Windsor Mill reopens to the public after years of reconstruction

WINDSOR  — Just over two years ago, the Windsor Mill was mostly ash and rubble, the victim of an arsonist’s tinder box. 

On Wednesday, one of its new businesses opened after Blue Ocean Enterprises, an investment mechanism founded by Otter Products LLC founder Curt Richardson, completed a $9.5 million reconstruction of one of the city’s defining landmarks.

The Windsor Mill Tavern held its grand opening Wednesday in its new below-ground digs at 301 Main St., and the signs of the old mill are throughout the space. Steve Schroyer, the owner’s representative for Blue Ocean, said the stone walls and wood support beams in the bar survived the fire, and some of the black wood accents are reclaimed pieces of burnt material from the blaze.

“You’re talking about 160-year-old [materials] that were here from 1890, survived the first fire, a tornado and the last fire,” he said. “It’s important for us to keep all that.”

The bar’s menu also has a few callbacks to Windsor’s history, general manager Bradley Nelson said, as it uses sugar beet syrup in some of the recipes. The crop was an integral industry in Windsor’s early years.

Tavern co-owner Tim Downey said almost every entertainment option on Main Street closes fairly early throughout the week, forcing residents to travel outside the city for nightlife. He promises that the tavern will remain open until at least 10 p.m. every day, and at least midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

“And we say late in quotation marks, because we may be open later than that if we have a crowd; we’re not kicking them out,” he said. “So that’s going to be a fun take on it to give, because there’s a need for that.”

The tavern isn’t the only business opening up in the building. The owners of Cacciatore in Fort Collins are building a second location in the space right above the tavern. Chef Troy Heller said the restaurant can open as early as Oct. 11 depending on if permits are secured in time.

The other side of the building will be home to a brewery, but still needs major construction to become operational. Schroyer said a group of brewers from an established brewery in the region are looking at the logistics of starting operations in the mill, but have yet to sign any contracts.

The mill’s second floor will have 4,400 square feet of office space available for lease at a later date.

on Facebook on LinkedIn