As you travel along West Colorado Avenue in the 2900 block, you may have noticed a name change on the front of the building that used to be The Mason Jar restaurant. It’s now officially the Trails End Taproom at the Mason Jar.
The change of ownership, however, doesn’t mean the complete demise of the Mason Jar, one of the Westside’s most popular restaurants. The plan is to continue offering the Mason Jar’s traditional dining fare while also giving customers a distinctively modern alternative.
“When customers come in, they’ll have a choice,” said owner Kevin Weese. “On one side, they can seat themselves, socialize with friends, draw a beer from the taps. On the other side, they can have traditional seating and dining with a wait staff.
“We want to utilize the history of this place but also bring in our model and merge the two,” Weese said.
Weese opened the Trails End Taproom five years ago in the Red Rocks shopping center in the 3100 block of West Colorado Avenue, and recently purchased the Mason Jar, just two blocks to the east.
Mason Jar owner Tim Paine announced his pending retirement several months ago, along with his intention to sell the nearly 40-year-old business. As it turned out, acquiring the nearby Mason Jar was an opportunity Weese had been seeking.
“We had been looking for a new location for about a year and a half,” he said, “and had talked with every business in the area. We were actually in negotiations for the Manitou Eatery (formerly the Stagecoach Inn restaurant) for a little bit but that fell through.”
At the same time Weese was looking for a possible new location, Paine’s deal to sell the Mason Jar to another owner also fell through. So he contacted Weese and the deal was finalized.
Weese plans to merge key parts of the two businesses. An opening date hasn’t been set, but he indicated it will probably be in the first or second week of August.
The Trails End Taproom is geared toward biking and hiking enthusiasts, and has enjoyed a growing popularity as a place outdoor enthusiasts can gather and socialize. Its location near Red Rock Open Space trail system has been a big factor in its popularity and that will, no doubt, continue to draw customers at the new location.
The Taproom features a technology rare in the Pikes Peak region: using more than 40 computer-operated beer and wine taps that allow customers to not only serve and re-serve themselves but to also keep track of the amounts of alcohol consumed and the costs.
The Mason Jar, on the other hand, has been popular among lunch and dinner customers for its comfort food menu: chicken-fried steak, grilled top sirloin, pork chops, Southern-fried catfish and a variety of burgers. It also featured a full-service bar.
“We plan on keeping the same staff, the same menu,” Weese said, pointing out that the combined staffs number more than 50 employees, including some seasonal workers and some who plan to return to schools this fall.
“It’s a big responsibility, for sure. We’re aiming to get through the busy season and then to see what we need to tweak and what lessons we’ve learned.”
One aspect of the Taproom operation that will continue at the new location is Weese’s commitment to helping local nonprofits, especially trails and environmental groups, through donations and by sponsoring special events.
“We’ve probably donated more than $150,000 in the last five years to various organizations,” he said.
Among the recipients have been the Rocky Mountain Field Institute, Medicine Wheel Trade Advocates, El Paso Search and Rescue, Friends of Red Rock Canyon, Westside CARES, Trails and Open Space Coalition, the Energy Resource Center, Friends of Monument Preserve and Friends of Pikes Peak.
Moving and remodeling activity have been ongoing for several weeks as the staff prepares for the opening. The larger room on the building’s west side will be the taproom; the east room will continue the Mason Jar fare.
In all, the new building is about 4,600 square feet, 1,600 square feet larger than the old Taproom location.
Plans include expanding the outdoor patio, moving much of the Trails End Taproom décor to the new building and renovating the space that will house the restaurant.
A patio area behind the building, with access to the existing hiking/biking trail, is also planned for the distant future.
“There’s so much going on. We still want more trees, more renovations and a fence out back,” Weese said. “There are a lot of things to upgrade.”