By Margaret Hedderman
One of the warmest regions in Colorado is now home to a cool new startup. After moving to Grand Junction, Air Force veteran and aircraft maintenance expert Chris Bonds identified an unexpected niche: clear, premium-quality cocktail ice. What began as a personal interest in crafting high-end drinks at home has now evolved into Grand Valley Ice, the region’s first local supplier of clear ice cubes.
Bonds’ entrepreneurial journey reflects the growing wave of small business startups in Rural Colorado, fueled by local support services designed to spur innovation and economic growth. In addition to working with the Grand Junction Economic Partnership and the Business Incubator Center, Bonds is now a recipient of Colorado’s Rural Jump-Start program.
After retiring from the Air Force, Bonds returned home to Mississippi where he pursued a career in manufacturing and eventually entrepreneurship. Upon relocating to Grand Junction in 2017, Bonds was surprised to find that neither restaurants nor liquor stores served craft ice in the area.
“It’s a really weird thing. There’s no access to it,” Bonds said. On the contrary, “I noticed that a lot of the larger cities had a place where you could go to buy it.”
Unlike standard ice cubes, which are cloudy and melt quickly, the clear cubes produced by Grand Valley Ice are designed for high-end cocktails, enhancing both the aesthetic and the drinking experience. Yet, bringing this idea to life in a small market like Grand Junction wasn’t without its challenges.
Early Challenges & Local Support
From securing a manufacturing space to figuring out the technical details of large-scale ice production, Bonds faced a number of obstacles in the early stages of launching his business. While he’d been making craft ice at home for years, the process of making it at scale is more complicated than it appears. It requires a specialized ice machine that uses directional freezing to ensure the ice is clear and crack-free. Even with the right equipment, producing ice on a commercial scale involves careful temperature control and handling.
“Ice just cracks,” Bonds said. “It’ll do the same thing on a 300 lb scale if you don’t handle it right.”
Another major hurdle was finding an affordable space for his operations. “Real estate is expensive,” he said. “I probably wouldn’t be doing this” without help from the Grand Junction Business Incubator Center, a local nonprofit that offers space and consulting services to startups.
Through the incubator’s Intensive Program, Bonds was able to secure 600 square feet of manufacturing space—a critical lifeline in an area where most industrial spaces are too large and expensive for a fledgling business. The incubator’s affordable rent allowed him to keep overhead costs low, freeing up capital for equipment and other essential expenses.
In addition to the space and mentorship provided by the incubator, Bonds found another key resource in the Grand Junction Economic Partnership (GJEP), the region’s economic development agency. When Bonds approached GJEP with his idea for Grand Valley Ice, the organization identified him as a strong candidate for Colorado’s Rural Jump-Start Program—a state initiative designed to stimulate economic growth in rural communities through tax incentives and grants.
“The GJEP walked me through the application process,” Bonds said. “It was really straightforward.”
The Rural Jump-Start Program offers substantial financial benefits to new businesses located in a Rural Jump-Start Zone that meet a select criteria. Bonds will be expected to create at least five new jobs within the next five years, each with a minimum salary of $56,000. He primarily plans to hire for roles in production and distribution management.
Bonds is eligible for $20,000 in grant and tax incentives, as well as $2,500 per new hire. This financial cushion will allow Bonds to reinvest in his business, purchase additional equipment, and eventually expand his operation beyond Mesa County to serve ski towns like Aspen and Telluride.
Learn more about Colorado’s Rural Jump-Start Program here.
Building for the Future
Grand Valley Ice is currently serving four restaurants and one liquor store in Grand Junction, but Bonds has big plans for expansion. He aims to enter new markets, particularly the resort towns of Aspen, Snowmass, and Telluride, where demand for high-end cocktail ice is expected to rise with the upcoming ski season. To meet this growing demand, Bonds plans to acquire additional equipment and potentially open facilities in target markets.
“If I was capable of finding space in Aspen or Telluride, that would be pretty significant,” Bonds said.
While expanding his geographic footprint, Bonds is also working to convince more local establishments of the value his product brings. He recognizes that many bars and restaurants are hesitant to spend money on premium ice, but he sees it as an opportunity to add value to their drinks and create a unique selling point.
“When I’m telling them they need an ice cube at 70 cents per cube, [I] have to demonstrate that it adds value and that they can increase the price of their product,” Bonds explained.
As Bonds looks toward the future, his goal is to make clear cocktail ice a staple in western Colorado, not just in upscale establishments but across the board. “A lot of these restaurants say we’re not that hoity-toity. I’d like to disassociate the perception of it being something only a white tablecloth place would have.”
The early success of Grand Valley Ice highlights the critical role that startup ecosystem building plays in driving economic growth and job creation in rural communities. By providing access to resources like affordable space, expert mentorship, and financial incentives through opportunities such as the Rural Jump-Start Program, local support networks empower entrepreneurs to launch and scale innovative businesses. This collaborative approach not only strengthens rural economies but also fosters sustainable development by creating new opportunities for local residents.
