From a tiki bar in a former Longmont Outback Steakhouse to a Village Inn-turned-soul food destination to a south suburban mini-chain reimagined as a food hall, here are three spots making chains cool again. (via thknwco)
Their role is to be consistent, expected, predictable. But when chewing through one of life’s greatest pleasures — eating! — we need more than consistent, expected and predictable. We need a surprise.
A crop of surprising restaurants and bars have opened up in these vacant chains, serving up so much more than predictability. From a tiki bar in a former Longmont Outback Steakhouse to a Village Inn-turned-soul food destination to a south suburban mini-chain reimagined as a food hall, here are three spots making chains cool again.When Sean and Rebecca Gafner saw a vacant Outback Steakhouse in Longmont, visions of rum and tiki torches danced through their heads.
The Outback wasn’t their first choice for the tiki hut, but other locations fell through, and they liked the idea of bringing something so different to the chain-filled southwest Longmont neighborhood — which they nicknamed Swaylo — where they live. Plus, the Outback already had a large, ready-to-cook-in kitchen and plentiful parking, two appealing selling points.
But then it brought a fresh look and flavor to the former Village Inn at East Colfax and Chambers. And although she opened there more than a year ago, Smith said she still gets people coming in expecting to find a Village Inn.