Fireworks Businesses In Southeast Wyoming Denied Permits Because They’re “Obnoxious”

There’s nothing subtle about fireworks. They’re loud, boisterous, over the top and, depending on personal preference, all levels of obnoxious.

Turns out it’s OK to sell products that are all these things at Wyoming’s busy, ultra-competitive Colorado border fireworks stands — as long as your sales pitch isn’t as explosive as your product.

Breanna Elliott owns Jurassic Fireworks and Artillery World along Interstate 25 just over the border south of Cheyenne and her father, Mike Elliott, is running things during what’s been a tough few years for the Elliotts. Business has been good, but it seems the fireworks wars can get pretty cutthroat.

One of the main gripes from competitors is how Mike Elliott will stand in front of his fireworks stands, yelling and waving flags to attract customers.

This week, their ongoing feud with other border fireworks outlets boiled over when the Elliotts were denied seasonal fireworks permits for their two stands by the Laramie County Commission because of their “obnoxious” tactics and “not being good community partners,” Commissioner Troy Thompson said during Tuesday’s meeting.

It’s the culmination of an effort by competing fireworks hawkers to put him out off business and eliminate some competition, Mike Elliott said.

“Phantom Fireworks has slandered us, telling the building commissioners we’re novices. That’s their M.O. throughout the United States,” he told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday. “As for the commissioners, they’ve had since last July to do something about it if there was such a serious issue out here. They have taken from us and they’ve never done that to nobody else.”

He also said he’s already contacted legal representation about possibly challenging the permit denial in court.

‘Liars, Thieves And Crooks’

When Cowboy State Daily visited the fireworks stands near the Colorado border last June, Elliott was out in front of one of his stands with a bullhorn flag, waving and pitching to prospective customers.

In the background played a loudspeaker with a continuous message on a loop about one of his competitors, Phantom Fireworks.

“Don’t support liars, thieves and crooks!” the recording booms. “You’re better than that! Go anywhere but Phantom! Avoid Phantom Fireworks. They got caught ripping off the Colorado consumers!”

On Thursday, he told Cowboy state daily that the conflict boils down to the Elliotts being from Colorado, which they proudly announce on the side of their fireworks businesses.

The commissioners “know that 90% of the people coming here are from Colorado. That’s what these buildings are catering to,” Elliott said. “But when I was doing business in Cheyenne in the 1990s, I got told from different people that they didn’t like where I came from and I should go back to Colorado.”

Despite what he calls strong-arm tactics, Elliott said he and his daughter have never considered shutting their businesses down.

“Why should I leave? I’m not harming anyone,” Elliott said. “If you built a house and did all of this work to it, are you going to move because your neighbor’s a jerk?”

Permit Denial

Elliott’s boisterous marketing tactics have led to noise complaints, one of the reasons commissioners cited behind denying the permits Tuesday.

Thompson noted he’s voted against granting permits for Artillery World and Jurassic Fireworks for years.

“I do not think they have been a good community partner. I think last summer when we received complaints from surrounding businesses with bullhorns and obnoxious behaviors. I am not in favor of them continuing with this,” he said during the meeting.

Thompson said these marketing tactics are not the way to do business in Laramie County. He encouraged his fellow commissioners to deny the permits because of to the Elliotts’ alleged worsening behavior.

Commissioner K.N. “Buck” Holmes seconded Thompson’s statement.

“Up until we had this one group, we never had a bit of problem with fireworks out there,” he said. “Since we’ve had this group out there, we’ve had multiple sheriff’s calls out there. They’re rude to their neighbors. These aren’t the kind of people I want doing business in Laramie County.”

Laramie County Commissioner Gunnar Malm declined to comment, citing Elliott’s comments about involving attorneys in the situation. Thompson did not immediately return Cowboy State Daily’s request for comment.

Flag Waving And Bullhorns

What the county commissioners call obnoxious and rude, Elliott calls his First Amendment right to free speech. People may not like what he says or how he says it, but they can’t shut him up just because of that.

Cowboy State Daily reported in 2023 about Elliott’s unconventional marketing, such as waving flags and calling out to potential customers while standing in the Artillery World parking lot with a bullhorn.

“I’m probably the best competition that they hate,” Elliott said, claiming Phantom Fireworks jacks up prices to profit off of the “buy one, get one free” promotion it consistently runs.

Elliott said that even if he’s obnoxious, he is only doing it to drum up business for his fireworks stand, while also showcasing the alleged bad business practices of his competitors.

Elliott also claims Phantom employees have spread rumors about Jurassic World workers, alleging they engage in illegal acts, all of which he denies.

Phantom Fireworks employees at the Cheyenne location declined to speak with Cowboy State Daily on Thursday.

The Elliotts have Jurassic Fireworks locations in Missouri and Colorado in addition to their Wyoming headquarters. They have Artillery World locations in Colorado and New Mexico.