The new Olio restaurant, on Grand Avenue in Mancos, will have a variety of entrees prepared with locally grown ingredients, and wines to satisfy any palate.
Owner Jason Blankenship is also the chef of the new place. He has been working in restaurants since he was 14, he said. Blankenship says he has done it all manager, bartender, wait staff but cooking is his strong suit.
I really enjoy it.
He was a chef at the Kennebec Cafe in Hesperus for over four years, but was looking around for a small place where he could do all the cooking.
I wanted a place like this, thats small in style, where I could do the cooking and preparation myself. That way, everyone knows theyre getting my cooking and nobody elses ... for better or worse, he said.
He plans to have a broad eclectic menu that will change often hopefully on a weekly basis. Hell take the first couple of weeks, though, to settle in and see how everything goes and what the customers like. He has already connected with local farmers, including Dave Banga, The Wily Carrot, Wintergreen Farm and the Fort Lewis College people. But he plans on visiting with more of them in the future. What they bring him will dictate largely what is on his menu, so customers will be assured of fresh, locally grown food on their plates.
Blankenships influences are Italian, French and Spanish, but his cooking has become less heavy than those styles. He has many favorites, but he really likes to cook fish dishes. He will most likely have seven or eight appetizers, three kinds of salads and six entrees. The entrees will include beef, chicken, pork, fish and one vegan option.
I think its going to work out great, he said. He feels like his prices will be average the lowest will be the vegan choice at $16 and the highest will be the fish at $26.
His wine choices will be off the chart, he said. By the bottle or by the glass, there will be a large selection, priced from $18 to $150 per bottle. Some of his wines will be local as well.
Right now, Blankenships plan is to open Tuesday through Saturday, beginning at 4 p.m. on weekdays and 1 p.m. on Saturday, until 9 p.m.
