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Steamboat Springs — The seeds of Joe's Magic Foods sprouted about 25 years ago, when Joe Bullock lived in an abandoned warehouse in Chicago.

It was the darkest part of his life, Bullock said. He was parking cars at Wrigley Field and struggling to get by. Bullock summoned the courage to walk across the street to a sandwich shop and apply for a job. There, he began making a spicy pepper condiment that he's now producing and selling as Joe's Magic Hot Peppers.

"It was pretty much my dream to bring it to market," Bullock said. "And the response I'm getting is amazing. I just wish it paid the bills."

Bullock sold the peppers, as well as his Orgasmic Olives and dehydrated raw foods, at Saturday's Mainstreet Farmers Market in downtown Steamboat Springs. He hopes to expand the business and is starting a raw foods and sandwich stand at Sweet Pea Market.

Bullock started producing the peppers about 1 1/2 years ago and sells them to restaurants and shops in town.

"The only way I can pay my bills is if I grab a case of peppers and walk around to the stores," Bullock said.

He said he's put the magic hot peppers in stores and restaurants such as Bamboo Market, Vino, the Homesteader, Big House Burgers and Rex's American Grill & Bar. Bullock hopes the sandwich shop supplements the pepper and olive business.

"All my food is going to be from Sweet Pea, so if I run out of tomatoes, I can just go into the store and get one and chop it up," Bullock said.

He's struggled with his out-of-state suppliers and aims to make his foods fully home grown in Colorado. Bullock is a raw foods enthusiast. He pickles the peppers and the olives and doesn't use chemicals or pasteurize the food.

"It's about bringing people back to nature from the chemical-laden foods we're used to," Bullock said. "It's making us sick, and it's making us irritable, and I'm getting tired of it."

Bullock came to Steamboat Springs 18 years ago. He pulled together start-up capital by working at Alpine Taxi, now Go Alpine. He wound up spending it to create a TV show pilot. Bullock and his partners are waiting to hear from TV officials about whether they'll accept it.

He said he deferred one dream to pursue another. But Bullock looks forward to making sandwiches at a station outside Sweet Pea. He also plans to host "food fights," competitions between Chicago-style dishes and those of other regions.

"I can't wait to take on New York," Bullock said.

The Orgasmic Olives were popular at the Joe's Magic Foods booth at the Farmers Market, David Caddell said. Caddell, who has been helping Bullock, said the spicy peppers appeal to a certain set.

"I think it's sort of like, people like spicy foods or they don't," Caddell said. "People who like spicy foods like it immediately."

Lynn Edwards, of Lakewood, sampled the olives and said she enjoyed the mild flavor.

"That's a very good olive," Edwards said. "It's got a nice flavor to it. It's not spicy. They're very good. : They're magic."

That's what Bullock wants people to say; he wants them to remember where their food comes from.

"It's my mission in life to remind people that Mother Nature's stuff is delicious and magical in its own right," Bullock said.