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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTulagi Articlec . "Come take that step beyond; Follow me to a new day" -Andres Tulagi, Daredevil/ Revolutionary Cuba, 1954 Among the many icons of the Cuban Revolution there is one that has ttrysteriously vanished: the populist hero of both film and the anti-Batista movement, Daredevil Andres Tulag~. A stuntman of cinematic fame, Andres Tulagi also took his efforts to the "downtrodden" people of Cuba to infect them with the posttive sentiment that anything they set their minds and will to do they can achieve, and "achieve at as one." It was just this very notion that galvanized the revolution, energizing the Soc~alist shift that changed Cuba's future forever. Historians are left to wonder what would have become of the "new day" had such positively energetic leaders of the "populist will" such as the global icon Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and the tTagicallv forgotten Daredevil for the People, Andres "Dre" Tulagi, acttially lived to see it. What is certain though, is that 2heir singular and seltless commitment to the lives of their "people" and their cause is a source of ins~iral~on that we can shll call upon and only hope to relrve in these uncertain times And so the sentiment represented by the selfless, positive life of Andres Tulagi will be relived in the Cuban restaurant/ bar/ cafe Atrevido in Tulagi on The Htll in Boulder. The menu represents the sitnple yet rich and flavorful fare that supports and fortifies the Cuban population daily The fare is real, it is the staple food of a country. It has been this way for years, it will contmue this way. Everything is prepared fresh in-house, with the native herbs, meats and vegetables of Cuba. The meats are prepared and grtlled m house, the Cuban Bread is painstakingly (Selflessly?) prepared and baked in-house and the fresh herbs and vegetables chopped with oz~:~ knives in ot~r kitchen. The attitude of the service is positively high energy We thank the customer for taking part in our lives not only by the hi~h quality of the food and drink that we serve them, but also with the energetic and ~velcommg atmosphere in which we sen~e it. We see Atrevido as an integral part of Tulagi, in wh~ch rt serves as the welcoming host. With its vibrant decor, flush with bright colors and sounds, Atrevido is a launching point for the music venue Tulagi. We see Tulagi entering a renaissance It is transformed from a foreboding period of darkness to a colorful and vibrant future. It will be a willing and selfless leader of a resurgent Hill. The quality and attitude of Atrevido and Tulagi w~ll serve to draw the populace, not just the college population. We see rt as a great amemty to The Hill, one that the neighborhood, as well as the City of ~ ~ Boulder, will come to greatly appreciate Tulagt has a history and zs known throughout th~s country; we intend to revitalize that history and make it something that Boulder can claim as its ow n and be proud to be a part of. Menu Atrevido Starters Grilled Corn Mesican Style $3.50 Seived with chile powder hme ~nd cheese House Salad $4.50 Served w~th mi~ed greens vegetables and fresh herbs di essmg Gri(led Chicken and Corn Salad $7.50 Sen ed over mi~ed ereens with hoiise drestimg Rice, Beans & Spinach Plate $6.95 Your choice of nce and beans served with spicy sauteed ~m hc spmach Main Dishes Grilled Cuban Skirt Steak $10.50 Served witli your choice of nce and beans, Solnto and Chimichum sauce Cuban Style Roast Pork $8.95 Served wrtlt your choice of nce and beans, Sofrrto and Cuban Mo~o sauce Pescados Asado a la Parilla $9.95 Gnlled h ish of the Day Served wrth your ~hoice of nce and bcuns, Sofrrto :md Chimichum sauce Tostadas de Pollo $7.50 2 cnspy tortillas topped w~th blac,l. bcans lettuce, tomato, cheese and gnlled ~hicl.en breast (blacl.ened upon request) v 4 Grilled Steak Sandwich $7.95 Gnlled Cuban Skirt Steak, omons and peppers wrth clupotle mayonnaise Torta de Queso Blanco y Aguacate $6.50 Avocado and cheese sandwich with lettuce, tomato, black beans and p~c6led ~alapenos Cuban Sandwich $6.75 Roast Pork, Ham, Swiss Cheese and pwk(es on toasted Cuban bread Chicken Atrevido Sandwich $6.50 Sliced blacl.ened chicken breast, roasted peppers and mesclw~ with chipotle mayonn~ise La Frita- Cuban Hamburger/ CheeseburgerBacon Cheeseburger $4.95/ $5.95/ $6.95 Seived wrth lettuce, tomato, omon and pickle Quesadilla de Pollo $7.75 Grdled chic6an (blackened upon iequest) with whrtz cheese and smoked cheddar m a lai ee flour tortilla seived with your choice of nce and beans All the above sandw~ches and burgers can be served w~th French Frtes for nn add~t~onal charge of $1 50 SI(ICS Black or red beans $2.50 White or Yellow Rice $2.50 SQicy Sauteed Spinach $3.95 Sauteed Zucchini and Carn ~3.95 Tostones $2.75 Sweet Plantains $2.75 French Fries $2.75 Side of Bacon $2.00 Red/Green Salsa $.50 ~ I El Cafe Cafe con Leche $2.50 Mexican Hot Chocolate $2.50 Cappuccino $2.50 Espresso $1.50 Double Espresso $2.50 Iced Cafe con Leche $2.75 Iced Cappuccino $2.75 Tea $1.00 Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Mint, Chamomile or Lemon Regular Coffee $1.25 From the Bar Cuba Libre $4Z5 Mojito $5.00 Margarita $5.00 Frozen Margarita ~5.50 Strawberry Frozen Margarita $6.00 Mango Frozen Margarita $6.00 Michelada $3.95 Chelada $3.95 Stoli Bloody Mary $4.25 Stoli Screwdriver $~.25 Import Beer $3.50 Domestic Beer $2.95 Los Postres Coconut Flan $3Z5 Cheese Flan $3.25 Kahlua Coconut Flan $3.25 Type of Business/Capital Needs Atrevido/Tulagi is a restaurant/ cafe /music venue concept to be located at i 129 13`h street on "The Hill" in Boulder, Colorado It is the resurrectton of the landmark Tulaai music venue that had been in operation at that location for over fifty-five years wrth the addition of a restaurant and kitchen ~o seive the public breakfast, lunch and dmner seven days a week The ground tloor of the busmess is just less than stx thousand square feet; h the front two thousand square feet will open to the sidewalk and will house the cafe/restaurant concept Atrevido. The rear four thousand square feet will remain Tulagi and will continue as a music venue, with a beautiful facelift. The second floor houses two thousand seven hundred square Feet, and ~vill serve as an additional bar/ lounge and waiting room for venue goers who come before the cafe opens to through traffic for the venue The second floor, which has full men's and women's restrooms, and which at one time housed a restaurant, will also have an open VIP balcony with a full view of the stage There will also be a two thousand square foot rooftop patio above the second floor, which will offer a breathtaking view of Boulder, being the highest public point on The Hill, the highest point in Boulder. The legal name of the business is Daredevil LLC, d/b/a Atrevido/Tulagi There are four member in this LLC. managing member Pete Turner with 25 percent ownership, John Kocer with 25 percent ownership, Karen Abrams and Jon Harbour who togetl~er own the remaining 25 percent of the company, and David Rogers, Sean Howe and Mason Roberts, each with 8 33% ownership. With the help of their architect, Denver based Semple Brown Design, The Company has determined that the project costs, mcluding fiirniture/fixtures/equipment and all tenant improvements, as well as a tifteen percent contingency, to be $700,000. They are budgeting an addttiona] $200,000 for pre-opening soft costs and first year's operating capital This brings the project total to $900,000 of which they are m~ecting $450,000 personal capital, leaving $450,000 for ~vhich they are seeking to secure a 10-year SBA loan. Management This business will bring together the talents of restaurant, bar, and music business veterans to set a precedent for quahty of operation and execution unmatched on The Hill and in Boulder. Pete Turner Pete is the founder and President of Illegal Pete's, a quick-casual Mexican restaurant concept in its tenth year of operation. Illegal Pete's has two Boulder locations and one Denver location. The original Illegal Pete's location still exists in six hundred square feet on College Avenue on The Hill, ~ust one hundred and fifty feet from the Tulagi building. Pete Turner opened this restaurant~ust two years after graduating from The University of Colorado in Boulder m 1993. Illegal Pete's has since opened 2 more locations; one on Pearl St. in Boulder and the other in LODO in Denver. 1 ~ Illegal Pete's is also very mvolved in the community and with the University and, in fact, was the 2003 recipient of The Boulder Chamber of Commerce's Small Business of the Year Award and was a semi-flnalist for the Small Business of the Year Award for the Metro Chamber of Commerce Illegal Pete's Denver location, in historic LoDo, is within one block of all of his major competitors: Chipotle, Qdoba, and Wahods, but despite this was able grow thirty percent in 2003 and is on pace to beat that in 2004, all while the competitions' sales are lagging in that market And so, Pete Turner's skill at understanding his market's needs and his proven abilrty to execute his business plan based on this will serve to make Atrevido/Tulagi, in fact, "a great amenity to The Hill, one that the neighborhood, as well as the City of Boulder, will come to greatly appreciate," and, "claim as its own and be proud to be a part of." Pete Turner has recently been invited to serve as a member of Boulder's Economic Vitality Action Board (EVAB), which is currently being fonned to support Boulder City Council's year-old Economic Vitality Policy As a successful and integral member of Boulder's business community Pete Turner's perspective on Boulder's business environment and community will bring a fresh perspective to the board. Pete Turner is responsible for the concept and menu development for Atrevido/Tulagi. During construction he will oversee the project with both Jon Harbour and John Kocer. Upon opening, Pete Turner will serve as managing partner for the LLC and Executive General Manager for both Atrevido/Tulagi. Karen Abrams and Jon Harbour Karen Abrams is The PR/Catering director for [llegal Pete's as well as a shareholder. She has worked for Illegal Pete's for six years, starting while she was a student at CU-Boulder and staying on after graduation. She is very active in Boulder's community on behalf of Illegal Pete's, participating heavily in the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, the Boulder Women's Leadership Group, and The Hill Alliance Personally she has been involved m the International Conference on World Affairs, which is held every year on the campus of the Umversity of Colorado, by setting up panels and discussion groups. She was instrumental m getting Illegal Pete's to lead off the annual Conference week with a brunch for over eight hundred students and participants on the Norlin Library quad She was also instrumental in gettmg Illegal Pete's to feed the graduating class on its way to co~nmencement, with the Illegal Pete's Annual Commencement f3reakfast. 1 also on campus. She was a Spanish major at CU and as such has been helpful with the Illegal Pete's Spanish-speaking workers. As a ten-year resident of Boulder and a homeowner on The Hill, Karen has a very good feel for the needs of Boulder. Karen was recently voted on as member of the UHGID, or University Hill General Improvement District, board, which has been formed as part of the City of Boulder's strategy for bringing sustained vitality to the University Hill area. Atrevido/Tulagi figures to be the prominent Hill business attracting economic vitality and interest to the area. Jon Harbour is Karen Abram's fiance and is also a graduate of The University of Colorado at Boulder His experience is in the construction business; he is the owner of Dorado construction in Boulder and his father owns Harbour constntction, a construction company in Chicago with jobs natiomvide. Jon's company will be the general contractor on the Atrevido/Tulagi build-out using many of the subs that Hatbour construction Ilas worked with throughout the years. His expertise should save The Company both significant time and money in the construction phase of this project. Dave Rogers Dave is cun•ently the acting Advert~sing Director and Co-Publtsller of The Onion Newspaper in Boulder and Denver. Dave and his partners also publish "The Official CU Date Book" a pro~ect in partnership ~v-ith The University of Colorado. Both aforementioned projects cater to the targeted demographics of Atrevido/Tulagi. Under Dave's leadership The Onion has climbed from obscurity to the second position in newspaper readership in Boulder County and to over one million dollars in gross sales. Dave has succeeded m establishing a newspaper in both the Denver and Boulder markets where over a dozen other papers have failed during his tenure. Dave developed a strategy durins The Onion's infancy to cater the Onion to mus~c fans and concertgoers. Nine years of efforts to tap this music audience have built many strong relationships with local entertamment entities that will serve Tulagi well Dave is very wel( positioned to handle the aspects of Atrevido/Tulagi that involve market~ng, promotion and sales. Dave is a CU alumni who lives and works on the Hill and is acttve tn the Hill's Merchants Association's marketing efforts ~ Tim Maness Long time Chef Tim Maness ts the Executive Chef and General Manager of Denver's The Sainba Room, which focuses on Cuban and Latm Fusion food. Under his guidance The Denver Samba Room has become the national training restaurant for the national chain of thirteen restaurants, supplanting the Orlando Samba Room restaurant, which is where the corporate headquarters exist. After completing high school in 1986, Tim was accepted at San Francisco's prestigious California Culinary Academy where he trained under the European Structure. "During the two year program I ~~orked side by side with chefs like Jerimiah Tower, Martin Yan, and Jaques Pepin". Upon graduation from culinary school, Tim became Executive chef for Harry Denton, the well known San Francisco restaurateur, at "Harry's on Fillmore". It was small and intimate and the food was bought and prepared fi•esh daily. The San Francisco Examiner voted Harry's on Fillmore, under Tim's d~rection, Critic's Choice. T~m then moved down to the water's edge where he became Executive chef at Dante's Seafood Grill and Wine Bar There he fine-tuned his fish cooking skills serving some of the city's best seafood and local foods at pier 39. Having done his apprenticeship earlier in his career at Denver's Rattlesnake club wrth chef Jimmy Schmidt, Ttm knew he would return to Colorado's growing food scene someday. In 1996 Tim left SF with his now wife, Shannon, and made Denver home. Tim became Executive Chef at Champion Brewing Company servmg cuttmg edge microbrewery cuisine in the peak of Denver's brewpub scene. Then Tim joined Restaurants Unlimited and became Senior Training Chef for Palomino brands, on a corporate level, and Senior Sous chef at Palomino, Denver, serving award winning food under James Beard Chef, Charlie Stauter "Palomino was a great challenge, servmg food with old-world cook~ng techniques like spit roasting, smoking and long braismg, always using the best mgredients of today." And so, wrth his extensive erperience in the Hospitality industry and his current position as Executive Chef/ General Manager of the high-vohime Cuban concept, The Samba Room, Tim Maness ~s ideally suited to devel~p and execute the menu and systems for the Cuban restaurant/ cafe Atrev~do. Brian Conley ~ Brian Conley, a Business Administration Management graduate from The University of Florida, is curtently restaurant manager under Tim Maness at The Samba Room in Denver. As such, he is responsible for scheduling, hiring and firing, trainmg, and all the other day-to-day responsibilities of running a full service, fine-dining restaurant. Because of his success as Samba Room Manager he has been sent to Houston twice for one month's length in the past six months to turn around an under-performing restaurant. Brian has worked at all levels of the Hospitality Industry and succeeded at every level and will be a perfect fit as General Manager of Atrevido. He wil] work closely with Pete Turner and Tim Maness John Kocer John Kocer, also a graduate of CU-Boulder, has a background in both construction and the restaurant business. He worked at Illegal Pete's while in session at CU, and did construction when home in Minnesota during the summers and after graduation. John will serve as one of the project managers overseeing construction during the build-out of Atrevido/Tulagi. After opening John will serve as the Manager of Tulagi bar operattons. The Market/Competition The restaurant industry in The United States continues to grow at a quick clip with a larger percent of America's food dollar, over fifty percent, going towards food away from home. The National Restaurant Association is projecting combined sales of over 440 billion dollars this year at our nation's restaurants, with Colorado expected to "grow 6.1 % in 2004, 1.7% higher than the 4.4% average for the rest of the United states." (Colorado Restaurant Association) This growth m restaurant sales will get help from Colorado demographics, where the population "will grow 1.2% in 2004 versus 0.9% pro~ected for the nation." (Colorado Restaurant Association) Add to this the fact that "Personal disposable income is expected to advance 3.5°% m Colorado this year, surpassing the 3% rate for the nation," (Colorado Restaurant Association) and you have a very Fa~orabie market for restaurants Boulder, with its higher- educated wea(thier, populahon is aiso expected to be part of a 10%+ growth boom in the technology sector. (Feb. 28 Denver Post) Besides the growth in restaurant sales generally, Latin concepts and specifically Cuban concepts have been projected to be some of the hottest concepts of the coming years. "Today, more than 12 percent of all Americans are of Hispanic origin, up from 9 percent in 1990," (Restaurants USA magazine) which accounts for some of the increased demands for Latin foods. Trendcast (a restaurant trend forecast magazine) publisher David Pursglove believes that Latm foods rising popularity can be explained by "increasmg Latino population here with disposable income. But more, Anglo Americans look for somethmg new, somethmg different, exciting, romantic." He goes on to say, "On the larger scene in Anglo America, right now Mexican is setting the tone and perhaps the trend. Dependmg on the polittcal turn, it could become Cuban. Even without a change in U.S. official policy, it may well become Cuban, Cuba is gettmg a lot of press attention, especially in the trends-intluencing press, entertainnient press (including radio and TV)." Cuban cuisine is emerging in popularity but still is seriously underrepresented in the Boulder/Denver restaurant scene. Boulder is the home to one Cuban restaurant, Rhumba, a higher-end Cuban concept on Pearl Street Denver has two Cuban concepts, Cuba Cuba and The Samba Rooin, both higher-end concepts in downtown Denver. Each of these concepts are very popular in their respective markets and have shown s~gnificant longevity; Rhumba is in its sixth year of busmess in Boulder and both Cuba Cuba and The Samba Room are in their fourth year of business in Denver But, there is no Cuban in the iast-casual price range and experience. The Company believes there is great opportunity for success of Atrevido with its more accessible menu, pricing, and decor not only in the Boulder market, but also the Denver market as well as other markets with similar demographics As such, The Company plans on growing the restaurant s~de of the business to other markets, specifically North Cherry Creek and LoDo, both in Denver. On the restaurant side of its business The Company sees its ma~n competition as the number of healthier, quick-casual concepts that have proliferated in the Denver/Boulder market over the last number of years. These include such chams as Chipotle, Q-doba, Wahoo's, Noodles Sc Co, and even Illegal Pete's, as well as other less obvious concepts as Subway These players compete for health conscious diners lookmg for a good tlavor profile, with good service and for good value Atrevido/Tulagi's market spectfically is The ~Iill. The Hill is the t~vo square block commeretal zone packed between the Flatirons and the Unrversity of Colorado campus. The University of Colorado has a population of over 25,000 undergraduate students with over 10,000 additional graduate students and faculty. The Hill l~ouses a large part of the 1 student and faculty population and as such provides a captive audience for businesses on The Hill. The Company sees all food service establishments on The Hill as direct competition for the daily food dollar The edge that Atrevido has on these businesses is that although it can satisfy the customer looking for the quick-casual element, Atrevido will also be one of the very fe~v restaurants on the hill that will provide full table-service, which has been identified as one of the top needs for The Hili by the city and neighborhood. Providing suclt a restaurant adds an attractive option not only for University students but also for the neighbors and residents of University Hill as weil as for CU faculty and visrtors. Competition for the Tulagi, or music venue, element of The Company's business exists with the Fox Theater, also on the Hill, The Boulder Theater, just off of The Pearl Street Mall, and to a lesser degree a few smaller restaurant/music concepts such as Trilogy and Red Fish, both much smaller tilan Tulagi Tulagi, with its occupancy of 400, fills a gap tllat Tlie Fox, at 700, and Tl~e Boulder Theatre, al 1,000, cannot satisfy. So, besides the fact that Tulagi was the originai music venue in Boulder, havmg been host to such acts over the years as The Doobie Brothers, John Lee Hooker, Miles Davis, and The Eagles, Tulagi's absence has left a vacuum m the live music scene Based on conversations with a large number of bands, both loca( and national, that have played Tulagi, as well as a number of local promotecs that have booked and worked Tulagi over the years what is certam is that Tulagi's sound and its tntimate setting provide a special atmosphere that is unequalled locally and irreplaceable, except of course, in Tulagi itself. Marketing/Promotion Initiafly, Atrevido/Tulagi will market itsei£ There has already been a great deal of press about Tulagi's closure and unsure future. From this press one hears a rally cry for the preservation of Tulagi. In a day and age of growing homogeny people feel strongly about not letting another great landmark fall at the feet of chain growth and culture erasure- especially m Boulder Boulder ~s a town where being a strong national chain actualiy is a strike against you. It is a town where the most profitable restaurant company in America, The Cheesecake Factory, will be shutting their doors and leaving town It is a town with tierce local pride, and as such, Atrevido/Tulagi will resonate with the community and establish immediate and lastmg pr~de-filled buzz As was mentioned before, the revrtalized Atrevido/Tulagi will be "a great amenity to The Hill, one that the neighborhood, as well as the City of Boulder, wiil come to greatly / appreciate." As such, there is a strong marketing base existent on which to build. The Company will use its resources to reach out to its market, the community of Boulder, to build its customer base. Illegal Pete's two Boulder restaurants see 1500 customers a day as well as employing eighty; The Company sees this as an extremely powerful, and free, marketing tool. Word spreads quickly through a daily network that large- translating easily to a consistent capacity crowd. In the area of traditional marketing Dave Rogers, in his tenure w~th The Onion newspaper, has developed the knowledge, skills, and connections to give Atrevido/Tulagi the ideal spokesman for its restaurant/ bar/ music venue business. Goals/Expectations The Company has a number of goals that they believe they can achie~e with the~r business Atrevido/Tulagi. Among those goals are • Atrevido/Tulagi's primary goal is to be protitable in its first fuil year of operations, 2005. The company believes that with the concept and management team that it is reasonable to expect this to happen and the projections support this assumption + To increase sales and profitability every year thereaftcr • To spin off the Atrevido cafe concept under co-ownership wrth Illegal Pete's, Inc. to locations m both Cherry Creek North and Lower Downtown Denver m 2006. • To take the concept national in 2007, assuming the three existing restaurants merit national growth . To become nationally known by music acts as one of the nation's premier venues when it comes to sound quality, intimacy, service and comfort. • To develop strong and sustainable working relationships with bigger venues so that our "history" with bands can grow as their popularity and success grows. • To become "The Business'' on The Hill, to be the bellwether to which all other Hill busmesses look. With the restoration of Tulagi back to its historic digmty to do the same with the atmosphere as a whole on The Hill, whicli is presently teeter~ng on the verge, waiting for somethmg like Atrevtdo/Tulagt to lead rt"to a new day."