There is an art to cultivating creativity within something simple. Restauranteurs have served burgers, tacos, and beer time and time again, but the team at West Main Taproom and Grill in Parker, Colorado, have somehow found a way to put their own original spin on the classics.
From mountain tops to beer taps, the restaurant has borrowed several aspects of Colorado culture since since it opened in early February of 2020. West Main has 54 Colorado-sourced beers on tap that represent the 54 Colorado 14ners (mountain peaks that reach at least 14,000 feet) peppered throughout the state.
The owner, Pamela Briere, is conscious to support local businesses, ingredients, and people.
"I want to build a restaurant where the menu is built on fresh and locally sourced foods, beer, wine and spirits as much as possible from local farmers and distributors,” she says.
Pamela entrusted her high standards to the chef, Tyler Wiard, and gave him the liberty to make the kitchen his own. Tyler has rolled up his sleeves and experimented with several recipes to ensure that the upper-end gastropub’s food menu pairs well with the extensive drink selection. His main priority? Quality.
“I aim to create thoughtful and honest cuisine,” Tyler says.
Chicken without antibiotics or added hormones and homemade sauces are just a component of this honesty. Eccentric dishes like cactus tacos and sweet potato enchiladas bring a thoughtful twist to bar food staples.
Tyler wasn’t always such a well-versed foodie. He was admittedly a lazy student who attended, and dropped out of, the college of Santa Fe in New Mexico with a scholarship in photography. He quickly realized the camera wasn’t his forte and traded the lens for a dishwashing job— a gig he describes as the ‘dark side’ of the restaurant business. Slowly but surely, he worked his way toward being a prep and pantry cook.
He moved on to a restaurant called Q’s where the head chef took Tyler under his wing and taught him a passion for food and seasonality. With patience and guidance from top-notch people in the culinary world, the once lazy Tyler gained more of a discipline and appreciation for food with every kitchen he walked into.
“I want our food to be some of the best,” Tyler says. He notes that other restaurants will undoubtedly have menu items that are similar to West Main, but he doesn’t mind as long as their food has a little pizazz to put them over the edge.
Though West Main struggled to open on pace with their ideal timeline due to construction and permit delays, they have worked several hours to be able to get some traction under their belts— even amidst the Coronavirus pandemic.
“We did a good job “coyboying up,” Tyler says. He credits Chris Sandoval with marketing genius and Roselyn Weber with critical administration work. Naturally, Tyler hopes that West Main grows into a neighborhood staple.
“If you have volume and are constantly busy, the easier it is to run a restaurant,” Tyler says. “Everything flows.”
West Main Taproom and Grill can be found in Downtown Parker on Stage Run Road, directly across from the AMC theater.