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On Thursday, July 21, Bird & Jim owner Melissa Strong celebrated the grand opening of her new establishment, The Bird’s Nest. According to Strong, the multi-purpose business serving as a café, bakery, pizza shop and event space was initially brought to life thanks to Bird & Jim.
Shortly after opening Bird & Jim in 2017, Strong noticed a demand for events and weddings in Estes Park: a demand that her lone facility struggled to meet.
“Trying to run events in a functioning restaurant is such a challenge that I knew we really needed a separate space,” Strong said. “And why just have a space that is going to sit empty half the time until you have an event scheduled?”
It was this thought, along with the feeling that the town was in need of a bakery, that gave her the idea to incorporate one into the event space, with the café and pizza factors following after.
“If you’re going to do baked goods you might as well sell coffee, and we don’t really have good coffee representation on this side of Estes Park,” said Strong. “We have great local shops for coffee, and we have great pizza, but it’s all on the other side of town. I love pizza, so I figured we’d go ahead and do that too.”
The plan to start this new business led her to a small building across the street from Bird & Jim. At the time, the building was home to an antique store that was only open a few months out of the year. Seeing that the building wasn’t all that utilized, Strong approached the shop owners with an offer to buy it, and fortunately, they were looking to sell.
Upon taking ownership, Strong began planning out a modern-rustic design for the establishment.
“It started as a sketch I drew and gave to the architect. He turned it into reality and Phil McLain (owner of McLain’s construction) turned it into super-reality,” Strong said. “ I wanted trees, I wanted the nest look, I wanted something that represented the area around us without looking too much like a logwood cabin.”
After the design plan was complete and the building got underway, the biggest roadblock of Strong’s newfound creation happened: COVID-19. When the pandemic hit, Strong put the brakes on the Bird’s Nest to ensure the already operational Bird & Jim would survive.
After Strong successfully pushed her initial business through the thick of things, building on the The Bird’s Nest resumed and carried on until completion.
Now open to the public, customers can enjoy the entry-level café that offers coffee items, pastries, freshly baked bread, sandwiches and pizza.
The second floor of the building serving as the event space is complete with hardwood floors, blue-suede padded seating and a great mountain view. Accommodating groups of 80-90 people with catering from Bird & Jim, this is a great spot for weddings, rehearsal dinners, family reunions and many other organized gatherings.
Those wishing to reserve a spot for their event will have to act fast, however. Strong said events are booked through the year to 2023 with an increase of requests piling in for 2024.
Aside from the café and event-based features, the Bird’s Nest will also be offering in-house wine events and cooking classes.
The wine events will play host to winemakers from around the world with the first event featuring a winemaker from Australia on Aug. 9.
“This idea was carried over from Bird & Jim which saw winemakers from places like Italy, France, California and Colorado,” said Strong.
Though not officially set yet, cooking classes will take place at a marble cooking table in front of the first-floor kitchen. Strong has hopes of putting on pasta, breadmaking and maybe even chocolate classes.
Open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.,The Bird’s Nest is the perfect new spot for anyone looking to host gatherings, learn more about the arts of cooking and wine or just grab a good bite to eat.
To visit The Bird’s Nest website use the following link: https://www.restaurantji.com/co/estes-park/birds-nest-/
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