Legacy and comebacks
Duca's Pizza eyes expansion under new ownership, Cerberus' OG chef returns + more food & drink news
Duca's Neapolitan Pizza dates back 15 years in Colorado Springs, but it’s recently undergone some changes. Namely, founder Tony Duca sold the business at the end of 2022 to Robert Athey and Travis Pickern.
Other than a Duca’s franchise inside the Antler’s Hotel since 2017 (owned by Perry Sanders’ group), this 14-year-old Cheyenne Mountain Boulevard eatery is the sole location. There was formerly a spot on Voyager Parkway (the original, closed last year) and another on Barnes Road (closed a little earlier, by the pandemic, I’m told).
Duca’s GM, Nic Duca, worked for his uncle for many years after graduating from the Air Force Academy. He’s staying on board with the new owners and aims to claim an ownership stake in two new locations that incoming business partners Athey and Pickern plan to open within the next 18 months. (They won’t disclose exactly where, but hint that one will reside on the West side, and another near the Southeast.)
Nic represents the fourth generation of the family working around food. His great grandparents immigrated from Italy and moved to Cañon City, where they fed coal miners, he tells me. His great grandmother opened a sausage shop there. Later, his grandmother moved to the Springs and he recalls making pizza with her in her kitchen. She taught him to make dough, which they’d let rest for a day, cooking the pies the next.
His uncle Tony was the first to launch a business in the Springs with the family recipes. Still today, Nic and his staff hand-stretch their dough, made with Italian 00 flour. They bake in imported Italian ovens: Stefano Ferrara Neapolitan brick, wood-fired ovens to be precise. Those run at around 800 degrees, which cooks a pizza in roughly 90 seconds. The dough remains notably soft and chewy, easily eaten with a fork and knife if desired.
I know this because Nic makes me a special-of-the-day Hot & Honey pizza, something he created a couple years ago, he says. It’s a twist on the traditional Margherita (San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, EVOO), with added pepperoni and red pepper flakes for spiciness and Mike’s Hot Honey sauce for countering sweetness with a continued heat kick. It’s damn satisfying, and will become a regular menu item soon with an imminent update.
What else is new?
• An appetizer category on the menu, which will feature plates like cheese and charcuterie boards, garlic cheese bread and meatballs. In part, this is meant to accentuate a new bar buildout that’s almost complete.
• Soon, spirits will join the existing beer and wine options (assuming a liquor license goes through permitting). And hours will expand to include Sundays.
• The new owners commissioned graffiti work to refresh the space in style. Pickern had been following the work of an Australian artist named Steen Jones, who happened to be on a tour across limited parts of America. They believe this is Jones’ only work in Colorado (though he has a bunch in L.A., Pickern says).
About the owners:
• Athey waited tables at the original On the Border in Dallas, Texas when he was in high school. He says he made cast iron and wood trivets that he sold to the business as a side gig. He spent his early career in the telecom industry in Denver, and has spent the last five years in land development, which he continues to pursue.
• Pickern hails from Oregon. He was in sales prior and owned a food concession business for a decade, he says. After moving to the Springs, he purchased and operated our local Dutch Bros. locations between 2014 and 2021.
“How did you guys become friends?” I ask during our interview.
“I’m not sure we have,” jokes Pickern.
Athey waits a beat, then explains they met while playing golf.
Next, I ask why they wanted to purchase Duca’s?
“We love this location,” says Athey, also noting the expansion plans. Pickern adds that it’s a fun place to hang out with friends and neighbors.
“And,” says Athey. “Nic is still here.”
OG Cerberus chef returns
Chef Mark LeFebvre has just returned to his former post at Cerberus Brewing Company, taking up the title of Culinary Director. Those in the know should be excited. His new menu drops Tuesday, Aug. 8.
“I’m going to get Cerberus back on track and bring it back to its glory days,” he tells me during a short phone chat. “The new menu is fun and fresh again.”
Admittedly, I take heart in hearing that, because I tell him the place hasn’t been the same since he left it. His early food rose far above brewery basics and his successors — despite a nice bite here and there — couldn’t match the high bar set out of the gate.
LeFebvre is a former Chef de Cuisine at The Broadmoor. He opened Cerberus and ran the kitchen between 2016 and 2019, leaving only for a job in Missoula, Montana at a fine steakhouse named 1889. He’d grown up in a small, Southern Montana town named Red Lodge and attended University of Montana in Missoula before attending the CIA in Hyde Park, New York. So there’ve been reverse homecoming aspects to his recent postings.
Now, he says he and his wife Melisa — who’s Cerberus’ GM — are happy to be back in the Springs. “I’m excited to see folks I haven’t seen in several years.”
When we speak, the menu’s still under development, but LeFebvre provides a few teasers as well as an image of one completed dish: a vegan appetizer. It’s a Cannellini bean and artichoke dip with crudité vegetables, tapanade, lemon oil, micro herbs and lavosh. Just look at the above photo: It’s a gorgeous color bomb.
LeFebvre says that some “mainstay stuff” will stick around, and he says he’s finalizing a 2.0 version of his bestselling smoked brisket grilled cheese. (Yes and please.)
There’ll be the OG cheddar ale and crispy pork lettuce cups plus more entrées coming soon, to include a salmon plate. But one more dish he enthusiastically teases for now: something he’s calling Hell’s Shells. “It’s our version of a mac n’ cheese,” he says, describing how he smokes wheels of Brie cheese and turns them into a rich cream sauce with chorizo and truffled breadcrumbs over pasta shells. (Hell yeah, I’m in.)
Say it with sirloin
For the month of August, Ranch Foods Direct will spotlight its Sirloin Tip with another excellent recipe from Gather Food Studio. Scan the below QR code for the recipe and chef David Cook’s ‘Tips for Grilling a Great Steak.”
This method calls for Gather’s house-blended Old Colorado City Steak Rub (or “OCC Rub” if you want to say it like the cool cooks — or, um, cool Chef Cook). The steaks get plated with a delicious Maitre D'Hotel butter for an overall easy preparation with big payoff flavor-wise. I’m delighted to deem it the Schnip’s Pick of the month. (Officially doing so just now by waving my hand as if casting a spell. It is done, Voilà!)
And if you enjoy how the OCC Rub performs on a steak, remember to revisit July’s recipe for the Next Level OCC Burger.
Comment of the week
“You just have to read, pay attention, follow Side Dish with Schniper and get outside ones comfort zone to try new things.”
— Sarrah S., in response to a Downtown Partnership Instagram meme teasing: “When someone says there’s no food scene in Colorado Springs.”
Do mess with Texas
Free subscribers to Side Dish may now read my review of Chuckwagon 719 in full.
Chuckwagon is the true Texas barbecue food cart that sells out within an hour or two of service-start each day, by design. They’ve built a rabid fan base since opening shop just months ago. Everything’s epic, but the smoked beef ribs (pictured above) are a particular highlight, as is the house brisket.
Click the above link — like, right now! — to discover the “cheesecake” (actually a fat cap) that rolled my eyes back in my head in a state of gustatory bliss.
And if you don’t catch them prior at their usual setup spot outside The Sourdough Boulangerie at 6453 Omaha Blvd., plan to attend the Local Vendor Market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday Aug. 12 at Ranch Foods Direct’s east retail location at 4635 Town Center Drive. Chuckwagon 719’s popping up for the event. You’ll find me there (shamelessly trying to cut the line … maybe).
La Rosa set to retire
After a beautiful run that’s lasted just over a decade, La Rosa is set to close up shop on Sunday, Aug. 27 in Palmer Lake. I gave the outfit a pretty glowing review in my original 2013 writeup.
Owner/chef Marina La Riva had been looking to someone interested in taking over the whole operation, to keep “the food available to the folks who love it,” she told me many months ago. But with news of the closure, she says new tenants to the space intend on opening a barbecue restaurant as soon as October. Meanwhile, she’s hosting her last Tequila and Tapas tasting for Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity from 5-7 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 13. (RSVP requested by Aug. 4; the event’s currently on a waitlist.) You may view the five-course menu via the link on La Rosa's Facebook page.
Some (delicious Mexican) things I ate this week
Bites and bits
• Chile Colorado just opened at 7 E. Vermijo Ave., in the longtime Corner Cafe spot frequented by many downtown workers in its day. The independent, family-owned eatery describes itself as “true Southern Colorado Mexican food” and says “Our dishes rewind back to the 1970’s where our grandparents owned and operated two Mexican restaurants Pris & Ernie’s & El Matador.” (That was long before my time here.) Their menu ranges from an array of breakfast plate to burritos, tacos, enchiladas and entrées like carne adovada and a Slopper. Unlike the old Corner Cafe, they’ve got a liquor license and are putting it to use with drinks like a peach mojito, watermelon-agave vodka, and mangonada margarita.
• This might read as more of a music listing to some, but I see it as a destination drive for food and drink as well: Coyote's Coffee Den has a lineup for Sunday morning shows this month from 10 a.m. to noon. (Aug. 6 - George Whitesell; Aug. 13 - John Spengler; Aug. 20 - Bob Weir; Aug. 27 - Adam Gardino.) Whenever I’m driving down Highway 115 toward Cañon City, Florence, Westcliffe or wherever, I always stop at Coyote’s for a road coffee (and sometimes a pastry). I dig the spot. Anyway, grab breakfast or lunch items or sweets and alcoholic beverages in addition to the coffee if that’s the Sunday morning mood you’re in.
• Seven’s Gate Taproom celebrates its 1-year anniversary on Wednesday, Aug. 9 with happy hour all day (including $4 Cerberus drafts) as well as trivia (with prizes) and karaoke from 7-9 p.m. A few days prior, on Aug. 6 at 4 p.m., catch a tap takeover with Denver’s Cerebral Brewing. Tickets, $30, get you five 5-ounce sample pours plus a pint of your favorite brew. Call the taproom at 719-381-4318 to purchase them.
• Cinchona Coffee is co-hosting a Grand Opening + Coffee Pop-up from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Saturday Aug. 12 at KAE Event Studio & Floral Boutique at 120 Pueblo Ave. The event celebrates KAE’s launch, while Cinchona is also new on the scene, having soft opened in late May for menu testing with trusted tasters.
Side Dish subscriber submission
A couple weeks ago I congratulated Jennifer E., who won a pair of tickets to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Tails, Tunes & Tastes. She was kind enough to send me a thank you photo and short note after the event:
My boyfriend and I had a great time sampling as much as we could and watching the animals do their thing! I think my favorite dish was the panna cotta you reviewed in the newsletter, but we both also really enjoyed the pulled pork fries with sriracha and kewpie mayo!
The next Tails, Tunes & Tastes takes place Aug. 31. Stay tuned here because I just might have another pair of tickets to give away for it. (Okay, I totally do … but I’m not opening the contest yet.)
Save the dates (upcoming events I’m involved with)
• Local Vendor Market — Aug. 12 (I’m repping Schnip’s Pick, at Ranch Foods Direct)
• Sip With Schnip — Aug. 17 (I’m co-hosting, at The Carter Payne.)
• Smokin’ the Ute Pass Summit BBQ contest & Fundraiser — Aug. 20 (I’m judging, at Paradox Brewing Company.)
• Bar Battle Competition, Round 2 — Aug. 21 (I’m judging, at Tipperary.)
• A special Side Dish pop-up I’m announcing imminently — Aug. 22 (Location to be revealed, I’m co-presenting.)
• Pasta in the Park — Aug. 26 (I’m judging, at The Myron Stratton Home.)
• Tails, Tunes & Tastes — Aug. 31 (I’m attending, at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.)
Parting Shot(s)
Taste of Pikes Peak was a huge success last week and I was thrilled to meet some of my Side Dish subscribers in person as well as co-sponsor and judge the event. I had the honor of judging alongside Mayor Yemi Mobolade, City Council member Brian Risley and Switchbacks FC Head Coach Stephen Hogan. We awarded Best Taste to Chef Brian Meiler of TILL Neighborhood Bistro & Bar and Best Presentation to Picnic Basket Catering.
Great Read, lots of new places for me to try and looking foward to going back To Cerburus!