Coming to the west side at the end of September is Sun Mountain Cafe, a joint venture from new parents Jake Reed and Elyse Smith opening at 2428 W. Colorado Ave., about a block from Bancroft Park.
The pair are focusing on coffee from Colorado Coffee Merchants, baked goods and paninis, similar to Wild Goose Meeting House.
“It would be the same as the Wild Goose,” Smith says in an interview with the Report. “Actually, a lot of our distributors are already at Wild Goose anyway, which is funny because we had no idea. We didn’t even know what Wild Goose was until we started [doing this.]
“The whole premise of the food in the restaurant is going to be organic [and] clean. We wanted to make sure we incorporated the gluten-free options. We didn’t want anything to be processed. We don’t have any freezers in our restaurant at all, so nothing can be frozen and served later.”
Smith, 29, works in the intensive care unit at Memorial Hospital, while Reed, also 29, grew up in Oklahoma before coming to Colorado Springs as an Army medic. He says the hope is that the cafe’s liquor license will come through at the beginning of next year and he can serve Colorado craft beer and liquor, with a traditional cocktail program.
Meanwhile, diners can find lattes and the like; tea from Organica Herb & Tea Co.; and flavored oils from the Olive Tap in Manitou Springs, like a habanero oil for crostini, or a Sicilian lemon balsamic vinaigrette for the salads. One example is the Powerhouse Salad, which combines kale, avocado, carrots, red onions, cucumbers and possibly blueberries. Or you could do a Spicy Cobb Lettuce Wrap, which features lettuce, tomato, bacon, a hard-boiled egg and a peppercorn Gourmaise sauce.
All of that will be happening in a renovated space that formerly served as an art gallery, now being remade for relaxation.
“I would say [the feel of the dining room] would be comparable to Colorado Mountain Brewery, the feel that you get in there,” Smith says. “We’re going to have a lot of wood. It’s very industrial-modern on the inside, so it’s like wood, steel, brick. It’s going to be Edison light bulbs, and almost kind of makes you feel like you’re in a mine shaft — but much brighter.
“We really want to do seasonal fruits and vegetables as well. So, next summer, hopefully we can utilize the farmers market a lot that happens right there at Bancroft Park. We really are looking to incorporate a lot of our neighbors on Colorado Avenue, just so we can spread the business around. Because there’s a lot of hidden gems.”
