The Well is back — with a lineup of all new restaurant concepts. Formosa Bites, Shovel Ready, Sivar and Tossed have joined Gift Horse Bar & Cafe, which remains as the coffee and cocktails anchor. After closing for the month of January to reset and turn over its vendors, the downtown food hall reopened in early February. The Well 2.0 brings a tasty new collection to the local dining scene. The change also fulfills the mission of the food hall to incubate new restaurants and new business growth for local small business owners.
Here’s a look at the new restaurants of The Well and what they offer.
Formosa Bites
Formosa Bites serves authentic Taiwanese street food reminiscent of the island’s famous night markets. Owner Terry Hsieh was born and raised in Taiwan. After losing his job of 12 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hsieh started the Formosa Bites food truck out of necessity in December 2021. “I have always enjoyed cooking for friends and family, so we decided to turn my passion for cooking into our small family business.”
The first six months went well; then an accident left the food truck with extensive damage that left it inoperable for six months. So Hsieh is especially happy to be cooking again in a new brick-and-mortar kitchen at The Well.
When asked about the menu, Hsieh says he is especially excited about the Red Chili Oil Wonton, Pork Belly Sliders and Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup. “The Red Chili Oil Wonton is savory and tangy topped with our homemade chili oil,” he says. “The Pork Belly is braised until it melts in your mouth, and it is served in a steamed bao bun. Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup is served with beef shank that is slow-cooked for hours to tenderize the meat and pack in flavors from a variety of sauces and vegetables.”
Residency at The Well gives Hsieh the opportunity to learn about running a brick-and-mortar restaurant and see if it makes sense in his future plans. “There are awesome and seasoned F&B [food and beverage] professionals working at The Well,” Hsieh says. “I hope to learn from them and better myself as a F&B professional.”
Shovel Ready
This one is kind of a big deal, with deep local partnerships behind it. Shovel Ready is the Capstone Culinary Hospitality Creative Workforce Program of the Community Cultural Collective at the Colorado Springs City Auditorium. The unique “earn and learn” program provides students advanced food preparation skills, creative expression and training that includes menu-building, business management, finance and ordering.
Aspiring chefs will have the opportunity to work with several prominent local restaurateurs: Jay Gust of Ascent Restaurants (Pizzeria Rustica, Tapateria, Homa Cafe Bar), Brother Luck (Four by Brother Luck, Lucky Dumpling), Justin Miller (The Broadmoor) and Ben Hoffer (High Rise Pizza Kitchen). The team behind Shovel Ready also includes the Cultural Collective’s Linda Weise, Traci Marques of the Pikes Peak Workforce Center, and Pikes Peak State College.
The menu at Shovel Ready will change monthly. Fans (like us) of Jay Gust’s former restaurant Smørbrød will be excited to see a collection of those open-face Scandinavian sandwiches this month. There are also brunch items, including a smoked salmon avocado toast and an egg and ham breakfast sandwich featuring house-made pimento cheese.
SIVAR
In Central America, Sivar is slang for El Salvador. Monse Hines has already been sharing the love of her El Salvadoran culture through Monse’s Taste of El Salvador in Old Colorado City. This sister concept gives her the chance to experiment further, and the name represents the restaurant’s blend of Salvadoran and other Central American influences. “While pupusas are still a staple, the menu does include some exciting new dishes influenced by Gauatemala, Colombia, Mexico and Honduras,” Hines says “Like our Quesa Tacos, a fusion of Mexican-style quesadillas served stuffed with Guatemalan-style tacos — it’s a delicious fusion of style and flavors!”
Weekend brunch has already been a big hit, something that is only available at the Sivar location. Options include an egg-topped pupusa, a skillet that includes chorizo and a Traditional Desayuno: beans, plantains, chorizo and eggs cooked to order.
“We enjoy the community focus The Well represents and love joining a team that welcomes diversity and is clearly aligned with strong community values,” Hines says.
She sees both The Well and Sivar embracing a “build, strengthen, celebrate community” ethos. Sivar’s downtown location gives it an expanded geographical reach, but Hines says they also have pursued that mission in their business practices. “We also designed our focus to hire numerous refugees as an initiative to embrace new team members from Central America and help make them become a valuable part of our community family,” she says.
Tossed Fresh & Organic
Tossed has been a staple on the local food truck circuit for nearly a year and a half, bringing fresh salads, wraps and soups to the community. Owner Morgan Bryson sees The Well as an exciting opportunity to build her brand and grow her business. Tossed offers a full range of salads, such as Southwest, Thai Peanut, Salmon and more, and none of them skimp on ingredients.
“I am thrilled about having the capacity to offer more menu items at The Well than I previously served on the food truck,” Bryson says. “One of the dishes I am most excited about is the weekly rotating grain bowl. This week we are offering a raw salmon and rice bowl. It is like a poke bowl and a salad hybrid. Super fresh, full of flavor, but a little more girth than our typical salads with the added sushi, seasoned rice and delicious organic sauce.”
Bryson says her goal is to get the new brick-and-mortar up to speed, then return the food truck to the streets in March, ideally sending new diners to all of the vendors at The Well. “Food and healthy living are two of the most important things in my life,” she says. “And I am stoked to share that with everyone who steps in that space.”
Watch for continuing events at The Well, such as weekly live music, trivia nights and a farmer’s market in the summer. This year will also bring cooking classes and educational workshops with the food vendors, regional farmers, local and regional chefs. And the team behind Gift Horse Bar & Cafe will present coffee and cocktail seminars.
The food hall also will continue to host Gather for a Cause, a twice monthly philanthropic partnership with local nonprofits. The program directs 5% of The Well’s daily sales proceeds to benefit the nonprofit partner.
Check out the full vendor menus and get other details about The Well food hall at wellinthesprings.com.
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