A few things that will always go together at Oskar Blues Fooderies: Craft Beer, Fresh Ingredients, Live Music and our Family & Friends.
These core values are what we've rooted our brand in ever since our founder, Dale Katechis, opened the doors to the very first Oskar Blues restaurant in Lyons, Colorado in 1997. Dale's Southern roots and previous experience in the restaurant industry led him to create a spot that locals and visitors alike could rely on for delicious food, cold beer and live entertainment; a place that would inspire his passion for brewing and spark the craft-beer-in-a-can craze that would eventually make Oskar Blues famous.
Even though Dale was a born-and-bred restaurant guy, he began focusing more of his efforts on the brewery realm when flagship Dale's Pale Ale took off. The man known for spinning many plates decided to hand the restaurant ownership over to his wife so he could keep the brewery truckin' forward. In 2008, about a year after the Longmont brewery expansion, Anita Gray partnered on the restaurant side and Homemade Liquids and Solids (aka HMLS) was born. Experiencing first-hand the potential in this hometown soul-filled juke joint made it easy for her to push in her chips & buckle up for a wild ride!
During the opening phase of HMLS in 2009, the restaurant partners knew they needed a back-of-the-house specialist to fill in the blanks. Enter Chef Jason Rogers. After years of working his way through kitchens nationwide and learning from some of the best Chefs in the biz, life led Jason to the funky town of Lyons where he met Dale
and the OB family, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Combining their entrepreneurial spirits, Jason and Anita purchased a food truck in 2011, named it the "BONE WAGON" and the "CHUBurger" was born. When supply simply couldn't keep up with demand, the need to build a restaurant around the popular concept was more than apparent. So in 2013, Jason became the third restaurant partner and the doors were opened to the first CHUBurger Craft Casual foodery. Not a year later, on opening day 2014, a second CHUBurger launched on the rooftop of Coors Field, allowing our local gem to get big-city attention.
True to form, Oskar Blues Fooderies couldn't leave well-enough alone. Also in 2014, we opened CYCLCHOPS Bike CANtina, our first south-of-the-border concept in Longmont - the extraordinary town that continues to open its arms to all-things OB. CYCLHOPS combines the love of tasty, fresh taqueria-style eats, with our other beloveds: beer and bikes (oh yeah, and tequila too!). Our CANtina quickly becomes a favorite to anyone that walks through the door and continues to push the limits of traditional and trend-setting.
In 2015, we've been focusing on our distinct brands and offering consistency throughout our stores and products. With the official launch of Oskar Blues Fooderies, we hope to solidify our individual brand identities and strengthen the company as a whole. We know the future holds thoughtful expansion of our core brands as well as new concepts yet to be hatched.
So, what's next?! There's only one way to find out ... stay tuned for updates!
