Sofia’s Antojitos, the popular Colorado Springs-based Mexican food eatery, has opened a third location at 727 Gold Hill Place S., Woodland Park, in the City Market shopping center. It took over the former Mountainara Cucina Italiana restaurant space as well as the vacant spot next door, which increased the seating capacity for the restaurant significantly.

Antojitos, which refers to Mexican street food or little snacks, is somewhat misleading since the menus at the eateries feature a much larger range of dining options with a full bar. There are several options for breakfast dishes, tortas (Mexican sandwiches), nachos, chile rellenos, tostadas, quesadillas and tacos.

We learned from Lila Topete Rosas, co-owner of the restaurant with her mom, Sofia Rosas, that the third location opened in July. From the looks of the bustling lunch crowd in a short wait at the counter to order, the new eatery is a welcome addition to the mountain town.

“Though my mom and I are the owners, we have our whole family that works with us, and we wouldn’t be able to be here if it wasn’t for all them,” Lila said. “All recipes are my moms and some are my grandmas who was also a Sofia. We have a local bakery that makes our torta bread and our tres leches cake.”

We shared a few dishes for lunch, including esquites ($7) for a delicious, creamy cup of sweet white corn with mayo, queso fresco and chile pepper. The quesabirria ($12.99) was generous with tender stands of braised beef folded into a tortilla with melted cheese and served with a side of consume for dipping. We each had a churro ($1.50 each), which came steaming hot from the fryer with one end of the crunchy, sugary cake dipped in caramel. It all made for a satisfying like lunch.

The two Colorado Springs locations are at 4037 Tutt Blvd. and 1035 N. Academy Blvd. Hours at all locations are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. Visit facebook.com/sofiasantojitos.

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Chef and grocer

Earlier this year, James Africano, chef and owner of The Warehouse Restaurant & Gallery, 25 W. Cimarron St., opened a small grab-and-go area in the entryway of the restaurant.

“That was our beta test to see if customers were interested in picking up food to go,” Africano said. “It’s been growing. So, we are getting ready for the next step.”

That next step is to open a small grocery store, named The Warehouse Urban Grocer, with a full-service deli and butcher, a bakery, seafood section, dairy products, shelf-stable dry goods and a tiny area for personal needs (toothpaste and household goods).

“We’ve been planning something like this since 2018 because we knew the stadium (Weidner Field) and other apartment buildings were coming. We also knew our parking for large events and parties in the gallery area would be shrinking,” he said. “Then the pandemic happened, and we pivoted our focus to keep the business going. We set the plans for the grocery aside.”

Now Africano is pivoting back to his original plan of repurposing the gallery, which was used for big parties, to create a small neighborhood grocery store.

“We have notified our customers that we will honor all scheduled events through December,” he said. “Then construction will start in January on the grocery store with the plan to open in March.”

The architectural drawings include the addition of a tiled area west of the space for the deli, meat and butcher shop.

“I want to have an old-fashioned meat market where you can tell the butcher the thickness of steak you want to buy,” he said. “And, if you want the chicken cut up, we can do that while you wait.”

Visit urbangrocercos.com for updates.

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Meet the makers

The Broadmoor, 1 Lake Ave., has announced the Meet the Makers dining series. All the events will take place in the newly renovated Penrose Room. All events will include a welcome reception and canapes, followed by a multicourse dinner. Here’s a look at the line up. Make reservations at tinyurl.com/ 5bwswyh7.

• Heitz Cellar, Oct. 14: Join estate director and master sommelier Erik Elliot to taste the Heitz Cellar collection, paired with dinner. Cost is $350 per person.

• Buffalo Trace Distillery, Nov. 11: Join master distiller Harlen Wheatley, a four-time James Beard Award nominee, for a special evening of storytelling featuring the highly coveted and rare spirits from Buffalo Trace Distiller. Cost is $500 per person.

• Angel’s Envy, Dec. 2: Angel’s Envy was founded by Bourbon Hall of Fame member and master distiller Lincoln Henderson and his son Wes Henderson. Owen Martin is the master distiller and will be the presenter for an evening of tasting the Angel’s Envy Whiskey Collection. Cost TBA.