Lance Maggart / lmaggart@skyhinews.com
Lance Maggart / lmaggart@skyhinews.com
In mid-May a quant little new restaurant opened in downtown Grand Lake and while the shop itself may be small in size it is big on flavor and freshness.
Hidden Meadow officially opened for business on May 11 this year and since then shop owners Ali June and Shane Murphy have been dishing out made to order signature sub sandwiches and vibrant colorful rice bowls that are perfect choice for health conscious consumers after a day on the trail. Located at the far eastern end of Grand Avenue Hidden Meadow is an apropos name for the diminutive shop that is wedged between Jump Start Coffee to the east and Mountain Lake Properties to the west.
“We offer different types of signature subs and rice bowls,” June explained. “It is a healthier and fresher option.”
June and Murphy, who are a couple and have a child together, have been planning on opening a restaurant of some type in Grand Lake for several months and kicked around several different ideas before focusing on the idea of a sub sandwich and rice bowl shop.
“We thought the town needed something a little different,” June said. “We wanted a healthy option. We thought we could move in here and offer something we wanted to eat, and something we wanted to feed our kids.”
The focus on health and freshness was a big factor for the duo as they begin gearing up for the summer season. All veggies served at Hidden Meadow, which they cut in-hosue daily, are served fresh and are never frozen prior to serving. Likewise the shops chicken is marinated in-house and the chicken and tofu used in their rice bowls are cooked that day.
“We are trying to do it all ourselves” June said. “We are trying to get to where everything is house made.”
Lance Maggart / lmaggart@skyhinews.com
The sub sandwich menu at Hidden Meadow features several traditional options from the classic Italian to the chicken bacon ranch. They offer a few more unique options such as the turkado and the hatch sub, featuring hatch green chilies. They also offer a gyro, that comes on toasted pita bread, and also have gluten free options as well.
The rice bowls at Hidden Meadow follow a pick-your-own system similar to many popular fast casual restaurants like Chipotle. Patrons begin by picking the sauce they want from one of four different options such as teriyaki and sweet and sour. Next a protein is chosen, options include chicken, tofu, ahi tuna and smoked salmon. Finally customers select the veggies they want from an extensive list of options including edamame, sprouts, cucumber and much more.
The restaurant’s name is an homage of sorts to the shop’s unique location on the Grand Lake boardwalk and was named in honor of June and Murphy’s daughter Meadow, who was born just a few short months before they opened for business.