Cooper Birkey and Joe List are owners of Coop’s Cookhouse, 6628-A Delmonico Drive, a new, takeout food business. The two young entrepreneurs started their business journey right out of high school.

“I graduated from Pine Creek High School in December and took a job as a leasing agent for an apartment complex,” List said. “I was setting at a desk all day and didn’t like it much.”

Looking for a different job, List started doing some research and noticed an article about baking from home.

“That sounded interesting,” he said. “I started looking into what opportunities I could find in that type of business. I learned I would need a commercial kitchen to start that kind of business.”

Then he started looking for places where he could do food preparation and found The Hive Kitchen Market, which rents kitchen space. List started talking to his friend Birkey about the possibility of doing a restaurant concept together.

“Cooper graduated from Pine Creek in May and was interested in getting a job cooking and liked the idea of being co-owners of a food service operation,” List said.

Birkey took culinary classes at Pikes Peak State College his junior year at Pine Creek High School and had gotten his Servsafe certification and basic culinary training.

When they started figuring out a business plan, they decided to start small and focus on providing a menu of foods for late-night diners like college students. They came up with the tagline, “Filling you up, with food you crave, when you crave it.”

They opened their business May 27, offering signature Coop’s tenders with Coop’s homestyle breading, which is slightly spicy and then the chicken is fried.

There are six sauces from which to choose for dipping the tenders: Buffalo, garlic Parmesan, lemon pepper, sweet Thai chile, barbecue and Cajun. Prices start at $7.99 for three tenders and top out at six tenders for $10.99. Other menu items include sliders, sandwiches (grilled or fried chicken, plain or topped with Caesar salad and steak chimichurri), fries, mac n’ cheese, sodas and lemonade.

Birkey’s recipes are very good and worth dropping by to check out. The hours are 5-11 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays and 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. Pickup or delivery with Door Dash. Details: 719-551-7044, coopscookhouse.com.

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New menu

The FO4R North restaurant and bar complex, at 1895 Democracy Point, by Five Times Hospitality Group, has introduced a new menu at Cansano Italian Steakhouse under the direction of executive chef Pete Moreno. Moreno also is the executive chef of Prime25 steakhouse, another property of the Five Times Hospitality Group.

“I came over to do some menu changes for Cansano and soon we will be offering some new dishes at Pause (Ultra Lounge and Sushi, which is another eatery in the complex),” Moreno said. “I still work with the kitchen crew at Prime, but they are well-trained and can run that kitchen smoothly without me all the time.”

Moreno’s first menu change was introduced at the Italian steakhouse, where he has brought some of the culinary touches and flavors that have kept Prime25 one of the premier beef palaces in town.

Among the new entrée options is the Steak Flight. For $110 you get three 4-ounce cuts of an Akaushi (Wagyu) New York strip, a prime-grade New York strip and a grass-fed New York strip. It’s a fun way to taste and compare the subtle differences of each New York strip steak. For an upcharge, select from four sauces to enjoy with your 12 ounces of beef: black truffle bordelaise, bearnaise, Cansano steak sauce or marsala peppercorn. Better yet, select three different sauces for the ultimate tasting experience.

A few other new entrees of note include spicy lobster rigatoni ($65) with an 8-ounce roasted lobster tail, cioppino ($36) and a 17-ounce veal chop ($54).

There are some new salads, pizzas and pasta dishes. Not to worry, the popular 10-layer lasagna ($32) is not going anywhere.

The hours are 4-9 p.m. daily. Happy hour 4-6 p.m. daily. Half-price bottles of wine ($100 or less) on Wednesdays. Details: 719-884-2865, tinyurl.com/23w3vr4n.

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Eat out to help out

Bubba’s 33, 5807 Constitution Ave., is partnering with Homes for Our Troops to build custom homes for severely injured post 9-11 veterans. For every Patriot Burger purchased Thursday, July 4, through July 31, Bubba’s 33 will donate $1.00 to Homes for Our Troops. The Patriot Burger includes a BBQ burger wotj a signature beef patty, a hand-battered onion ring, BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles and mayonnaise. The hours are 11 a.m.-midnight Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m.-midnight Saturdays and 9 a.m.-11 p.m. Sundays. Details: 719-576-1223, tinyurl.com/2km4brta.

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Winery awards

The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey, 3011 E. Colorado 50, Cañon City, has again earned bragging rights for several of its winning wines. The wins come from the prestigious Sunset International Wine Competition.

The Abbey Winery’s Wild Cañon Harvest took Best of Class and Double Gold with 97 points.

The Wild Cañon Harvest is a blend of 30 grape varieties brought in by growers in the Cañon City area and other parts of Colorado. The grapes are gathered from the growers during the winery’s Harvest Fest in the fall.

Another Best of Class and double gold, went to As Above So Below — The Theurgist, which scored 96 points.

Here’s a look at the other winning wines.

Gold:

2023 Viognier (91 points).

2021 Merlot (91 points).

2021 Revelation (91 points).

As Above So Below — The Alchemist (92 points).

Riesling (92 points).

Silver:

2023 Chardonnay.

2023 Sauvignon Blanc Reserve.

2021 Cabernet Franc.

2021 Cabernet Sauvignon.

2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve.

Vineyard Sunset.

As Above So Below — The Astrologist.

Bronze:

2021 Merlot Reserve.

Sangre de Cristo Nouveau.

The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey is open daily where you can sample and buy the award-winning wines. The hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and noon-6 p.m. Sundays. Details: 877-422-9463, abbeywinery.com.