Four (not) square
At Brother Luck's mindful eatery, chefs tune into the seasons and allow ingredients to shine; Bella's Bagels announces huge expansion to Creekwalk area + more food & drink news and events this week
“Accolades would be great, but as far as who we are, they don’t define our identity.”
That’s Chef de Cuisine Ashley Brown at Four by Brother Luck, one of my Side Dish Dozen sponsors. We’re seated together in Four’s dining room during prep hours one recent morning, talking through a number of topics and plotting out next week’s Sip with Schnip Happy Hour event.
I’ve asked her about the hype and potential pressure around statewide Michelin award announcements coming up in the fall, partly because Four resides on many peoples’ short-list as a contender for at least a recommendation, if not a Bib Gourmand nod. After all, speaking of accolades, Brother Luck is a Top Chef and he’s assembled a formidable force of culinary professionals at his eponymous eatery.
Ashley attended the Fall 2025 James Beard Foundation’s Chef Bootcamp for Policy and Change and she’s part of the 2026 City of Colorado Springs Mayor’s Fellowship class. She tells me both experiences have helped shape her approach to leadership in her kitchen and with her front-of-house team. There’s a “do your part” tone to her takeaways, touching on accountability, solutions thinking and mindset, putting in the effort and “knowing your resources before you speak on something.”
Five years in the CDC role at Four, meaning 20 seasonal menu refreshes, has given Ashley the confidence to lean into her own style of cooking. “I’m not knocking molecular gastronomy, but I like my food simple for what I’m trying to sell,” she says. “You won’t find translucent ravioli here. We cook with raw ingredients and find new ways to incorporate disparate flavors you wouldn’t think would match.”
Peruse Four’s current menu and it’s easy to find examples of that, from a cucumber-strawberry salsa on yuzu-charred octopus to green chile corn broth and cilantro-lime butter on a PEI mussels dish.
“Ashley is inspiring,” says Brother Luck. “To watch a young chef find her voice and discover herself, and to express that creatively through the food she’s putting out. And for her to find the balance between motherhood, partnership in her relationship and her professional career. What I love about her food is her understanding as a Latina woman of food’s cultural connection and the regionality of where we live.”
That geographical designation underpins Four’s core concept, honoring and showcasing the ingredients of each season in the Four Corners and Southwest region — but also the symbolic roles of the hunter, gatherer, farmer and fisherman. They’re even represented by the icons in the eatery’s logo. When designing menus, Brother, Ashley and the Four cooks talk how it’s not just the products of domesticated farmlands in our area but also the significance of what our water touches.
“When people talk about the Southwest they’re usually just talking about the desert,” says Brother. “They aren’t talking about the water from the mountain top and the nature and people that follow the rivers.” In Ashley’s words, “it’s all connected.” (Which explains why you’ll find an item like octopus on the menu in the first place.)
Ashley grew up in the Springs and has family in Arizona, with distant ties to New Mexico. “My roots are in the Four Corners,” she says, noting that she grew up eating the flavors of this region.
Since opening Four in 2017 Brother says they’ve evolved their four-season approach in this way, redefining what Southwest cuisine means. “It’s the result of many failures along the way,” he says. “Nine years later we’re completely different. There’s more intention, focus and clarity in the food we’re cooking. I had to learn a lot of lessons, including getting out of the way of amazing talent.”
That talent includes the people behind Four’s dessert, cocktail and wine programs.
Pastry Chef Marjorie Furio dials into the seasons creatively with past creations like a “forest floor” presented like an edible terrarium. And current sweets like a lavender pavlova with honey kataifi and tuile accents intended to resemble a nest — a nod to springtime’s birds and bees.
Bar Manager Kyle McNerney mixes cocktail lore and history with personal twists and seasonal flourishes. I’m thinking back to a recent mocktail I had off the happy hour menu, made with persimmon simple syrup and a carrot shrub. He turns drinks into stories, with playful names, but doesn’t stray from making them balanced and beautiful. Ashley says they’ll meet up before a new menu drop and play off one another, sometimes intentionally cross-utilizing an ingredient. A recent example was yogurt that she used in an elk dish and he found a way to incorporate into a cocktail.
With seasoned sommelier Steve Kandor, sometimes the collaborative direction starts with his input, “because I can change the dish, but he can’t necessarily change the wine,” Ashley says. That’s not to say he couldn’t source a different bottle; it’s to say when he has something special in hand that they’re seeking the perfect pairing for, Ashley’s willing to work with him to dial a dish’s ingredients and garnishes around it, to make it “seamless.”
“Within the last several years I’ve learned to tone things down and think about the wine instead of solely the dish,” she says, joking that she used to put cilantro and honey on everything, which can be tough for pairings. “Steve has helped shape my palate more than any chef has.”
Which goes to show another aspect of leadership that Ashley’s gleaned along her journey: listening.
Back to the opening topic of accolades: if Four’s going to net a Michelin nod of any sort it’s not going to come through the old-school toxic kitchen culture of chest-pounding alphas, flying pans and verbal (and sometimes physical) abuse.
Not to be overserious and soapy about it, but it will come instead through the values inscribed in Latin on a pin given to Ashley and all of this year’s Mayor’s Fellows: animos (courage), empathia (empathy), and humilitas (humility).
Though those will be exercised most via self-care, and practice with and regard for others, that last value of humility offers a wise culinary application as well. The best chefs I’ve worked with and interviewed over my 30 years around the industry have all said some form of the same phrase “let the ingredients speak for themselves.”
That means not muddling and muting flavors in misguided and vain attempts to elevate them, and essentially getting out of their way so they can speak up with their inherent essences. Ultimately holding them in perfect harmony and balance as they fuse with one another to be the best expressions of themselves. As we desire to be the best expressions of ourselves, existing within the moodiness of the seasons.
In essence, humility’s what Ashley touches upon when she says she likes her food “simple.”
The magic for us eaters, of course, is when a chef’s “simple” tastes like the most dynamic and complex gastronomy, tickling all the senses at the table, heightened by a complementary sip. That is why we dine out, forever chasing the dragon.
Bella’s Bagels announces huge expansion to Creekwalk
A little over three years in business on the north end of the city (off Powers Boulevard and Old Ranch Road near Pine Creek High School) and Bella’s Bagels stands poised for a significant expansion toward downtown.
“We’ve been told by too many people who live on the south side that if only we were closer to them they’d be here dangerously frequently,” says co-owner Jason Stele.
I first gleaned Bella’s backstory from Stele just after they’d opened in spring 2023 (when I was launching Side Dish, nostalgically). We like to remind each other of that significance just about every time we catch up. One of those times was in early 2025 when Bella’s expanded one storefront over, adding a coffee bar.
They’ve had a stellar run since, growing from selling around 700 to 800 bagels daily to 1,200-plus now, including wholesale. “We’re north of 9,000 a week,” he says. They set a single-day record on Mother’s Day with 2,300 bagels sold, and have grown to a staff of 24, that includes four bakers across two baking shifts.
In April they won Schmear of the Year at BagelFest West in Los Angeles — earning a visit from Governor Jared Polis. Come May, they won Gold in the Gazette for Best Bagels in Colorado Springs and were named Best Bagel Shop in Colorado by Chowhound.
“It’s validation we’re moving in the right direction,” says Stele. “We don’t chase accolades, but it shows that our product is differentiated, unique and consistent, and that goes along with our excellent customer service. The reality for us is the network effect happens, where someone tries our food once and then brings friends and family back — we now have 17,000 loyalty members.”
Which brings us back to the expansion, announced this past weekend through a video on Facebook. It introduces Bellas Bagels & Bistro at the Creekwalk shopping center, to include full service for breakfast, lunch and dinner plus a full bar, market and deli. The roughly 5,000-square-foot space includes a spacious creekside patio. Wraparound accordion windows in the dining room will be able to open for more of an outdoors connection and pretty view over the waterway.
Senger Design Group, who’s behind Ryze Skyline Lounge and many other F&B projects locally, is underway with plans which have also been informed by Brother Luck in a consulting capacity. Stele explains that Luck has been a loyal customer at Bella’s since the beginning, and several months ago he shared the expansion news on the down low when he ran into Luck at the bagel shop. The Top Chef offered to help with the kitchen layout and things like equipment procural. Stele’s best guess for an opening date is sometime in Q1 of 2027 — “we have a long way to go.”
Stele says the larger, second location has been the grander vision since day one. “We’re pulling from several delis where I grew up in New Jersey, as well as where my wife Michelle grew up in Indianapolis. They were part of our routines and traditions.”
He describes being able to order a Bloody Mary with a lox bagel on site, or nabbing a grab-and-go quart of tuna salad from the market, or half pound of lox from a deli counter. Or perhaps a picnic kit to take outside to the grassy creekside amphitheater during summer music concerts. “It’ll be an upgraded experience with an expanded menu,” he says, offering another example of being able to order a bagel and cream cheese with your omelette at breakfast in the full-service dining room.
The dinner menu isn’t something he’s ready to say too much about yet, but he does tease items like roasted chicken and meatloaf, “done the Bella’s way.” He says “we’re going for Sunday Supper high-quality comfort food.”
Most importantly for those eaters laser-focused on the bagels: Bella’s will expand flavor offerings at the south location. Stele says the only reason they haven’t done so up north is the limitation of their bagel case’s size at the retail counter. “We’re busting at the seams,” he says. “We’re so grateful for the community’s support. The timing is right now for us to expand.”
Bites & Bits
• Restaurateur Phil Duhon announced earlier this week that Burnt Toast will open a third location in town, this one off Powers Boulevard at 3265 Cinema Point. He says it should be open by late October. The original location opened in 2022 across from City Hall downtown, and the brand expanded to North Academy Boulevard in 2024.
• Chef James Africano of The Warehouse posted a video on Facebook over the weekend to share progress on The Warehouse Urban Grocer buildout. Which is to say, share the lack of progress on the timeline he was originally hoping for. But he asked for grace given it’s a 130-year-old building that had some surprises in mind for construction crews as they’ve made upgrades. “We’re slowed down but we’re not giving up,” he said, noting they can get staged to operate within a day once they finally get their certificate of occupancy. “We’ll let you know just as soon as we know, when that opening day is,” he concludes.
• Former longtime Beer Ranger for New Belgium Brewing Travis Flett, who also consulted more recently for breweries like Goat Patch, has taken a new position as the Sales and Branding Director for Fossil Brewing. I ran into him earlier this week and he told me about some big plans he has to build on Fossil’s nearly 12 years of success in the community. I’m embargoed on one particular beer project he’s pumped about, but I suspect you’ll see some reporting from me down the road on it.
• Make Southern Crispy Fried Green Tomatoes with Season Two Taste’s recipe.
• “Donation-only and pay-what-you-wish restaurants are not new. What makes Mr. Alverson’s approach novel is his determination to center his business on an expanded concept of hospitality driven by more than economic survival. Serving customers who don’t have the means to eat at most restaurants brings an ethical component to his recalibrated definition of success.” — an excerpt from a New York Times article about a Minneapolis restaurant where “a tax protest has turned into a social experiment and a critique of the hospitality industry.”
• Rocky Mountain Food Tours has released updated tours around town as part of their 16th anniversary celebration. The new routes include: A morning walking tour of Manitou Springs that includes the historic mineral springs; a craft beer-focused “Wild West Burgers & Brews Tour”; an evening “happy hour-style” tour highlighting tacos, tequila and margaritas downtown; and a collaboration with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum “that combines international food tastings” with museum admission. RMFT says they’ve now served more than 25,000 tour guests since 2010.
Side Dish Dozen happenings
Evergreen: Join us for Flatbreads & Frosé: A girls morning out on June 13 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. It’s free, but reservations required. Enjoy a pilates class with Core Collective; a bloom bar; giveaways; and of course, flatbreads and frosé.
Kangaroo Coffee: Join us for our Summer Music Series every Saturday in June at our Kangaroo Coffee Hillside Coffee House. June 13: The Mitguards, 1-4 p.m.; June 20, Community Share Fair Event Open Mic, 1-4 p.m.; and June 27, Lookee Here, 1-4 p.m.
Edelweiss: Make reservations early for Father’s Day, June 21. We’re doing a prime rib special! Catch all of Germany’s World Cup group stage matches June 14, 20 and 25 in our Ratskeller. Enjoy happy hour beer pricing and $3 off appetizers.
Gold Star Bakery: Sweeten your Fourth of July celebrations with our three-pie bundle and get 10% off. Red: Strawberry Rhubarb. White: Dutch Apple. Blue: Wild Blueberry. Available gluten-free. Pre-order through June 25 for pickup on July 2, 3, or 4.
Goat Patch Brewing: Our summer music series continues June 14, 6-9 p.m. with the SofaKillers at the Lincoln Center and Deuces Wyld in Monument, 2-5 p.m. Catch trivia night at Northgate, Wednesdays from 6:30-8:30 p.m. and enjoy bites from Grazing Goat Kitchen.
Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar: Make reservations for Father’s Day at Jax on June 21. Tell us your best dad joke for a free beer! Enjoy a lavish Surf ‘N Turf plate with beef tenderloin, whipped potatoes, asparagus, horseradish butter and a choice of lobster tail, crab cake, sea scallops, or jumbo lump blue crab meat.
Wobbly Olive: Every weekday happy hour at both locations is 4-6 p.m.; all cocktails and beers are half off, plus $5 house wines. We can’t wait to introduce you to new sips from our upcoming cocktail menu refresh! Check out chef Mark Henry’s first-of-its-kind (at Wobbly Olive) happy hour food menu, which includes dirty martini popcorn.
Hoppenings of the week
Beer Events
Cosmic Pizza Music Bingo at Fossil Craft Beer Co. June 13, 7 p.m. Drink pints, win prizes (if you’re lucky).
Recess in the Schoolyard at Bristol Brewing Co. June 18, 5-8 p.m. Weekly on Thursdays; a family-friendly evening of food, games, beer and playtime for all ages.
Beer Releases
NEIPA at Goat Patch Brewing. A juicy, hazy New England IPA loaded with peach candy, tropical and citrus hop aromas with a soft, low-bitterness finish.
Cowboys vs. Hipsters IPA at WestFax Springs. Berry, citrus, and tropical fruit IPA brewed with Strata and Amarillo hops.
Junibock at Lost Friend Brewing. An easy-drinking Maibock lager featuring smooth bready malt notes and classic German-style character with a clean, refreshing finish.
For full listings of events and releases download the free Hoppenings app on Apple on Google.
Upcoming events
Food Truck Tuesdays at the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum continue through Aug. 25 (with exception of July 7). Every Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Visit your local farmer’s markets: Full listings here via Visit Colorado Springs.
June 13: Feast of Saint Arnold beer festival at Chapel of Our Saviour Episcopal Church. Noon to 4:30 p.m. Family-friendly, live music, food trucks, beer, wine and spirits tastings. $55.20 to $108.55 (VIP).
June 13: Ethiopian Night at Crepe Amour. 5-8 p.m. A traditional Ethiopian tasting menu featuring some of Ethiopia’s most beloved dishes, an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, soft drinks, and plenty of gluten free and vegan options. $45; $25 kids.
June 13: Tubby’s Turnaround Free Tasting Event. 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring Ranch Foods Direct hamburgers and special tastings from local vendors, ranging from coffee to pastries and chocolate. Give input on the iconic Manitou business’ future.
June 13-14: Pikes Peak Pride in downtown. Includes food trucks, beer garden and vendor booths.
June 14: Matcha Workshop at COATI. 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Join BrewCha and @thematchamix to learn how to prepare matcha traditionally and turn it into an awesome latte at home. $85 includes a take-home whisk.
June 14: Springs Things Summer Sync Creator + Business Mixer at T-byrd’s Tacos & Tequila. 3-6 p.m. Hayato Ramen takeover; all day happy hour; DJ HotBoii.
June 14: 7th Annual Rosé-a-Palooza at the Carter Payne. 2-4 p.m., $49.
June 15: Absolut Heat Streak bartending competition at Avenue 19. 1-4 p.m. Come spectate as bartenders compete for prizes in a timed competition, mixing drinks with Absolut Tabasco Vodka. The battle is meant to mimic service on a busy brunch shift. (Bartenders, register at the link to compete for free.) I’ll be co-judging. Free food, drinks and swag!
June 17: Colorado Springs Western Street Breakfast in downtown. 5:30-9 a.m. at Pikes Peak and Tejon streets.
June 17: Happy Hour Sip with Schnip at Four by Brother Luck. 3-6 p.m. Enjoy $10 cocktails and $5-$6 mocktails plus a full drink list. Snacks start at $2.50, small plates at $8 and larger items for $10-$13. Come for items like Pueblo chile blue cornbread with wojapi jam, hominy hummus, pork belly sliders, Brother’s famous bacon jam burger and duck poutine ... and maybe a surprise or two.
June 18: Bar Mom’s Birthday Bar Crawl Fundraiser. 6 p.m. to midnight. $25 tickets benefit Care & Share. Includes VIP menu pricing at stops and commemorative challenge coin.
June 20: 4th Annual All-Star BBQ Cook Off at Texas T-Bone Steakhouse & Famous Dave’s BBQ. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free barbecue and guest vendor samples (including coffee and whiskey), live music and DJ, family activities, giveaways and more. I’ll be co-judging.
Parting shot(s)
It had been overly long since I dropped by Frozen Gold — what with all my Josh & John’s collaborations and Lolley’s expanding downtown as well as Ice Guys — it’s fair to say I’ve been distracted by other cold, sweet goodness.
But due to being conveniently chased inside by the freak storm that delayed last weekend’s Switchbacks FC match to starting at 9:50 p.m., I was able to try Frozen Gold’s flavor of the month.
It’s called the Must-tachio and is made with a pistachio soft serve, brown sugar cheesecake softcore (unless you get it deconstructed with a cone as I did) and honey-glazed filo and pistachio crumble.
I made a hella mess of it at our table, knocking the garnishes off with my first bites. But I enjoyed the flavor combo as an alternative to my favorite flagship items, the Samoa Samoa and Piña Colada, both made with the vegan toasted coconut soft serve. Suffice to say: Frozen Gold I have missed you. Let’s see each other more often.
