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Two new downtown restaurants offer global cuisine in Glenwood Springs

Sallee Ann Ruibal
sruibal@postindependent.com

EAT GLOBALLY LOCALLY

Local on Cooper

722 Cooper Ave.

Sunday - Thursday: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Friday - Saturday: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Kedai

720 Grand Ave.

Tuesday - Sunday: 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

With the opening of two new restaurants, downtown Glenwood Springs has gotten a little more global.

Local on Cooper (722 Cooper Ave.) with its Naples-inspired pizza, and Kedai (720 Grand Ave.) with its pho and Japanese cuisine, both opened this month.

Occupying what was once Sweet Adventures, Local on Cooper aims to be a healthy, fast-casual spot that still serves up the signature ice cream scoops.



Ken Murphy, president of Adventure Outdoors LLC — the parent company of Glenwood Adventure Co., which owns the building — said the idea came from a survey the company did last summer.

“When asked what they’d like to see in Glenwood Springs, our customers, staff and raft guides said they wanted something quick and not to lose the ice cream,” Murphy said.



Local on Cooper’s menu includes salads and sandwiches that raft guides can grab after an afternoon on the river. Neapolitan pizza is the main draw, however, quickly cooked in a brick oven at over 1,000 degrees.

AJ Frye, general manager and part owner of Local on Cooper, says he always jokes that if someone cut him open, he’d bleed marinara. His family has been in the restaurant business for over 40 years, and his parents even came out to help perfect the pizza dough recipe at such a high altitude. The dough recipe is so valuable, Murphy said employees who make it have to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Pizza can be bought by the slice or in 12-inch individual pies.

They’re even serving pizza for breakfast at Local on Cooper. Breakfast pizzas, sandwiches pastries and organic coffee — including nitro cold brew on tap — with all organic dairy makes up the morning menu. Frye says they hope to have grab-and-go containers of items such as soup and bison meatballs available soon.

Behind all the menu items is a dedication to organic ingredients and where they come from.

“A lot of people come to Colorado because they reportedly love the outdoors,” Frye said. “Well, it’s time for them to put their fork where their mouth is.”

At Kedai, owner Yulia Wardono hopes to bring “something new, some color” to downtown.

Kedai offers a full sushi bar with both rolls and sashimi. The restaurant also serves ramen and pho noodle bowls along with entrees such as chicken katsu, teriyaki and poke. Bento box specials are available at lunch as well.

Wardono said one of the focuses of the restaurant is to make the community better by offering more variety downtown.

Since opening on Feb. 14, she said business has been good and busy providing authentic cuisine to customers.

“I’ve heard people say, ‘Oh, I don’t have to go to Denver anymore,” Wardano said.


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