Chef Collin Kelley returned to where it all started last week opening the new restaurant Cypress at 700 Yampa Street in the heart of downtown.

As he stood Tuesday afternoon inside the reimagined space — also the site of his first restaurant Carl’s Tavern that he opened more than a decade ago — he remarked that it was “like a homecoming.”

“Seeing some of the old familiar faces and having a lot of our old regulars coming in to get a drink has felt like some strange parallel universe that I never left in a lot of ways,” Kelley said. “My sous-chef said that it feels like Carl grew up and has a mortgage now, a 401(k) and drives an Audi.”

---

---

Kelley said when he first opened Carl’s in 2011, he was in his mid 20s and on a shoestring budget. He sold the business in 2017 to Scott Engelman and David Jones, who also co-own Truffle Pig at the base of Steamboat Resort.

The two men owned and operated the business as Carl’s Tavern until this May when they closed the doors.

---

---

While the space is still anchored by the iconic horseshoe-shaped bar that greets customers as they enter the door, Kelley has spent the entire summer making upgrades that give the space a warm comfortable feel that invites visitors to come in and grab a bite to eat or enjoy a drink.

“We did all new floors, all new upholstery and even these chairs help absorb sound, which is cool,” Kelley said. “We have the semi-private room, the Champagne suite and then we have a private dining room in the back that will seat 14.”

In addition to the cosmetic changes, Kelley has also added sound attenuation, which reduces the intensity of sound waves as they travel away from their source with absorption, reflection, interference and adding features that spread sound out geometrically.

“It’s remarkable how you can be sitting right next to a table, and you see the other table’s mouths moving, but you can’t hear a word. It’s unbelievable,” Kelley said. “It’s not only our customers’ enjoyment of the space, but also for our employees, and those of us that work here — it’s so much nicer.”

Kelley said he was so impressed with the results at Cypress that he added to same features to Cypress’s sister restaurant Primrose located just down the street on Yampa.

Kelley said he hopes to bring Southern comfort back to Steamboat Springs with the menu at Cypress that will feature main dishes including rotisserie chicken, Craig’s meatloaf and buttermilk fried chicken. Customers will also find Steak Diane, steak frites, crawfish and grits, shrimp Creole, fire-roasted pork chops and chicken confit pot pie.

Of course, there will also be the Cypress Burger and an extensive list of smaller items, the 5 S’s — snacks, shares, soups, salads, sides.

Kelley said the menu has been influenced by America’s culinary landscape includes everything from New Orleans to Charleston and from Virginia to the horn of Florida. He said he is also hoping to fill the void he sees in the Steamboat dining market after the loss of restaurants like Carl’s Tavern, Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill, Rex’s American Grill and Bar, and Low County Kitchen.

“We really wanted to have that middle ground for families and working folks on a budget that could come in and still get a nice meal with really great service and a really nice setting, but not have to break the bank,” he said.

Dinner is offered from 3:30-9:30 p.m. seven days a week and has plans to offer a lunch menu in the future.

Cypress offers Locals Hours from 3:30-5:30 p.m. daily.

“We wanted to build that for the locals in a way that you can come in and get a plate of food and a cocktail, a beer or a mocktail — whatever your drink preferences — for $20,” Kelly said.