For 40 years, if you had a craving for White Fence Farm's fried chicken or famous corn fritters, you'd have to drive to the 80-acre restaurant and farm in Lakewood.
Not anymore.
"We're never going to open another White Fence Farm like the restaurant we have in Lakewood," said Whitney Carloss, the restaurant's general manager. But "we started listening to our customers about ways we could be more accessible."
That led to the company opening satellite locations for carryout at Green Valley Ranch, the Pepsi Center, Capitol Hill and one on the Arvada-Westminster border. And now one is coming to Olde Town Arvada at 55th Avenue and Olde Wadsworth Boulevard. The restaurant is expected to open in early December.
"Once the ball got rolling with restaurants like Schoolhouse and Steuben's, we really started seeing people investing in an authentic old town," said Allison Trembly, marketing manager with the Arvada Economic Development Association. "Businesses want to be here because they see the success we're having and because we have the light rail coming."
The Arvada location will provide carryout and also be home to The Coup, a bar-style dining experience.
The decision to start setting up satellite locations came from owners Craig Caldwell and Tom Piercy, who purchased White Fence from longtime owner Charles Wilson in 2014.
"We spent a long time looking at 30 to 40 places for the right fit," Carloss said. "Each place we've invested in has its own niche customer-base."
The new owners wanted to hold on to the traditions and nostalgia that have made White Fence Farm a mainstay. But they also wanted to pursue what Carloss calls "new improvements."
Besides the satellite locations, another improvement is White Fence's Thanksgiving lunch for the homeless. The restaurant tried the event for the first time last year at its main Lakewood location and was so successful it will make the outreach an annual tradition.
On Thanksgiving Day, the restaurant is closed to the public, but through a partnership with the South Lakewood Business Association, and charitable organizations like Salvation Army, it provides free meals to those in need.
Last year, the restaurant served about 2,000 people its famous chicken and sides, as well as pumpkin pie.
"We had this feeling like this is what Thanksgiving is all about," Carloss said. "We're looking for volunteers to help us out with putting the event on."
For White Fence, these improvements are all about spreading the word and taste of its food.
"We're never going to be a chain restaurant, because we have all this history built in," Carloss said. "This is just about bringing our chicken to the people."
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Were-bringing-our-chicken-to-the-people,239255
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