COAL CREEK/WONDERVU -- Chef Oscar Padilla has been working in and running restaurants for over twenty-five years. Born in Los Angeles, he grew up in Mexico City with his grandmother, observing and admiring her culinary techniques, particularly her preparation of traditional Mexican dishes.

Inspired to pursue a culinary career, he studied and worked in Mexico City, establishing his reputation when he joined the culinary team of The Club de Banqueros. After his time there, he moved to the United States to continue his career path.

Padilla’s reputation caught the attention of Chef Richard Sandoval, who brought Padilla onto his team. They worked together in New York and Denver, and under Sandoval’s mentorship, Padilla opened restaurants and trained culinary teams in locations such as Costa Rica, Dubai, Doha, and Chicago. Padilla has continued building his reputation, even winning as a contestant on the cooking show Chopped (in season 54, episode 7, titled "Pig Candy," to be precise).

Through working with Sandoval at his hospitality in Denver, Padilla met Mauro Gomez, the Director of Operations at the time, who has also had a culinary career spanning over two decades. Working in global hospitality management at Starwood Hotels and Resorts for eleven years, he also led food and beverage operations for Ritz-Carlton Hotels & Resorts in Doha and Dubai after his time working with Sandoval.

In 2021, after years of growing their friendship and partnership, Padilla and Gomez decided to start their own partnership. Together, they founded Balam Culinary Collective, which manages three restaurants in the Freedom Street Social food court in Candelas – Gaucho Parilla, Chulo Taco, and Santa Fe Seaviche and Chippery. Padilla’s wife, Norma, is the collective’s Head of Finance.

In September 2024, Padilla and Gomez met Kathy Ott, the current owner of The Canyon Tavern and Wondervu Cafe, at a catering company event for the local fire department. In her first venture as a business owner, Ott purchased the Wondervu Cafe from founder Adeline Ortiz-Clairmont in 2021 and The Canyon Tavern (previously Last Stand Tavern) from founders Tom and Annette Lambeth in 2022.

Now, Ott has worked closely with the Balam Culinary Collective in a transition period, and currently, the collective manages both the cafe and the tavern. They’ve been working behind the scenes since November 2024 to curate new menus, prepare the buildings for new customers, and consider other goals with the businesses.

These other long-term goals include potentially turning the cafe’s original gift shop building, currently empty, into a local market. Gomez, in particular, wants to provide Coal Creek locals with a closer alternative than Nederland or Candelas for grabbing necessities.

Balam Culinary Collective wants to allow each of its restaurants to stand on their own. While they’re all managed by the same collective, the menus and environment of each restaurant are meticulously planned and purposefully varied. Even with similar primary goals and management methods, it is important to Balam that each restaurant feels unique.

For the Padillas and Gomez, it has been particularly satisfying hearing customers’ opinions on the new menus. They are thrilled when locals, some of whom haven’t visited the cafe or the tavern in many years, rave about their menu and recognize the team for their work.

The collective is thrilled to share its passion for its restaurants with its customers, and as this management transition continues through the spring of 2025, it hopes to get that passion back from the community.

To learn more about Oscar Padilla and the efforts of Balam Culinary Collective, be sure to head to chefoscarpadilla.com! Learn more about the restaurants at wondervucafe.com and canyontavern.com, as well as on Facebook and Instagram!