Long-time food and drink winners share the business practices that have led to their Best of NOCO victories
Nordy’s Bar-B-Que & Grill
Best Barbecue
Early in his career, Eric Nordhagen owned a Taco Bell franchise and later ran a restaurant at Pelican Lakes Resort & Golf in Windsor. But what he really wanted to do was create something of his own that harkened back to his family’s roots.
Nordhagen’s father owned a barbecue restaurant in Greeley around the time Nordhagen went off to college, and he returned after obtaining a degree in business management and accounting to help run the family business. A decade later, the two came together again to open Nordy’s Bar-B-Que & Grill in Loveland in 2008 as a tribute to their family’s recipes.
Nordy’s beans come from Nordhagen’s Aunt Judy, and his grandmother used to make the pasta slaw for potlucks. Everything had to pass taste tests from friends and family before making it onto the menu. Nordhagen loves it all, but one of his favorite menu items is the barbecue-rubbed turkey breast that they smoke over hickory wood for up to four hours.
“Finding things that tie back to who I am and where I came from has been a cool thing to be able to bring into this restaurant,” he says. “I grew up in Northern Colorado, so this has always been home for me.”
Aside from his family’s beloved recipes, the consistency of both the food and staff have made Nordy’s successful. There are a lot of steps that can turn a great product into a not-so-great product, Nordhagen says, and he’s grateful to have had the same person running his barbecue pit every day for more than eight years. Many of his other employees have worked at Nordy’s for long periods of time, and some have even been with him since the restaurant opened.
“All the awards we’ve won are because of those people because they consistently want to do a great job day after day,” he says. “Any praise that I get as an owner is directly a result of the work of my staff.”
Krazy Karl’s Pizza
Best Pizza
When the late restaurateur Karl Mobley posed the idea of a new pizza restaurant to Fort Collins native Nate Haas, the two debated whether there was room for another pizzeria in the area. There were more than 40 pizza places to order from at the time, so opening one of their own was a big risk—even a little crazy. They decided to do it on one condition: They had to be better than everyone else.
“You can sell a cheap product for a cheap price, or you can try to upgrade the product and still figure out how to keep your price point down to where CSU students or just anybody can afford you,” Haas says. “I thought, ‘How do you sleep at night knowing you’re not making the best possible thing?’”
Haas and Mobley worked with food purveyors to source the best mozzarella and tomatoes, and they used a garlic parmesan crust on every pizza. The trade-off was a lower profit margin, but after a few tight years, an influx of orders made it all worth it.
Haas’ connections in Fort Collins also contributed to the success of the business, which now has a third location in Loveland. His family has nine degrees from CSU, and he’s proud to have grown up in the Poudre School District, so he’s found ways to give back through donations, stadium sponsorships and discounts on orders of five pizzas or more. Many of those orders come from local sports teams, fraternities and sororities, school clubs and visitors, including the University of Colorado football team.
He’s also continued other discounts that helped Krazy Karl’s get its footing early on, like the “beat the clock” special, where large cheese pizzas cost the price of the time from 5-8 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays. As for custom orders, anything goes.
“We’re going to make whatever pizza you want,” Haas says. “Some of the combinations people come up with are absolutely wild, but they’re going to get the best strange pizza that person’s ever eaten.”
Austin’s American Grill
Best Business Lunch Spot
Big Al’s Burgers and Dogs
Best Hot Dog, Top 3 Burger, Top 3 French Fries
Comet Chicken
Top 3 Fried Chicken
Hot Corner Concepts began when local restaurateurs Steve Taylor and Scott McCarthy purchased The Moot House in Fort Collins in 1988 and dove headfirst into modern English pub fare. The business has since evolved with the introduction of three other unique concepts: Austin’s American Grill in Fort Collins and Greeley, Big Al’s Burgers and Dogs in Fort Collins and Comet Chicken in Fort Collins and Loveland.
While each restaurant is distinctly different—spanning from American comfort food to Coney chili dogs and Nashville hot chicken—everything is authentic and made from scratch. One of the keys to their success has been the quality of their ingredients, says Adam Vander Sande, chief operating officer and co-owner of Hot Corner Concepts.
The restaurant group is known for its “never ever” chicken, which comes from small farms and is grain fed, never frozen and free of antibiotics. That’s what you see turning on the open-flame rotisserie when you walk into Austin’s and what’s served on every Comet Chicken sandwich.
“At Comet Chicken, we transferred over that full-service environment, that hospitality and scratch cooking, and delivered it in a quick-service environment,” Vander Sande says. “Whether you’re looking for that quick fried chicken basket or a healthy sandwich or bowl, we meet those needs.”
Big Al’s claim to fame is its award-winning 60/40 burger, which is made with 60 percent ground beef and 40 percent ground bacon. Like Comet, it’s an affordable, quick-service space, but it was inspired by the burger shops the owners went to after sports games growing up. They love replicating that experience for young families—so much so that they made the tables out of an old gym floor from a local middle school.
Austin’s, on the other hand, has been loved in Northern Colorado since 1997, when it emerged in downtown Fort Collins as one of the area’s top sit-down American eateries. Hand-cut steaks, prime rib, rotisserie chicken, bison burgers and, more recently, sustainable salmon have become local favorites, while the warm, comforting environment has made it a popular spot for business lunches and family dinners.
“Throughout the years, we’ve done a lot,” Vander Sande says. “Our focus right now is to make sure that we are delivering a great experience, and we’re so thankful to our guests who have been huge supporters of us.”
Elliot’s Martini Bar
Best Martini
In the late ’90s, Linden Street in downtown Fort Collins was a bit of a dud. But as new restaurants moved in and the street was eventually redone, it became a bustling area with heavy foot traffic. Linda Leonhard, owner of Elliot’s Martini Bar, has been through the bust and now the boom.
Leonhard opened Elliot’s Martini Bar at 234 Linden St. in 1997 after noticing martini bars pop up in Denver. She started with dirty martinis and other basic drinks, and as the bar became more popular, her staff experimented with different recipes. Today, Elliot’s has dozens of craft cocktails on the menu, many of which have five or more ingredients. It’s a point of pride for Leonhard, whose bartenders know how to make 100 drinks and come up with new ones all the time.
“Now our drinks are very elaborate and specialized,” Leonhard says, noting that customers like to try things they can’t make at home
when they go out on the town. “Everything is handmade, so all the simple syrups and a lot of the liquors are infused in the bar. It’s a very hands-on experience.”
Twice per year, Leonhard gathers her bartenders to present new drinks they’ve dreamt up, including sweet “dessertinis,” then they update the menu with the ones they like the most. Many people visit Elliot’s for a martini and tapas before they go out to dinner, Leonhard says, then they’ll return for a dessertini to finish out the night.
She attributes Elliot’s 27 years of success to the quality and variety of cocktails as well as the experienced bartenders who make them. Even when Linden Street was closed for renovations in 2022, people would climb over the barricades to get to the bar. As a small business owner, their support means everything to her.
“When people walk in, they immediately get that we’re different,” she says. “I’m not interested in running three bars; I’m interested in doing one well and calling it a day.”
Silver Grill Cafe
Best Breakfast, Best Cinnamon Rolls, Top 3 Bloody Mary
Vern’s Place
Top 3 Cinnamon Rolls
Few restaurants have survived in Northern Colorado for as long as Silver Grill Cafe and Vern’s Place. Both have changed hands over the last few years, but Alan Jantzen, the current owner of both places, wants customers to know he has no intention of changing the cinnamon roll recipes. He’s even embraced the camaraderie between the two restaurants by starting his own annual cinnamon roll showdown to see how many people prefer one pastry over the other. The competition is usually neck and neck.
“They’re the same in a very simple respect: They both have cinnamon, sugar and flour, and that’s where everything else changes,” Jantzen says. “The cinnamon roll at Vern’s is iced and reminds me of the ones my mom made, and at Silver Grill, they’re glazed and the list of ingredients is twice as long. The variety is the spice of life.”
Like the cinnamon rolls, each restaurant has its own personality and history that have made them local favorites for decades. Silver Grill opened in 1933 as a diner and gathering place for blue-collar workers in downtown Fort Collins well before Old Town became a foodie’s dream. When Vern’s opened in Laporte in 1946, it was so far off the beaten path that it earned a reputation of being synonymous with the Poudre Canyon.
Jantzen remembers visiting both places as a kid and aims to preserve their homestyle dishes that have always been offered at a reasonable price. The quality and affordability are big reasons why both restaurants have succeeded, he says, along with their ability to provide a consistent product.
“It’s important to find that space where you can run a viable restaurant but still be responsible to your community,” Jantzen says. “You have to be able to be a restaurant that anybody can come to at any time.”
The Human Bean of Northern Colorado
Best Drive-thru Coffee
In a region that loves its coffee as much as its beer, The Human Bean’s drive-thru coffee stands have earned the loyalty of many locals. The business started 20 years ago and has multiplied to 10 locations and counting, with a new drive-thru planned for 2025 on the corner of 17th and Main streets in Windsor.
Owner Frank Sherman attributes the business’ success to its people, all of whom started as baristas—even upper management. His teams are passionate about serving the community, he says, both through crafting customized beverages and partaking in guest barista days that give a portion of the proceeds to area nonprofits. In October 2024, Coffee for a Cure, The Human Bean’s largest annual fundraiser, raised $71,000 in a single day to help local breast cancer patients cover their living expenses during treatment.
The Human Bean’s community outreach stretches beyond Northern Colorado to the equator where their coffee beans are sourced. The business has had relationships with many of the same coffee farmers for 20 years, Sherman says, and they pay above-market prices for their beans. On occasion, they even send a top-performing barista along with their coffee buyers to meet the farmers at the markets. Many are young people who say that their trip to Columbia, Costa Rica or Guatemala was a life-changing experience.
“We help the farmers learn how to be more productive on their coffee farms, we help them with fresh water if they don’t have it in their village or maybe we build a school for them,” Sherman says. “Our customers ask about our coffee beans—where they came from and how they’re roasted—and our people can tell them.”
Sherman’s favorite drink on the menu is the rotating regional roast served black, but he’s also a fan of the cake pops. Short of alcohol, the drive-thru offers a little bit of everything, including the chance to chat with a barista while they make your order.
“We try to get to know our customers and remember them, their drink and their car,” Sherman says. “We even get to know their pets.”
Vatos Tacos + Tequila
Best Taco
Blue Agave Grill
Best Mexican Dining, Top 3 Margarita
Richard and Brenda Lucio’s family legacy dates back to 1972, when Richard’s dad opened The Armadillo restaurant in La Salle and eventually added more than a dozen other locations throughout the region. The couple worked at The Armadillo for nearly 30 years before splitting off to open their own restaurant, Coyote’s Southwestern Grill in Greeley, and later introduced Palomino Mexican Restaurant in Evans and Loveland. In the last 10 years, they’ve expanded to include Blue Agave Grill in Fort Collins and Denver and Vatos Tacos + Tequila in Fort Collins, Loveland, Denver and Westminster.
The restaurant group is still owned by the Lucios and is known today as Lucio Concepts. Blake Lucio, the couple’s son, is one of two regional managers who oversee the restaurants and ensure that they continue growing and innovating without losing sight of how they started.
“We still have that mom-and-pop-shop vibe,” he says. “Brenda still hires all of our managers. It’s very non-corporate for how big we are now.”
Getting creative while still offering traditional favorites has meant playing with unique flavor combinations such as Blue Agave’s Asian-Mexican fusion dishes and Vatos’ street tacos with ingredients like jackfruit, fried avocado and pork belly marinated and cooked in a sous vide bath. Vatos incorporates flavors from all of the restaurant concepts, Lucio says, including Palomino’s barbacoa and Blue Agave’s fish taco and al pastor. It’s important to the Lucios to be inclusive, so many of the dishes accommodate dietary restrictions.
The family has prioritized their people as they’ve grown, Lucio says, creating stepping stones for employees to become managers. Their corporate chef has been with them for 21 years, though they’re always looking for ways to attract young talent. Gen Zers make up a majority of their workforce now, and they’ve kept an open mind to accommodate that shift.
“We don’t want to lose quality and consistency, and that’s hard the bigger you get,” Lucio says. “For any business, constantly growing with the generational changes is how you stay relevant.”
