Health and longevity
Whealthy Unlimited's smoothie front helps fund extensive at-risk youth services; Trivelli's Hoagies celebrates 50 years in business + more food & drink news & events
WHealthy Unlimited opened in early 2024 downtown at 121 E. Bijou St. (across from Story Coffee). If you’re still unacquainted, know that it’s a smoothie and juice bar with a deep mission behind the welcoming coworking storefront. About its name, think: “You can’t be wealthy without the health.”
That’s what volunteer Rubin Benford, a former Teen Court Program Manager with Forge Evolution, says to me when I inquire about the faux gold bars stacked at the ordering counter and fake million dollar bill that’s served with each smoothie — a hole punched through it allows straws to hold the bills in place. They’re not a nod to greedy capitalism; they’re a clue to the financial literacy classes that happen on site as just one of many outreach programs.
Benford speaks about his former work setting, which revolved around punitive and restorative justice interventions. He’s thrilled to be learning the ropes at Whealthy Unlimited to focus instead on preventative measures. “I think we need to be teaching the youth that ‘you made a mistake, but you can bounce back.’”
I take a tour of the full complex with Site Director Dominique Thompson, who explains that the for-profit enterprise puts all its profits back into its programming, so it essentially acts like a social-impact business. It’s tied to local nonprofit Community Anchor Academy through founder and CEO Juaquin Mobley, a community advocate for criminal justice reform — he speaks as someone formerly incarcerated. “Through this work my hope is to see more people thrive in the Springs instead of just survive,” he explains in this video clip posted by Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade.
Thompson tells me they work with at-risk youth, some referred by the state’s Division of Youth Services. But they also mentor children who’ve never been in trouble, seeking to teach vital skills such as “emotional regulation and making smart choices” so the kids never run afoul of the law in the first place. That’s where instruction on entrepreneurship comes in, dovetailing with the financial literacy piece. “If you don’t know how to manage money, it’s bad for your overall health,” she says. Community Anchor Academy’s focus on workforce development plays into this as well.
A summer camp is underway when I’m touring, mostly with 5- to 9-year-olds who’re in the middle of a nap time, spread out on mats in the facility’s rear gym space, which also hosts Santiago’s Boxing Club, another youth-related nonprofit. Thompson says many families (some dealing with substance abuse recovery or post-incarceration) can’t afford a traditional summer camp, so Whealthy has developed an activities program that teaches skills but also keeps kids occupied so parents can be at work earning money (while receiving affordable day care).
“We say we’re like a rec center, with so many activities going on,” Thompson says. Anyone who comes in to buy a juice or smoothie can stay and work out in the gym for free when it’s not occupied with other programming. (A monthly $34.95 membership includes two smoothies, bringing the price to around $15/month actually.) “We’re trying to make wellness accessible to everyone, and to bring dignity into it for someone who may not be able to afford a membership to the Y.”
I ask if busy people on the run, who just want to buy a smoothie and get in and get out, can feel okay about doing so without engaging at the higher level. She says of course. “Even transactional visits make an impact. You buy a $10 smoothie and that helps feed one kid all day long — breakfast, lunch and snacks. It’s very important. And when we’re not feeding the kids we’re feeding adults. You can’t operate without food. People take that for granted.”
As just one more branch of Whealthy Unlimited, the kids help produce the lemonades that get canned (technically jarred) on-site and sold at the front smoothie/juice bar in a grab-and-go cooler. They also sell them at fundraising events, kind of like how Girl Scout Cookies operate, learning everything from safe food prep to entrepreneurial skills all along the way. (Adults can also take customer-service classes to prep them for the workforce.)
I decide to order a smoothie named For the Love of the Money. It’s made with peaches, strawberry, coconut, spinach, plant-based yogurt, honey and blue spirulina. I add in the optional WHealthy Blend of vitamins C and B, MCT oil, sea moss and pink Himalayan salt. The result is wonderful, and I show no self restraint and suck it down too quickly. Benford pours himself a sip from the dregs in the blender that wouldn’t fit in my cup, so he can try a new-to-him flavor. He rates it his #2 smoothie in-house at the moment, rattling through the rest of his top five so far.
I stick around and do some writing while walking on a treadmill at a standing desk with a laptop mount that makes for better ergonomics. You can also perform mobile work with stair-step pedals or a stationary bike desk. The house WiFi code is posted about the room for easy remote working for the small ask of buying a drink — which, as I’ve highlighted, goes on to fund so many good things.
Whealthy Unlimited is hosting its annual OlymPeak City Field Day from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Aug. 29 in Acacia Park, just across from the gym and smoothie bar. There will be relay and workout competitions, youth challenges, live music, bounce houses and a vendor village.
This month’s Ranch Foods Direct collaboration recipe with The Broadmoor features a Peruvian dish by Chef Rocio Neyra Palmer. July is special in Peru, as Fiestas Patrias on July 28 honors the country’s independence from Spanish rule. And July 29 recognizes Peru’s armed forces and national police with an annual military parade. Families will celebrate over food and drink, enjoying everything from pisco sours to ceviche and lomo saltado, plus other national dishes. You could of course make Palmer’s recipe for a symbolic tie-in just for fun and cultural enrichment. ¡Felices Fiestas Patrias!
Trivelli’s Hoagies to celebrate half a century in business
There’s a sweet sorrow to the actual anniversary of Trivelli’s Hoagies: July 16. It’s the same day that original co-founder John Trivelli Sr. passed away in 2005.
“It’s a tough day for us,” says son and owner/operator since 2004, Steve Trivelli. “So we decided to celebrate on another day,” which will be July 25 (from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with all five Trivelli children and extended families coming into town).
“We don’t always do anniversary celebrations,” he says, “but turning 50 is so rare.”
Considering the precarious knife’s edge that the restaurant industry is, that’s an understatement. And Trivelli’s has weathered its share of challenges, including relocations (like in 2013 when the roof caved in) and a split with a now-unaffiliated franchisee off Austin Bluffs Parkway.
A four-year stint off Space Village Avenue led to an eventual return back home to 2739 N. Nevada Ave. in 2022, and a relationship began with neighboring Murphy’s Tavern, which was under new ownership. Since Trivelli’s has no dine-in space, many guests grab sandwiches and head next door to pair them with a drink at the iconic dive bar.
On the day last week that I drop in to meet with Steve and reacquaint myself with the sandwiches we head into Murphy’s to chat. He introduces me to bartender Jake Jackson, son of the co-owner Ben. Amusingly the two are wearing t-shirts of each others’ businesses, not their own.
Steve tells me he started working at his parent’s shop when it opened in 1976 and he was just 13 years old. He has a grandson who’s now that same age, who’s “chomping at the bit to come work here,” he says, joking that it’s a different era now for child employment. Whenever that grandson can officially start work, he’ll represent the fourth generation of Trivelli family members to have a hand in sandwich making. All five Trivelli children worked for their parents at some point, Steve says. “We all grew up in the shop.” So did their kids.
When I ask the significance of 50 years to him, and what they feels like, Steve says “It’s always been about my parents’ legacy. This is a celebration of their dream.”
Specifically his mom Barbara. “She was a workaholic, and this was perfect for her,” he says. “My dad did 20 years in the military and lived his dream. When they opened the shop he told my mom ‘now it’s your turn.’
“I’m not sure they envisioned us making it 50 years.”
Despite being around the shop his whole life, Steve says that when he bought it from his parents in 2004 he had no idea what he was getting himself into. “Working in it and owning it are two different things. I didn’t appreciate how hard they had to work to survive. I’m keeping it going for them. They deserve that.”
I ask if he plans to go anywhere soon, or pass the business down, and he says no. “My two kids are super smart. They’re not getting into food.”
When I get some sandwiches later and take them back over to Murphy’s to enjoy (with some N/A beers at lunchtime), I order Steve’s personal favorite and another bestselling item.
The first is the Italian Hoagie, baked to melt the cheese a little. It’s composed with Genoa salami, capicola, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onions, oil and spices and sweet cherry peppers that Steve calls “the secret weapon.” The other potent force about it is an authentic Amoroso Philly roll. Steve ships them in twice weekly. In a way that good bread can make or break a sandwich, it sets Trivelli’s apart. It’s perfectly pillowy and spongy but stands up to heavy ingredients, including the sauces, without getting gummy or breaking apart.
The second sandwich is the Steak Hoagie, with thin-sliced, marinated Ranch Food Direct Callicrate beef shoulder, American cheese and all those same fixings. It’s a terrific sandwich that I imagine is impossible not to like. Steve calls it a working man’s lunch, blue collar. But he notes that he regularly has executives pull through the drive-up window in BMW’s and such, so clearly everyone can appreciate the fare.
A wall filled with donation plaques (that helped fund a renovation on the building) shows that there’s three generations of local Trivelli’s fans. The years etched on the plaques indicate what year each person ate their first Trivelli sandwich.
I comment to Steve about how shiny all the stainless steel kitchen walls are and how tidy and clean the tiny space is. It surprises, given the humble exterior.
“I have solid people,” he says. “My crew makes all the difference.”
His parents would be proud.
Bites & Bits
• Owner Bryce Dillingham announced July 22 that he has sold Roll Up COS after nine years in business. The incoming owners are moving from the Denver area to take over. “Our goal when we started Roll Up was to bring some local food options to the area [Widefield] that otherwise didn’t exist at the time. We made it happen, and it’s time for me to personally dedicate my focus to some other parts of my life and career,” he wrote on Facebook.
• Gather Food Studio is hosting a 50% Off Everything sale, leading up to its planned July 31 closure in Colorado. Founders David Cook and Cortney Smith are moving the business to Minnesota. Though they’ll no longer be teaching classes and offering retails sales at 2011 W. Colorado Ave., they’ll continue to host online classes and sell from an online spice shop. “This move is about choosing a different path for our family and carrying Gather with us into the next season of life,” they wrote last month when first announcing the transition. (Those of you who’ve been with Side Dish since its inception in early 2023 will recall that for the first year of my monthly collaboration with Ranch Foods Direct, Gather provided all the awesome recipes, which are still posted on my site. (Scroll down from the landing page of that link.)
• August 1’s Culinary Connections meal will highlight Afghan cuisine. Learn more about the program via our recent KRCC/CPR segment.
• Luchals recently offered a model for how to handle health department violations: transparency with the public. Check out the graphic they posted on their Facebook page, below, and click into it to see what else they wrote.
• If your adventures this summer take you through Hartsel, check out the newly opened Badger Basin Mercantile. “The mercantile was envisioned and developed by Colorado Springs residents and business partners Eric and Sumer Liebold, John and Tara Schutz, and Lisa and Matt Heiden, who saw an opportunity to create more than just another roadside stop,” according to a press release, which notes products available from Colorado Springs makers. “Visitors will find groceries, grab-and-go provisions, outdoor goods, apparel, gifts and elevated souvenirs… [and] a curated selection of fishing gear from Colorado Springs’ Angler's Covey.” The store will host a grand opening celebration Aug. 7, with discounts and giveaways.
• Mirasol, Looking at the Sun, the agriculture-related documentary produced by the Palmer Land Conservancy, is now available to watch free online. The film “delves into the lives of multi-generational Italian and Hispanic families in a rural Colorado farming community… explor[ing] their fight to safeguard a way of life that hangs in a delicate balance in the face of rapid development, water scarcity and population growth.”
• From Ranch Foods Direct’s Mike Callicrate via his No-Bull Food News blog: “Questions about Taylor Farms’ political spending have surfaced as the company’s role in the ongoing Cyclospora investigation continues to draw national attention.” Why it matters? “Regardless of whether the issues are related, the combination risks undermining public trust in both the food system and the institutions responsible for overseeing it.”
Side Dish Dozen happenings
Goat Patch Brewing: We’re turning 9 years old! Come celebrate at all three locations all weekend long. Here’s what’s happening each day. Festivities include live music, lots of food trucks, local art, books and kids activities. We’re also tapping some special firkins; giving away prizes and merch; and offering beer-to-go mix and match deals. Download our app to earn free Trail Water.
Blue Star Group: Pick up a punch card at any of our shops and buy the $13 featured special at all four locations to be entered to win dinner for two at The Blue Star when it reopens later this year. Specials include two slices of Pie at Gold Star Bakery and a Class Reunion cocktail at the Principal’s Office.
Kangaroo Coffee: Join us for tasty beverages and arts and crafts! Our staff is hosting a T-shirt Bleach Painting Party at our Hillside Coffee House on August 4 from 2-5pm. Admission price will cover all painting supplies and shirts. All you have to do is bring your creativity and your friends. Tickets are available online. We hope to see you there!
Wobbly Olive: Come sample from our new cocktail menu. The Saffron Skyline features saffron-infused gin, Meyer lemon, oleo saccharum, cardamon tincture and yuzu tonic. The 36 Chambers mixes Szechuan peppercorn tequila with cucumber extract and cilantro agave. Every weekday happy hour at both locations is 4-6 p.m.; all cocktails and beers are half off, plus $5 house wines.
Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar: Come in for Locals Sunday with $1 oysters and more; all night happy hours on Mondays; Cantina Tuesdays; Po Boy Wednesdays; Wine N’ Snack Thursdays; Happy Hour Date Night Fridays from 3-6 p.m. (with meals for two for $65); and Boil Night Saturdays with $20 beer buckets.
Edelweiss: Enjoy live music on our award-winning patio every Wednesday at 5:30 with Santi Davila, a classic rock and Beatles cover performer. Happy hours in the Ratskeller, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Tuesdays-Saturdays. Traditional live music Thursdays-Sundays, 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Evergreen Restaurant: Enjoy live music with singer/songwriter Ava Grace on our lovely patio, July 25, 5:30 to 9 p.m. We serve lunch Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and brunch on Sundays during the same hours. View our menus here.
Hoppenings of the week
Beer Releases
Summer Peach Blonde at Dueces Wild Brewery. A light blonde ale with a subtle peach character, light and refreshing at 5.2% ABV with minimal bitterness.
Huckleberry Cream Ale at Goat Patch Brewing. Smooth, slightly creamy and packed with huckleberry aroma. Easy drinking, super summery.
Honey Wheat French Saison at Peaks N Pines Brewing. A French Saison style beer with honey. (Releases July 27.)
Beer Events
Throwdown Thursdays at Red Leg Brewing. July 23, 6 p.m. Free, weekly line dancing class led by @db.moves for all skill levels (ages 16+).
Christmas in July at Cerberus Brewing Company. July 25, 11 a.m. Catch a re-release of Krampusnacht Yulebier and eat roasted turkey sandwiches with all the fixings. Coincides with a dog adoption event hosted by From Forgotten to Forever Rescue.
Ethan Cup Touch Rugby Benefit at Storybook Brewing. Touch rugby at John Venezia Park benefiting Children's Hospital Colorado. $20/player or $200/team. After party at Storybook with $1 off pints and $1 per pint going to the hospital.
For full listings of events and releases download the free Hoppenings app on Apple on Google.
Upcoming events
July 25: 5-year anniversary celebration at Kinship Landing. 10 a.m. onward. Family friendly activities include face painting and yard games, plus live DJ set, food and drink specials and more.
July 26: Below the Belt Bar Crawl through downtown. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Meet at Counterfeit Cowboy to start. $25 tickets benefit Sues Gift (gynecological cancer support).
July 30: Sip with Schnip at Elephant Thai - Monument. 5-8 p.m. Come see the new location! Side Dish subscribers get one free Thai iced tea with your meal by request. Special pricing on newly created dishes: Grilled Beef Ribs, Beef Rib Khao Soi, and Salmon Choo Chee. Option to add a discounted Thai beer or cocktail. Full regular menu available, including abundant gluten-free and vegan items.
July 30: Tails, Tunes & Tastes at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. 6-9:30 p.m. $64.75 tickets include two drinks and unlimited food samples. (Event repeats Aug. 27 and Sept. 24.)
Aug. 1: United We Rock Beer Festival at Rock Ledge Ranch. 2-8 p.m. Brews, spirits, live music and food trucks.
Aug. 1: Vine & Notes Wine Festival in Woodland Park’s Memorial Park. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; $45-$66.
Aug. 1: Indian Food Festival at Liberty High School. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; food samples, dance and music performances, food competitions and more. Free, or early access for $12.50.
Aug. 15: Pasta in the Park. 6 p.m. $120 benefits TESSA.
Aug. 16: 8th annual Smokin’ the Ute Pass Summit at Paradox Beer Company. Noon to 2 p.m. $15-$35 includes tastings and a drink ticket.
Aug. 16: Paella on the Patio at TAPAteria. Three seatings; $55 includes a drink. (Next up: Sept. 20 and Oct. 18.)
Aug. 18: KRCC Live: Michelin in the Springs with Side Dish at Ivywild School. 6:30 p.m. A live recording with special guests to discuss the Michelin Guide’s potential impact on C. Springs’s culinary scene ahead of statewide award announcements later in the fall. $25 tickets include small bites; drinks available for purchase.
Aug. 20: Jefferson’s Bourbon Meet the Maker dinner in The Penrose Room at The Broadmoor. 6 p.m., $258.
Aug. 21: On the Mesa at Garden of the Gods Resort & Club. 6-10 p.m.; $195 benefits Goodwill.
Aug. 21-22: 2nd Annual Polaris Pour - Bourbon at the Gate at Hotel Polaris. Bourbon and cocktail seminars, culinary pairings, grand tasting and much more.
Aug. 23: 4th annual 719 Battle of the Food Trucks outside Norris Penrose Event Center. Featuring samples from 45 area trucks. 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Beer Garden, live music and more.
Visit Springs Things for more food & drink and cultural event listings.
Parting shot(s)
Here’s something cool on the sustainability front that I encountered this past week at Ozo Coffee in Boulder: the GaeaStar to-go clay cup.
It’s a plastic-free, reusable option which includes a small discount when brought back in for a drink. It was only $1.50 to purchase, and whenever it breaks (because it’s thin and feels fairly fragile) it will eventually turn back into dust. It’s constructed with clay, water and salt, “a form factor inspired by biomimicry,” according to the company’s site.
I purchased a couple with intent to use them at local coffee shops just as I would my travel mug. Here’s hoping some Springs shops pick up the product and support the mission. (Hint-hint.)
