Lance Maggart / lmaggart@skyhinews.com
Local restaurateurs Jonathan and Nely Gurrola, owners of the Azteca restaurants, have spent the last decade perfecting their formula for a great Mexican eatery, but this summer the couple is digging into a new, and distinctly different, project with the opening of Granby Garage Roadhouse.
Located on the eastern edge of downtown Granby, Granby Garage is set to open in early June once ongoing construction and renovations are completed. The restaurant and bar will offer patrons a relaxed yet upscale dining experience that is something of a cross between a sports bar and a family restaurant.
“We are trying to do something different than what we already have in town,” Jonathan Gurrola said. “We have a lot of potential here.”
One of the particular highlights of Granby Garage is its large outdoor area and patio space, butting up against large garage doors — hence the name — that will open when weather allows and offer outdoor bar seating.
The entire area that previously served as the parking lot for the building will soon become outdoor dining and event space for Granby Garage. Contractors are wrapping up work on a wooden deck patio that will be open to patrons once the restaurant is up and running. The Gurrolas have plans to further develop the space with the construction of a small stage and additional seating areas.
“Eventually the goal is to have live music out there,” Gurrola said.
Bryce Martin / bmartin@skyhinews.com
Granby Garage will feature five different beers on tap and a variety of microbrews in the bottle. The restaurant’s menu will focus heavily on appetizers but will still offer plenty in terms of formal dinner options including New York strips and massive 32-ounce tomahawk steaks. While the restaurant will focus more on classic American fare, Gurrola is also planning to offer Baja-style fish tacos, as well as shrimp and al pastor tacos.
The idea for Granby Garage developed serendipitously as the Gurrolas began planning to open a new restaurant. The couple owns Azteca locations in Granby, Fraser and Idaho Springs and has sold two additional Mexican food restaurants that were located along the Front Range in the Denver metro area. They initially began considering some type of Asian cuisine restaurant, but a chance encounter with a patron at Azteca changed their plans.
“Mark (Shaffer) has been a longtime customer of ours at Azteca; I have known him for years,” Gurrola said of the man who owns the building where Granby Garage is located. “I mentioned that we were looking into getting another place. He asked if he bought a property would I lease it and open a restaurant. As a joke I said sure, but a couple of months later he said you’ve got a building. That is when the idea for this was born.”
Shaffer, who purchased the building last summer, is not in a partnership with the Gurrolas, but did purchase the building on Agate Avenue with plans to lease the space to the couple. Shaffer has invested in significant renovations on the property in anticipation of Granby Garage’s opening. Along with all the decor and design upgrades on the facility, Shaffer had an additional 1,000 square feet added onto the building and had a commercial kitchen installed.
Jonathan Gurrolo said he hopes to open Granby Garage no later than the first half of June, and noted that contractors were working hard to complete construction on the building.
“Honestly I want to be open right now,” he exclaimed. “I am anxious to jump into the kitchen and start cooking. The locals have showed great support, asking when we will open and saying they will be here as soon as we do. That gives you the incentive to keep working.”