Steamboat restaurateur Collin Kelley is no stranger to fueling up locals and guests for their adventures in the Yampa Valley. With four restaurants under his chef’s hat—Cypress, Primrose, Slopeside, and Los Locos—and plans for a market and deli cooking for the west side of town, he’s as prolific with a spatula as he is with sharing his love for the community he calls home. We caught up with him for his take on Steamboat’s restaurant scene…
SC: When and how did you end up in Steamboat?
Kelley: I moved here in 2010 from Denver, where I’d been working as a chef, to open Carl’s Tavern. Then I moved away after I sold that in 2017, and came back in 2020, succumbing to the Yampa Valley Curse.
SC: What’s going on at each of your restaurants this summer?
Kelley: We’ll start at the mountain. Slopeside will be open Thursdays through Saturdays, with an emphasis on the beach scene and outdoor dining. We also have a new 96-inch woodstove pizza oven and pizza kitchen, which are great. Next door, Los Locos is open seven days a week and is still all about margs and Mex. Downtown, Cypress is also doing great, especially with its weekend brunch menu, which has caught fire. I love the breakfast burrito, which has the best green chili around, as well as the fried chicken and buttermilk waffle, topped with a bacon and candy pecan crumble. It also has a great build-your-own-Bloody buffet where we pour the vodka and you do the rest, as well as a mimosa cart with eight different juices. Primrose has been going great also, especially its Happy Hours from four to six every day, which have taken on a life of their own. Everyone says the burger is the best in town. It’s only fifteen bucks during Happy Hour and is all steak trim from butchering our meat ourselves. We easily serve 50 a day, especially during the Friday Happy Hour, which is absolutely outrageous.
SC: What’s your take on Steamboat’s restaurant scene?
Kelley: It’s twofold. On one hand, we’ve enver been better, from the food to the inspiration behind it, to the quality of ingredients, everything. We’ve never been stronger. But as an industry, we’re facing some big-time challenges, which will likely be compounded this summer by low water and potentially less tourism. One we have to face is our working-class folks. We have people who either have two houses or two jobs. We have a huge group of working-class people who are holding down one or two full-time jobs, as well as side hustles, who are just trying to stay here. We’re not greedy, price-gouging restaurant owners, but everything’s gotten more expensive with tariffs, inflation, the economy, and more all factoring in. Sadly, we’re at the cusp of losing what gives a lot of restaurants their local identity. The cost of living is outpacing income and affordability. We’re seeing fewer and fewer locals. We get it, but if that trend continues, restaurants will either have to close or cater to the people with two houses. It’s a different world. You can’t make it selling a $30 entrée anymore. You can’t maintain business and keep locals coming through the door. Our industry is going that way nationally, but it’s more magnified here. It makes me sad, as someone who came from working-class parents. It used to be you could go out and get a dinner for four for $100, but not anymore.
Places like Locos, Backdoor Burger, and SunPies cover the lower end of the price point where the working class goes, and high-end restaurants cover the space for people with two homes, but there won’t be restaurants in the middle. Things like specials and Happy Hours for locals are helping, but it’s not enough.
SC: What’s the best part about running your restaurants?
Kelley: The magic is when the lights are right, the music is right, and the energy and vibe is happening, when everything’s great. You’re walking that razor wire when everything is perfect. There’s a magic in that that’s like a drug. And also, the people. We have more than 100 employees, and they’re all awesome. It’s a huge responsibility to be responsible for their livelihoods, but also the greatest reward. The relationships you foster that come out of the hospitality industry are lasting and real. You get to hang out and be with them during their best times and comfort them on their worst days.
SC: How are your plans for the new market on the west end coming along?
Kelley: They’re going great. We closed on the land and are going as hard and fast as we can to open in the spring of 2027. It’s going to be called “Forty West Mercantile.” From the beginning, we planned it to be strictly for locals, especially for those who live on that side of town. It’ll have something for everyone, from high-quality seafood and steaks to a deli, bakery, grocery items, charcuterie counter, and more. We made it for locals every step of the way — thinking about what town didn’t have and what was missing — but tourists will love it also, especially as the first place they hit coming in from the airport. To me, locals are the sundae, and tourists are the toppings and sprinkles.
SC: How about your other project downtown?
Kelley: We plan, at the very least, to begin demolition in May, so no more Double Z or Orange Peel buildings. It’ll be about a two-year build-out and will be called The Latigo, which pays homage to horses, a key component of Steamboat’s and the Southwest’s horse culture. The restaurant will be called Lumbre, which is Spanish for “glow of the fire.” Its cuisine will be Spanish and Southwest inspired, telling the tale of how Southwest cuisine came to be, taking its influence from Spanish conquistadores on up to Native Americans of the Southwest. It’s sort of a romanticized dream to tell the story of that entire foodway. There’s no better way to honor these people and tell their story than through cuisine
SC: What are some of your favorite activities here?
Kelley: I have four daughters, ages 13, 12, 4, and 2, so really my favorite thing to do is spending time with my family. But I also love snowmobiling and skiing in the winter and playing golf in the summer.
