Chris Braden Reopens Iconic Antlers Café After 14-Month Fire Closure

“The opportunity to come out here and open this facility with its charm and history was something I really couldn’t pass up.”

Chris Braden didn’t just buy a building on Moffat Avenue. He stepped into a 14-month vacancy left by a fire that gutted the iconic Antlers Café and Bar in Yampa. Now, he’s serving his signature chicken fried steak to neighbors who’ve been waiting since last year.

The timeline is specific: 14 months of silence. That’s a long time for a stagecoach stop turned saloon, turned community anchor, to sit dark. Braden, formerly the head chef at Mazzolas Italian Restaurant and a fixture at The Laundry Kitchen & Cocktails and Mahogany Ridge Brewery & Grill, was hand-picked by the building owner. A friend knew the owner; Braden knew the kitchen. It was a match made in culinary heaven, or at least, a match made in local necessity.

The physical space tells the story of recovery. The taxidermy is still there. The historical bars are standing. But the dining room is refreshed. The hardwood floors are refinished. The kitchen is completely new. It’s a renovation that respects the 1904 origins while updating the guts for modern service. Braden isn’t hiding the upgrades; he’s highlighting them as a way to give the community back what it lost.

Let’s look at the logistics. The Antlers is located at 40 Moffat Ave., the heart of Yahoma, 39 miles south of Steamboat Springs on Colorado 131. It’s not a tourist trap. It’s a local institution. And now, it’s open.

The hours are deliberate. Dinner service kicks in at 4 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Saturdays are split: lunch at 10:30 a.m., dinner until 9 p.m. Sundays are the most flexible, starting with brunch at 9 a.m. and transitioning to a dinner menu served until 8 p.m. It’s a schedule designed to catch the dinner rush and the weekend brunch crowd, two pillars of small-town restaurant economics.

The menu reflects Braden’s background. The chicken fried steak is the signature item. But there’s also seared trout for those who prefer the local catch, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, and grilled steak sandwiches. Appetizers, sides, soups, and salads fill out the plate. Desserts close the deal.

Braden is paying attention to dietary trends, even in a place known for hearty comfort food. Most of the menu is relatively gluten-free. There’s a vegetarian green chili option. Brunch features eggs benedict, specialty waffles, chimichangas, breakfast burritos, huevos rancheros, and the “whole nine yards.” It’s a full gambit.

The response has been positive. In the three weeks since reopening, the community has shown up. Braden says they’re hitting the mark. The goal was to minimize gluten usage where possible so everyone can enjoy the food. It’s a subtle shift for a traditional establishment, but it signals a desire to broaden the appeal without losing the core identity.

This isn’t just about food. It’s about the economic pulse of Yahoma. A closed restaurant is a lost tax base, a lost job opportunity, a lost gathering spot. An open one, especially one with this kind of history and foot traffic, revitalizes the block. Braden isn’t just cooking; he’s restoring a piece of infrastructure that happens to serve meals.

The financials of the fire recovery aren’t detailed in the press release, but the investment is visible in the new kitchen and refinished floors. The risk was high. The reward is a revived landmark. For the folks in Yahoma, the impact is immediate. They have a place to eat, drink, and socialize again. The Antlers is back. The chicken fried steak is hot. The taxidermy is watching.