Longmont’s CYCLHOPS Bike CAN-tina, a former Oskar Blues Fooderies concept, became independent in early 2020. The Mexican cuisine has since found its own voice while celebrating its roots.
Anita Gray, owner of CYCLHOPS, worked for Oskar Blues for about 16 years and was a restaurant partner for a long period of that time. With her former business partner, Gray created CYCLHOPS in December 2013 under Oskar Blues.
The eatery — attached to the Bike Shop at CyclHops, a full service shop for REEB Cycles — featured Oskar Blues brews, tequila drinks, Mexican cuisine. The restaurant ‘s name that’s pronounced like the one-eyed mythical creature, is an ode to two things that define the Oskar Blues brand: cycling and brewing.
“We thought it was really a fun idea to combine the two under one roof and attract the bicycle riding crowd and be able to come in and grab something fun and casual to eat, if you were out on a ride,” Gray said.
Tucked away near residential areas at 600 S Airport Rd, many customers ride their bikes over to CYCLHOPS, Gray said.
When the parent company restructured its restaurant portfolio in late 2019 — closing its CHUBBurgers and refocusing on the Oskar Blues branded restaurants — Gray decided to move her focal point to one restaurant.
Being close to Gray’s Longmont home and a project that she cared about, she purchased CYCLHOPS in January 2020 through an equity exchange. Customers can still access the REEB Cycles shop at CYCLHOPS though the restaurant has broken off from Oskar Blues.
Oskar Blues beer is still served amongst the more than 20 draft beer options. Margaritas and tequila based drinks are also highlighted by CYCLHOPS’ bar and the restaurant carries roughly 35 tequila varieties.
The cuisine is casual and inspired by Gray’s mother’s scratch cooking. Fresh tortillas and bread are sourced from Longmont vendors.
“I've always been influenced by my mother's cooking, growing up in a Hispanic family and having this type of food most of my childhood,” Gray said. “My mom cooked day in and day out, everything from homemade tortillas to green chili, made from scratch.”
Though CYCLHOPS already had influence from Gray, she looked forward to putting her own touch on the restaurant. But shortly after starting CYCLHOPS’ new chapter, Gray had to navigate the COVID pandemic and its challenges in the restaurant industry.
“I think you find out what you're capable of, even though you don't realize it at the time because I didn't have a huge company behind me anymore. I didn't have Oskar Blues backing me anymore,” Gray said. “I had support from Dale (Katechis, founder of Oskar Blues.) He's still a close friend, he’s family and he was always here for advice and things like that. But it was just such a scary time. But I think we just learned how resilient we could actually be. So I feel like we're kind of starting over now.”
During the pandemic in 2020, CYCLHOPS found support in the community. Customers began buying burritos to donate to medical staff and first responders. By December last year, the restaurant served about 2,200 donated burritos.
“It really kept us going and it was this just the feel good stuff where you feel like you still have a purpose despite the fact that it would have been easy just to lock the doors and go away and wait and see what happens,” Gray said. “That wasn't an option for us, because there were people out there counting on us.”
Gray also purchased a food truck for CYCLHOPS, adding another revenue stream. Through the challenges of the pandemic, CYCLHOPS recovered and surpassed its previous growth. It won Business of the Year 2020 from the Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce. The restaurant’s sales have increased about 30% since 2019, Gray said.
Looking forward, Gray plans on light remodeling, expanding the menu and adding breakfast hours. CYCLHOPS has started opening at 9 a.m. on the weekends for its brunch offerings.
Though the pandemic challenged CYCLHOPS by pushing back some of Gray’s plans, the hardest part for her was the disconnect from her staff and customers. Like Gray, some of her employees spent years working together for Oskar Blues establishments before CYCLHOPS became independent.
“I think I love the people more than anything because it's a people business. I mean we provide food, great drinks, and you know, I have this fun decorated cool building,” Gray said. “But you know, I don't think it really means anything if you don't have the right people to first of all work with, and second of all that come in here every day.”
