People poured in around large dark wooden tables lining the entryway of a sun-soaked room, cupping coffee and entrenched in conversation.
Colorado Girl owner Matthew Beyer sits beside two people he’d just introduced, chatting over Ridgway’s newest coffee shop’s hot drinks and breakfast sandwiches.
“They’ve never met each other, and now look what they’re doing,” Beyer said. “If this place wasn’t here, you know, that may or may not happen.”
Community and conversation take center stage at both Beyer’s eateries and watering holes located on Clinton Street in Ridgway: Colorado Girl at 620 Clinton St. and the Colorado Boy Pub & Brewery, just down the street on the corner.
“One of my true passions is that people will sit down and start talking with each other, instead of talking at each other,” Beyer said.
Since he purchased the beloved pizzeria and pub on Clinton Street and the Colorado Boy Depot on North Cora Street from its former owner in February, he imagined opening a companion coffee shop in town.
Beyer, who spent most of his life in South Carolina, started his own coffee trailer there after visiting The Coffee Cowboy cart in Telluride during a family vacation about 14 years ago.
Beyer eventually turned the trailer into two brick-and-mortar locations on or near college campuses, which he ran with the help of his three daughters before he moved to Ridgway three years ago.
Though his daughters aren’t helping with the Colorado Girl, Beyer wants the shop to be a place that champions women creating things in the commu- nity, such as bakers and artists whose work he wants to feature. For example, its pastries — including cakes, croissant- cinnamon rolls and savory scones — are baked by Amie Minnick, a trained pastry chef and former owner of Provisions at the Barber Shop, which used to be located just two doors down the street. Minnick is also behind the shop’s soup of the day.
Colorado Girl’s food menu, Beyer believes, sets the spot apart from other coffee spots in town.
Sandwiches and grab-and-go breakfast are made fresh in-house daily. The coffee shop has regular hours, 6:30 a.m to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends.
Beyer is also using the location as an evening gathering space for private and community dinners. During those events, which Beyer is calling “Gather,” café tables merge into one large dinner table for a multi-course meal. Community groups can book an evening at the space and work with Colorado Girl’s chef to help design a menu. He also plans to host community dinners where anyone can purchase a seat at the table for a fixed-priced meal to sit and dine with strangers. He aims to offer both affordable and high-end menu options.
Beyer is thrilled to have opened his own coffee shop in Colorado, steeped in his own flavor and mission, many years after being inspired by The Coffee Cowboy.
He voiced love for Ridgway and his desire to give back to the community that has already filled the space with excitement since it opened in early December. The shop has a loyalty program for customers and offers free coffee for first responders.
“I love that we are a diverse group of people with similar shared values. We have a natural desire for more community, and we like good food and good drink,” Beyer said.
For more information visit coloradogirlcoffee.com.
