The Telluride Watch
Published: 03/31/06
Sofio’s, Las Montañas Join Forces
Two of Telluride’s three Mexican-themed restaurants are merging. Sofio’s, the town’s longest-established restaurant in business today, and Las Montañas, Telluride’s newest restaurant, have announced they will merge and offer both menus at the main street space formerly occupied by Eagles Bar and Grille. Tucson businessman and part-time Telluride resident Fletcher McCusker opened Las Montañas in 2004, offering regional specialties from South and Central America. David and Lisa Schroeder’s Sofio’s, which they acquired in 2001, remains the busiest breakfast spot in Telluride.
Due to rapid growth following their initial opening, Las Montañas’s McCusker decided to move to main street from the restaurant’s West End location; crews have been remodeling the former Eagles since January. “We are thrilled to be joining forces with Sofio’s,” said McCusker. “The restaurants were going to be two doors apart,” he pointed out, and “the Eagles space is huge.
“By co-locating both restaurants under one roof, we’ll both be eminently more successful.”
“The customers will be the true beneficiaries,” added Lisa Schroeder. Las Montañas and Sofio’s will open for private parties in mid-May, and then open to the public in time for Telluride Mountainfilm 2006, on Memorial Day Weekend. The new facility will have a 35-seat bar with high altitude HDTVs, a 70-seat main dining room, and a 30-seat private dining room in what used to be the old sushi bar. Patio dining in the breezeway of the WinterCrown Building will be offered during the summer months.
The new location will also feature a small stage and host numerous live music, from Latin jazz to bluegrass, as well as be a participating venue in Telluride’s festival scene. The new venue will be managed by Scott Richards, the current manager of Las Montañas and former manager of The Roma.
In other Mexican dining news, Lucas and Camille Price’s La Cocina de Luz has expanded from its tiny kitchen in the back of the Coffee Cowboy Plaza into the main street space formerly occupied by Back Porch Flowers.
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