Yankee Girl Restaurant Manager Kristyn Trujillo holds out two breakfast dishes â the Tommyknocker breakfast sandwich and the Ouray omelet â served at the eatery's new location at 400 Main St. Photo by Erin McIntyre
ankee Girl Restaurant has expanded to a new location at 400 Main St., down the street from the cafe at 630 Main St. Unit B, where the business originally opened. The new restaurant features breakfast, lunch and dinner. Pictured here are (standing): Ofelia Freitis, Chad Kibel, Amy Scott, Kristyn Trujillo, Charley Trujillo, Ashley Hineline, Nolin Boone, M.J. Karus, Maggie Mawhorter and Camryn Kibel. In the front row are Luis Robles and Luis Guerra. Erin McIntyre â Ouray County PlaindealerOne of Ouray’s premiere restaurant locations has a new tenant – and their signature dishes involve crispy cheese.
Locals might remember the breakfast sandwiches and burritos from Yankee Girl Cafe down the street, but the new Yankee Girl Restaurant at 400 Main St. has expanded the business’ capacity exponentially.
Yankee Girl had outgrown the little seven-table location co-owner Amy Scott established back in 2020 during the pandemic. The new location, where the former Red Mountain Brewery was located, offers diners 100 seats inside and out on the patio.
“We just needed more space,” Scott said.
The business, owned by Scott and her husband, Chad Kibel, started with breakfast, then added lunch and ice cream, and now has expanded to the larger location to start offering dinner this month.
It’s the latest step in the restaurant-owning adventure for Scott, who grew up in Ouray. She had been working in the concrete business for her dad, Speedy. She decided to open up Yankee Girl with her economic stimulus check and her tax return money – roughly $6,000 three years ago. The name of the restaurant is a nod to the area’s mining history – the famous Yankee Girl silver mine, which drivers can still see when they drive on Red Mountain Pass. And some of the menu items’ names hint at mining, too, like the Jack Leg breakfast entree – two eggs, sausage and crispy cheese between two pancakes – named for a drill used to bore holes into a rock face.
The family’s connection to mining remains strong – Kibel has worked as a miner for 21 years and still does when he’s not at the restaurant – and they still participate in local mining competitions. The restaurant’s decor also hints at the ties to the area’s mining roots, with historic photos on the walls showing past scenes of Ouray County and Silverton.
As for Yankee Girl’s original, smaller location in the Chipeta building, Scott plans on keeping the cafe open for ice cream. But the breakfast, lunch and dinner options at the larger restaurant location down the street feature an expanded menu with sandwiches, entrees and more.
The dinner menu includes specialties like ginger honey- crusted almond halibut, chipotle shrimp fettuccine alfredo, smoked salmon bruschetta and house-made spinach artichoke dip with fresh baguette.
Diners will notice several menu items feature the crispy cheese Yankee Girl has become known for – the lacy, melted crispy wrapping for a hamburger before it goes into the bun, for example. The burritos are still made to order, using local sausage made by Ouray Grocery. And the smoked chicken in sandwiches comes from down the street, made by the Ouray Meat & Cheese Market.
Current hours for the restaurant are from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. for breakfast and lunch, with dinner available from 5 to 9 p.m., seven days a week. For more information call 970-325-6005.
