Karen DeVincenzo, Jamestown. With a dozen tables scattered across the old wood floor and remnants of its history lining the walls, the Jamestown Mercantile Café is an alcove of comfort in the midst of a sometimes hectic world. It’s a place where people of every career, income, and outlook on life can linger over coffee and discuss the bears roaming around town or the audacity of winter arriving to the party too early. But above all, it’s about the celebration. Stretching from Longmont, Nederland, Boulder and even Denver, people come to celebrate mountain living, the art, the food, the music, even the dogs and the cheerful wacky neighbors. It’s an eclectic community that intends to stay that way. 

The Merc’s history is rich. Built in 1896 as the Elks Lodge, it didn’t take long before it became the town’s General Store & Mercantile and soon after, the Post Office. As miners gathered to wait for their mail or paychecks to be deposited into little drawers in a metal cabinet that still stands in a corner of the Merc today, it soon became evident that sustenance was needed as well and the owners began offering pie, sandwiches, burgers, and in the 90’s, beer and wine. 

Rainbow Schultz and her husband Adam Burrell had settled in Jamestown in 2000 to raise their family. After working one day a week for the town’s beloved Joey Howlett (who perished in the 2013 flood), Rainbow bought the business from him in 2010. Running the Merc had offered itself up as the perfect opportunity for being able to spend time with Kofi (now 12) and Juna (now 9).

Rainbow says, “It’s been fun watching the Jamestown kids grow up here. The Merc has become the central meeting place for them too. They might come in, grab a muffin after school, then go outside and build a fort.” 

Rainbow is conscientious about using the best ingredients possible for every meal, partnering with local Starling Farm, shopping at the Farmers Market and Moxie Bread, and selling locally made Sammies (dairy-free, gluten-free ice cream sandwiches) and Pie Lady Pies. All of this adds up to spectacular dinners, weekday breakfasts, and weekend brunches. Thursday dinners, usually announced earlier in the week each week, are always delightful. The dishes range from Shrimp and Grits, Rosehips Chicken or Lasagna to Island Meals, Perogies, and Greek Spinach Pie, always with a vegan option available. While Thursday dinners vary from week to week, Monday is always burger night, Friday is always pizza, and Saturday, tacos. 

The Merc is best described as a “collective project” where community members contribute everything from washing windows and maintaining the flower boxes to taking care of the PA system and hanging new artwork on the walls. In 2016, Rainbow and Adam enlisted the help of several willing locals who came together to demolish and remove a wall that would finally give the Merc the extra space it deserved to spread its wings and accommodate more patrons. 

Rainbow considers herself more of a “curator” of a collective art project than “owner” of “her” café. Of course, there are some things she doesn’t allow, and some things she encourages but for the most part people can contribute whatever they like.

Events have included plays, one man/woman shows, bands, songwriters, comedy, poetry, open jams, open mic, Santa Claus, cookie exchange, soup exchange, karaoke, drive-in movie, bluegrass pics, blues jams, and winter Tuesday night classes.  

Music acts love to share in the party. The Gasoline Lollipops, Al Capones, Vince Herman, Halden Wofford, Bonnie and the Clydes, Ben Hanna, Kate Farmer and the town’s all-female band, return time after time to move folks around the dance floor or provide background music for those gathered around the community table discussing the wildlife. 

The Merc is located on Main Street, in the heart of Jamestown, Colorado. Check their website www.jamestownmercantile.com or Facebook page for music and dinner updates.

(Originally published in the November 14, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)