Growing ever Loftier 🍽
Manitou Springs cafe with ambitions baked in wins over professed "bagel snob" and offers a picture of perfectionism and promise
A guest review by Warren Epstein
I was sitting at a high top with the other weekday morning regulars when Justin Snyder came out of the kitchen with a silver tray.
Justin’s wife, Katie Snyder, works the front of the house and Justin usually works the back of the house. So, when he comes out with a tray, I pay attention.
“Sea salt rosemary focaccia?” he asked.
I loved every one of those words. We all nodded and were rewarded with free small squares of thick, fluffy bread. I put it in my mouth and the coffee shop. … the world. … went away. On my tongue, between my teeth, heading for my belly, was a warm cloud of Italian deliciosity.
My friends still had their eyes closed. Savoring.
This is The Loft Bagels & Coffee, one of the reasons I live in Manitou and one of the reasons many visitors adore Manitou.
The focaccia is relatively new here, thus the samples. What aren’t new are the bagels.
When Katie and Justin moved from their original location in the Spa Building, a block away, to a much larger (and four times more expensive venue), formerly Good Karma Cafe, in 2023, they knew they were facing new challenges.
“If we were going to specialize in bagels, we knew we’d be facing a whole ‘nother level of critique,” Katie said.
She’s talking about people like me. I’m a New York Jew and proud bagel snob. My hometown of Monticello, N.,Y, in the heart of the Borscht Belt, even hosts an annual bagel festival.
I know my bagels.
Turns out, Justin’s bagels are the best I’ve ever tasted from a gentile, on par with the best I’ve ever had. Blasphemy, I know.
But the flavor and the texture brought me right back to Monticello. They have a perfect crunch on the outside and perfect fluff on the inside.
Schnip was also impressed when he took a bite of my “Larry David” — a lox-and-bagels served open face with the works.
“Mmmm. It’s got a sourdough, almost brioche vibe,” he said after the first bite. “Maximum squish factor between the teeth. Really nice chew.”
Love it when Schnip waxes culinary.
These bagels, like its focaccia sibling, are the result of years of experimentation. These days, the bagels take three days to produce. Mixing, kneading, rolling, proofing, boiling, sprinkling with the seasonings, and baking.
“I feel like I still don’t have it dialed in,” Justin said. “It’s always different, The humidity, the temperature. I’ll check on the dough, and it’ll be 72 degrees, 4 degrees higher than I want it to be.”
That always-a-student approach is elevating The Loft to be a real player in the regional baking scene, finding a place among such local heroes as Provision Bread & Bakery and Nightingale Bread. (Not to mention larger-scale Sourdough Boulangerie and The French Kitchen.)
The bagels, sourdough and focaccia create the base for every sandwich on the menu (with the exception of the occasional gluten-free bagels from Outside the Breadbox). Ingredients for various sandwiches include: cream cheese, lox, eggs, bacon, cheese, hummus, avocado, pickled onions and more. ($8-$12 each sandwich, which makes this one of the most affordable cafes in the region.)
Almost everything here is made in-house with the notable exception of the scrumptious vegan doughnuts by Cassandra Matheny (of local cottage industry outfit Blossom Baking), which dominate the colorful Instagram-worthy display case in front. We tried the cherry, blueberry-basil and coconut, the well-balanced flavors leaving room for the birthday-cake doughnut vibe. The coconut flavor is especially delish.
The food is well complemented by a comfy neighborhood hangout scene, with a brick wall on one side and a leafy mural painted by Katie (a former high school art teacher) on the other.
There’s also the espresso bar with traditional coffee offerings plus playful sweet lattes, like July’s special releases of a strawberry-matcha or strawberry shortcake latte. Creating a unique offering in a saturated local coffee marketplace, The Loft sources beans from Brandywine Coffee Roasters out of Wilmington, Delaware. You can buy retail bags at the counter, which are artfully hand-printed with whimsical, imaginative designs.
A line out the door most mornings is a testament to their success. They made more in June than they did their entire first year in business.
“It means we’re doing something right, I suppose,” Katie said.
Regulars used to mean Manitoids. Now, it means folks from Colorado Springs, Calhan and Peyton who show up at least once a week.
“That just blows my fucking mind,” Justin said.
To make this 50-seat daytime (8 a.m. to 4 p.m., every day) cafe that kind of hot spot, Katie and Justin find themselves working 50 to 60 hours a week, and even on their “days off,” they still end up spending three or four hours here.
“We know it’s not sustainable,” Justin said. “But right now, I can’t see us burning out. We love it. When we’re not here, we’re thinking about here.”
— Warren Epstein is a longtime journalist and playwright, formerly at The Gazette, who contributes to local publications like Springs Magazine, the Pikes Peak Bulletin and now, Side Dish. (He’s also been a supporter of Side Dish since its inception.)
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Warren made a believer out of me!