decided to move west and ultimately settled in Boulder, CO where they opened Don’s Cheese and Sausage Mart on Pearl St. Don’s Cheese & Sausage Mart was well-known amongst the lunch crowd and quickly became a staple to many Sunday afternoons and childhood memories. As business grew, Don decided to franchise, opening several locations across Colorado’s Front Range. Unfortunately, business began to suffer-leading to real financial trouble and the closing of most locations.
As a result, some investors reached out to Jim Burton, a reputable local with financial wisdom. Upon his audit, Jim knew that the company was headed into bankruptcy; however, he saw great opportunity. There was a fantastic product, but simply no business. Motivated to help save the jobs of the 10 employees, Jim took on the challenge. He began by gathering a group of partners together, forming GBS Partners, Inc., who formally operates as Boulder Sausage today.
The partners ultimately decided to change the business model. Instead of keeping the restaurant alive, they focused on manufacturing and distributing the quality sausage directly to grocers throughout Colorado. They found pride in being different; maintaining the same great product but building relationships with the stores’ meat managers in order to build the business.
GBS Partners, Inc. was truly ahead of the curve in doing business differently both in operations and with products. In its first year, Boulder Sausage only made $200,000 in total revenue, but at least jobs were safe. The partners chose to loan the company money on Fridays so that the employees would be able to cash their checks. Employees were finally treated as a valuable asset and vendors were now paid on time. The partners were into healthier lifestyles and believed that “your health is your wealth.” They took into account what people wanted and needed, developing a way to make Boulder Sausage a trusted, healthy brand. They used only high-quality premium pork, no MSG, kept it fresh (never frozen), and lowered sugar content (ultimately removing sugar from all but two recipes). These strategic moves became the foundation of being different and lead to their unanimous recognition for excellence.
Over the past 30 years, Boulder Sausage has continued to set itself apart. Keeping the tradition of fresh sausage minimally processed with only pork and spices. Boulder Sausage has strived to become a brand you can trust, always going the extra mile to ensure quality.
Although Don is absent, the signature recipes that his family created still live on at Boulder Sausage.
“It’s very important that we do what we say, because we are authentic.” ~Jim Burton- CEO, CFO
