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New hybrid business opens in Old Colorado City

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A boutique on West Colorado Avenue just erased the line between browsing a rack and browsing a cart.

KOAA News5 stopped by Old Colorado City on August 2, 2019, to check out a new storefront called Hybrid, which fills a space that sat vacant for months along the neighborhood’s historic shopping strip. The concept is simple to describe but rare to see in person: every item on the sales floor carries a price tag and a QR code side by side, so a shopper can pay at the counter the old-fashioned way or pull out a phone and check out online without ever leaving the aisle.

• Hybrid opened in a previously vacant storefront on West Colorado Avenue in Old Colorado City.
• Every product on the floor is tagged with both a standard price and a scannable QR code linking to an online purchase option.
• Owners Jessica and Mark Thompson designed the store to blend in-person boutique service with mobile and e-commerce convenience.

The Mechanics of QR Code Setup

Walk through the door and Hybrid looks like any other trendy Old Colorado City boutique — clothing racks, curated window displays, a staff that knows the inventory by heart. The difference shows up the moment you pick up a shirt or a pair of earrings and see two tags: one with a dollar figure, one with a code. Scan it, and the item pulls up on your phone with sizing and shipping options, letting you buy on the spot or add it to a cart for later.

Jessica Thompson, who came into the venture with an e-commerce background, said that dual-track design was the whole point. “We wanted to create a shopping experience that combined the convenience of online shopping with the personal touch of a brick and mortar store,” she told KOAA News5.

Selling More Than What’s on the Rack

The QR system isn’t limited to what’s physically in the store. Because the codes route to a full online catalog, customers can browse Hybrid’s entire inventory — including sizes and styles not stocked on-site — and have anything shipped straight to their door. That’s a meaningful advantage for a small boutique competing with big-box retailers and national e-commerce operations that shoppers have gotten used to over the past decade.

“We’re not just here to sell products; we want to make a difference in people’s lives.”

That line, from co-owner Mark Thompson, points to the store’s charitable angle: a share of profits from every purchase goes to a local charity, a decision the Thompsons frame as core to the business rather than a marketing add-on.

A Personal Touch Built Into a Digital Model

Despite the tech layer, the Thompsons say they’re leaning just as hard on old-fashioned customer service. Staff are trained to get to know regulars by name and help them find pieces that fit their style, not just process transactions. “We want our customers to feel like they’re shopping with friends, not just at a store,” Jessica said.

Early customers seem to be buying the pitch. Sarah Johnson, described as a frequent shopper at Hybrid, told KOAA News5 the flexibility is what keeps her coming back: “I love being able to shop for clothes in-store, but also having the option to buy online if I can’t find my size or if I don’t have time to try everything on.” For a neighborhood built on foot traffic and independent shops, that kind of model — one that stores like Hybrid could help define for other small business owners weighing whether to go digital, physical, or both — is exactly the experiment Old Colorado City is now watching play out on West Colorado Avenue.