SOUTH FORK- After spending too much time living to work and deciding it was time to start working to live, new business owner Catherine Olah and her partner Tyler made the move to South Fork and brought with them a unique and delightful business to share with the community.

“The whole tavern/bar idea came about because I was getting fed up with living in the city with all its amenities and not being able to enjoy any of them because I was working so much. I missed the mountains and Colorado in general and realized that I was just living to work and I’m more of a work to live girl. I also love the community that I felt in Colorado and I really wanted to showcase that in my own business,” said Olah.

After making the decision with her partner, Olah made the move to South Fork but took a detour along the way while she searched for her perfect Colorado Community. Olah has the heart of a traveler and so that is what she did. “I decided to rent my apartment in Denver and find a little place in the mountains to start a bar. Luckily, my partner Tyler, felt the same way. We pretty much looked everywhere in Colorado and even in Taos a bit but ultimately, we wanted somewhere near skiing and a river and In Colorado. Then Bam! Found this hidden gem called South Fork and literally everything fell in place. But then COVID hit.”

Olah and her partner did not let the pandemic chase them away from their dreams, so instead of backing out, they moved forward and made the best of a bad situation. “We found a small cabin that had a basement, so we decided to turn the upstairs into the bar and live downstairs while we got it off the ground. Eventually, we will move out and turn the downstairs into an office, a wine room in the back and a game room with pool tables.”

At first Olah hoped that she could work in Denver while the bar was being worked on, but because of COVID her plans had to slightly change and for the better in the end. “We were planning on working all summer in Denver while construction was going on but because COVID hit we ended up just moving here permanently in March and started our adventure a lot sooner. And we could not have been happier. South Fork is amazing!”

Olah isn’t planning on going big or going home either. She expressed a desire to create a business that fits the community and one that would be friendly and inviting for guests. “My vision was to create a small cozy meeting/drinking space in the mountains. I love that Colorado has pretty much everything you need to run a tavern. Colorado makes great beer, liquor, cheese, olive oils and so forth. I really love the idea of supporting small local businesses and creating a community more than a business. A place that can evolve  but that is ultimately there for the community and there to help support and bring local craftsmen together.”

Olah mentions again and again her love for Colorado and the entrepreneurs that reside in this wonderful state. “As I mentioned, we love Colorado and the people and their crafts, so we want to showcase everything the state has to offer. We have Colorado liquors, mostly Colorado beers and every month we will showcase a different Colorado wine. I used to study wine and really would like to start studying wine and traveling again. So, we plan on closing for a month during “mud season” in April to visit other countries, check out their wineries, distilleries and breweries and culture in general and then again for a week or two in the Fall, during Harvest season (thankfully our slow season) to visit wineries. I plan on eventually starting a Gaslamp Tavern Wine Club so that when we return, we can share with the community what we learned on our travels while tasting wine from that area.”

Olah is also offering parings to go with her wine and liquor tastings, “We really want to be a bar but we also know people love to nibble while they drink so right now we have a cheese board and accoutrements that also have Colorado influences. But as with everything the menu will evolve with the tavern. Once COVI dies away, in the summer we would love to invite local food trucks on the weekends and we also plan on having live music once we expand and open the patio space.”

The Gaslamp Tavern is open every day except for Tuesdays from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. Olah did state that they will be adjusting hours as they get going and as more people venture into town for winter activities. There is a Happy Hour during weekdays from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. where guests will receive $2 off all beers, well drinks and house wines. Be sure to stop in to welcome them to the South Fork community! They are located at 1 Browns Road next to Lazy Bear Cabins along Highway 160 in South Fork.