Serving those who serve
Big Table arrives with industry outreach + more food & drink news
Big Table has arrived in Colorado Springs, and the culinary industry-outreach organization is now taking referrals.
I met with Spokane-based Executive Director Kevin Finch in late 2022 ahead of the 501(c)(3)’s expansion to the Springs. He’s a former food critic who launched Big Table in 2009. As told on their site, he saw the “incredible need and very little safety net in the nation’s largest working population – the restaurant and hospitality industry… [he] found that there was not a single non-profit focusing on the unique needs of industry workers in crisis.”
There’s now offices in San Diego and Nashville as well. Our local program is being lead by City Director Tom Brennan and Care Engagement Coordinator Danny Erwin, who I also recently sat down for coffee with to get acquainted. They just launched services here on March 20 and Brennan told me they’re currently funded for two years.
You’ll see some references to faith and service work on Big Table’s website, but it’s not super in-your-face like some faith-based organizations. “In short, we exist to serve hope,” the organization wrote in one Instagram post. Finch and I spoke about that faith element during out meeting. In his online bio, he addresses it directly: “[Finch’s] day job during those years [as a food critic] was that of a pastor, but when he discovered that this title was an instant barrier for many people working in the industry, he quit his day job to launch Big Table.”
If you spend a moment to watch one of their short videos, you’ll hear staff describe the goal of stabilizing folks during crisis, and offering follow-up care too. They’ve targeted five core impact areas: housing stability, addiction recovery, job readiness, medical and dental care, and mental and emotional health and life coaching. Big Table offers aid through things like utilities assistance, help with rent or a deposit for housing, car repair, a bike for work transportation, etc. The referral model on which they’re operating means they don’t take self-referrals: “Potential care recipients must be referred by another person aware of their need – preferably a supervisor or coworker.”
If it’s news to you that the restaurant and hospitality industry has a need for such services, consider that one in six restaurant workers are living below the official poverty line according to stats on Big Table’s site. Here’s another: 43 percent of those in the industry fall below the “survival” income line set by economists.
The Springs Big Table chapter will host its first industry dinner coming up in late June, followed by another in early August. But I don’t have a ticket link to direct you towards, because you aren’t invited. Rather, guests at specially arranged, 48-seat Big Tables hail from inside the industry. Says Brennan: “We invite people who serve, who don’t get a chance to be served.”
Same game, new owners
I dropped by the Mediterranean Cafe last week after a climb across the street at CityROCK (yes that’s how I sometimes work up my appetite) to grab one of my old favorite sandwiches: the Half & Half (a fair $9.75). I used to get it often for lunch when I worked downtown at the Indy’s offices, before going to remote work. The sandwich is a mashup of the typical falafel with either gyro or chicken meat that gets folded in pita with cucumber, onion, house made pickle (a specially appreciated touch), lettuce, tomato, feta cheese, giardiniera, tahini sauce, tzatziki and harissa. Yes, complex is an apropos descriptor for all those layered flavors that perfectly balance richness and acidity, with fresh pop atop.
While dining, I came to learn that longtime owners/chefs Pat Kennelly and Mike Bergman sold the business (originally opened in 2000) around a year and a half ago (in August, 2021) to Ronald and Brittany Hunter. Ronald was on site to chat, and told me he comes from 22 years cooking/cheffing in the industry. He graduated Arizona Culinary Institute and worked in fine dining, and after moving to the Springs several years ago he spent three years at the Broadmoor, leading brunch service out of the main kitchen. From there, he did a couple year stint at as chef de cuisine at The Club at Flying Horse (working alongside respected industry chef Eric “Chicken” Hill, a longtime professional acquaintance of mine.)
As for instituting any changes to the menu since taking over Med Cafe, Hunter tells me he has largely kept the menu exactly how it was, but he has “enhanced the recipes to put my own technique into them.” (Basically, why change what’s always worked and earned a locally following?) He says he does run specials, like a flank steak pita, recently, and he’s tentatively thinking about adding a dinner menu in 2024. When I ask what it’s like to run a casual Mediterranean spot after coming out of high-volume fine dining, he laughs and says “This is cake. It’s the easiest job I’ve ever had.”
(Talk about no regerts… we should all be so lucky. Cheers to Ronald.)
Side Dish in the news
Side Dish with Schniper was featured last week in journalist Corey Hutchins’ newsletter, Inside the News in Colorado. That’s a Substack page that I follow and highly recommend for its insight into the media landscape across the state; you’ll see behind the scenes, catch news you otherwise probably wouldn’t, and glean a better sense of the micro-politics and happenings in small communities.
Anyway, scroll about ¾ of the way down this page (or better, slowly read your way down and appreciate the other content) to find a blurb titled “‘The community needs this,’ says author of new Springs culinary news outlet.” It’s thanks to you, my readers, that I was able to report such strong initial support (more than 800 subscribers, more than 10 percent at the paid level).
I must say it’s always a funny feeling as someone who interviews people for a living to be interviewed by a fellow journalist. I’m grateful Corey chose my more amusing quotes, because honestly I was so weary and worn down from long work hours when we spoke that I barely recall all the conversation. Good thing he had a recorder going. I’m glad he captured this bit in particular:
Schniper, who moved to the Springs from the South to attend Colorado College and stayed after graduating in 2001, is known for not holding back with sharply critical restaurant reviews. As a journalist, he says one thing working against him is a rise of “influencer” food reviewers on social media. “They’re kind of eating our market share with monkey business,” he said, noting that he finds himself sometimes the odd man out during media invites to restaurant openings as the only one conducting serious interviews while others sit around and snap photos and videos on their phones.
A deserved award for Atrevida
As noted by Side Dish partner Focus on the Beer, the Brewers Association —the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American craft brewers — recently announced the recipients of their 2023 Industry Awards. They are to recognize “individuals who inspire, defend, and innovate within the craft brewing industry.”
Among this years recipients are Jessica and Richard Fierro, co-owners of Atrevida Brewery. They earned the Brewers Association Recognition Award. It’s presented annually “to an individual or company whose inspiration, enthusiasm, and support have contributed to the craft brewing movement.”
Here’s what the association wrote about the Fierros:
“In 2017, Jessica Fierro entered her beer Doña Neta in VICE TV’s Beerland competition. The beer won. One year later, Fierro opened her own brewery, Atrevida Beer Co., in Colorado Springs. As a woman- and Latina-owned brewery, Fierro ran into difficulties on all fronts, from sourcing funding to battling biases. Fierro was resolved to build a business her way, which included hiring an all-women (and one male) brew crew.
Jessica and her husband, Rich, a former 15-year Army officer with four combat tours, have a vision to bring the community together. "Diversity, it’s on tap!" is engrained in Atrevida’s culture and displayed throughout the brewery. Every beer on the menu has a narrative with the intention of creating meaningful dialogue.
This unwavering commitment to the community was especially present on November 19, 2022. The Fierro family was at Club Q when a gunman opened fire. Five people lost their lives and 25 more were injured. Rich tackled the assailant and, with the help of bystanders, disarmed the gunman and undoubtedly saved lives.
The Fierros truly embody the meaning of their brewery’s name, “Atrevida,” which means bold or daring in Spanish, and their many contributions have inspired the craft brewing community and beyond.
Reader submission
A couple friends of mine and I stopped into Saigon Cafe for lunch last week, as we have often done. But this time was potentially going to be our last, as the current owners were planning to close things down for good is what we were told. I got Bún Dac Biêt (because, well pho isn’t my thing) and it was as adequate as usual (which is actually pretty good coming from someone who used to live down the road from Garden Grove, CA’s Little Saigon). I will be sad to see this institution go, because Vietnamese food fills a place in my stomach no other food can fill.
Word as of later when I checked back is that it looks like the bank is going to approve the financing of a loan for an interested buyer of the business, but the current owners would continue to own the building for now. So there may be many more years to come of Vietnamese food in DT COS. — Heather H.
[Editor’s note from Schniper: I had seen reports of Saigon’s closure on Facebook, and Heather was able to confirm more in person from the staff on her visit. I called the restaurant this week to ask the situation, and was told 1) they were not closing and 2) “we plan to be here for a long time.” I also put a call into the party who it was rumored was buying the business, thanks to Heather’s lead, and they said they would prefer to hold off with any comment at this time on the “future (transition) of Saigon Cafe until we’re further along the formal process.” So, we’ll update here when we learn more. Color me confused for now.]
Vegan at the Sheep
Catch the Helio Night Market at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 23 at The Black Sheep. It’s a curated vegan event from The Joint (and The Wayward Onion, who won’t be in attendance this time). Expect 30 vendors (“100 percent vegan products from makers and merchants right here in Colorado”), food trucks (Green Machine Grill and Tossed and Lori Lynn’s Cookies and Cream), live music (Antivirus and Red Moon Rounder), yoga, and libations courtesy the Sheep’s bar. It’s $5 to get in, and kids are free until 6 p.m. Proceeds benefit environmental nonprofit 350 Colorado Springs.
“I'm planning on doing this every two months if all goes well, and looking to have The Joint serve in some capacity in the future,” chef/owner Aaron Posey tells Side Dish.
While on the topic, in case you missed it prior in the Indy, here’s a blip of what Side Dish vegan partner JL Fields had to say about the Wayward Onion (tagline “wood smoked, plant based bbq”) in her Aug., 2022 review: “Four words: Loaded BBQ Mac Potato. A baked potato, overflowing with barbecue soy curls (another version of textured soybeans and re-hydrated soy protein that’s oh-so-meaty), and a generous portion of ooey gooey mac ’n cheese. They make the cheesy sauce out of pureed starchy veggies. As a whole, the dish’s savory essence tantalizes the taste buds, proving that this protein-packed spud is worth standing in line for. It’s really a show stopper.”
As for The Joint, Fields called it “music to her vegan ears” in her March, 2022 writeup, when she raved about seitan-based birria tostadas. And I called chef Aaron Posey’s jackfruit mojo tacos mindblowing when I first tasted his food in Oct. 2021.
Two more events this week
• OCC Brewing is hosting an Earth Day silent disco with UpaDowna on Saturday, April 22 from 9 p.m. to midnight (21+). “Wear your favorite nature-themed costume. From lions, tiger, and bears to trees, flowers, and bees! … All proceeds (the $20 cover) benefit UpaDowna and our mission of providing access to outdoor adventures for all.”
• The Colorado Springs Bartenders Guild is also celebrating Earth Day, through community service. They’re hosting a trail clean up from 1-3:30 p.m., Monday, April 24 at Memorial Park. (Meet at the main playground.) Afterwards, they’ll host a happy hour at Shrunken Head.
Review out of jail
Free subscribers to Side Dish may now read my mid-March review of Zocalo in-full; I’m releasing it from behind the pay wall (as voted on by my early subscribers). Consider subscribing at the $5/month rate if you want early access to my reviews, to be among the first in-the-know around town. In this example, you could have been telling your friends last month about just how great their mole is.
And this week, you could be gleaning my thoughts on Native Grill. This is what you’re missing, in a single image:
