When Gregory Custer saw the vacant restaurant space at the Teller House Hotel in downtown Silverton last summer, he saw a possible dream come true.
“It’s been a dream of mine to own my own restaurant for a long time,” said Custer, who has a background in the restaurant business in Colorado Springs. “I couldn’t get it out of my head. It’s such a great location.”
Finally, “the madness of the Front Range got the best of me,” Custer said.
So Custer and his son Travis this week opened the San Juan Grill. Breakfast and lunch is being served from 6:30 till 1 p.m., Tuesdays through Sundays.
“We’re trying to serve good, clean, healthy food,” Custer said. “Everything will be homemade.”
The breakfast menu includes San Juan Benedict — grilled organic polenta topped with fresh steamed spinach, haystack goat cheese, two poached eggs and vegetarian green chile. Other items include the Big Caboose, Big Freda Burrito, and Pick-Axe Pancakes.
The lunch menu will include buffalo tacos, a Wineburger, and specialty sandwiches, soups and salads.
Custer said he is using quality, local foods as much as possible, and as much organic foods as possible.
His meats come from Sunnyside Farms in Durango, the coffee from Exotic Earth Coffee Roasters in Ouray, and baked goods from Artisan Bakery in Ouray.
The restaurant’s liquor license should come through by early May as well. Western Slope wines and Durango’s Ska beers will be featured, along with a small, full bar featuring “high-end” liquors.
Custer also hopes to offer dinner menus later this summer.