Tres Gringos is a multi-layered, tongue-in-cheek name that’s befitting to the restaurant both figuratively and literally. There’s a bit of attitude to the menu, the tastes are multi-layered and meant to strike you. The decor is bright and fuels the intoxication you’ll feel from the exuberant atmosphere (and from the fiercest margaritas in the area).
The restaurant’s identity is purely stated and clear; truly a personality that can’t be missed. With a little punk rock, midnight-eats-after-a-night-out, ambiance pumping in Tres Gringos’ dining room, it motivates you to imbibe and laugh with friends, and then savor the magic created in its kitchen.
Tres Gringos’ identity wasn’t forged by luck or on a whim, but by the combined forces of the titular trio. Carrie Bladyka, Dan Harrower, and Ben Roy went into business together on the principles of playing to their strengths and visualizing what they wanted and then executing on that vision.
“Dan had a Mexican restaurant previous to this with different partners, and then COVID happened and the whole thing shut down,” Tres Gringos Head Chef Ben Roy recounted to The Mountain-Ear. “It was right before Frozen Dead Guy Days weekend, too; and they had just stocked the coolers with all this beer and all this food.”
“After the COVID-19 quarantine began and the previous restaurant, which I had been managing, shut down, Dan approached me and we decided to figure out where to go from there. Forget it and move on entirely? Or create something new?” Tres Gringos General Manager Carrie Bladyka said. “The two of us joined forces with Ben and Tres Gringos was born.”
“He basically gave me creative control in the kitchen and let me come up with the menu,” Roy said of the third member of their triumvirate, Entrepreneur and Tres Gringos Founding Member (Gringo Numero Uno) Dan Harrower. “And I believe that’s what makes it so great. All three of us have different experience, so that frees us up to focus on our area.”
“We’re kind of the perfect team,” Bladyka added.
“If Carrie and I were just running this by ourselves it would be a lot harder to run payroll and write the checks for city taxes,” Roy said. “I feel like it’s important that we mention Tiff Harrower. She’s the one who does all the accounting; she needs to get credit, too. She’s like our fourth Gringo, like the unsung hero!”
“But ‘Quatro Gringos’ doesn’t really roll off the tongue,” Bladyka laughs.
The individual powers of the three (four) complement each other perfectly to create an undeniable statement with their restaurant. It wasn’t enough just to exist, but Tres Gringos was built to be the perfect remedy for Nederland’s craving, combining satisfyingly indulgent food with a lively and vibrant environment.
“We both love eating pretty dank food, so I wanted to make someplace where I wanted to eat,” Bladyka spoke on where their inspiration had come from. “If I can’t find what I want, let’s just make it!”
“I wanted to create something that would blow town away; something that they haven’t seen in awhile,” Roy added.
The type of food you crave whenever that little devil on your shoulder whispers in your ear; or the perfect refueling needed after coming down from the mountain. Located at 20 Lakeview Drive in unit 207 (on the backside of the Caribou Village Shopping Center), the beckoning siren-call of cocktails and authentic, savory street tacos is the first thing you’ll notice when returning from a long day of skiing or snowboarding at Eldora.
To ensure the freshness and “dankness” of their food, Tres Gringos doesn’t cut any corners.
“We make small-batch of everything, so it’s fresh damn near every day, and once it’s out, it’s out,” Bladyka said. “It’s a ton more work but you’re never getting food that’s more than 20 hours old and I think that’s pretty unique to this place. It’s one of the things I’m proud to tell people.”
“We make a lot of our stuff from scratch; we go through the painstaking labor of chopping and dicing onions, and peeling peppers and roasting peppers,” Roy mentioned. “We don’t get anything out of a can, nothing comes out of a bottle. I think that’s what really sets us apart.”
Having been born like a phoenix from the ashes of a pre-COVID life, Tres Gringos is obviously very important to Bladyka and Roy. Since first opening their doors on May 21, 2020, so much of themselves has been put into the restaurant that it shines through brilliantly; somehow being both casual and bold…a kind of “in-your-face” that you’re totally comfortable with. The restaurant business is a constantly rough grind, however, and Tres Gringos hasn’t been without its growing pangs. Despite that, Bladyka and Roy love what they’ve built and love what they do.
When asked about her future plans for Tres Gringos, Bladyka jokes, “I don’t know, what day is it? There’s some days when I’m like, ‘can I please just sell this place right now,’ and there’s other days when I’m like ‘oh, my baby,” she laughs and takes a moment to look around her dining room. “I’m pretty attached to it because we made it what it is; with his personality coming through in the food and my personality coming through in service.”
“I would like to franchise it, that would be nice,” Roy chimed in on the future he envisions for Tres Gringos. “That way I can go to different areas, drive around, and take road trips. Fly out to places and set up their Tres Gringos to my standards and make sure they’re doing it the right way. I always want to work with food, I just don’t necessarily want to line-cook and prep for the rest of my life.”
However stressful it becomes, continuing to make Tres Gringos thrive, Bladyka and Roy are emboldened in their quest by the love and support of the community.
“Thank you to all the people that have supported us through all the hard times and all our downfalls,” Roy said, remembering the tough days of the pandemic. “During the take-out only times and when we had 25% capacity in our restaurant, so to the people who got us through those times we owe everything.”
“That’s also my favorite part about this place is all the locals that have made us a popular watering hole,” Bladyka noted. “They’re just so supportive and they speak our praises and they’re awesome. They just make me love this town even more!”
Tres Gringos is located at 20 Lakeview Drive in unit 207, on the backside of the Caribou Village Shopping Center, and is open Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. For more information call 303-258-3170 or go to https://www.tresgringoscantina.com.
Sponsored by the Town of Nederland, with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.
