Meet Amy Cohen of Stowaway Kitchen in River North

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Cohen.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Amy. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My husband and I were living in Melbourne, Australia, where we worked at a coffee roasting company as well as a couple of different cafes. That was my first brush with the hospitality industry and I was immediately hooked. I loved the industrious and fast pace of the work, the constant learning, and the community. After working in AU for four years, we started making plans to start something of our own. Melbourne already had a flourishing cafe scene, plus neither of us were from there, so we decided to move to the US where we began checking out different cities that might work for us. After checking out Chicago and Oakland/Bay Area, we ended up visiting my brother in Denver and never left. The mountains, the ability to get our foot in the financial door, the open-mindedness that might give our concept a try. It felt right.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
All in all, I cannot complain. I’m sure every new small business owner has encountered the same struggles: sleepless nights thinking about all of the potential pitfalls of failure, scraping together enough money to buy second-hand equipment and build out an entirely new space. Then, once you open the restaurant, you encounter a whole new set of challenges like getting people in the door. The coronavirus pandemic has actually been the first major challenge for a stowaway, but I suppose everyone is in this one together.

Stowaway Kitchen – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am the chef and run the kitchen. I write the menu but often discuss ideas with the team so we can all have a sense of ownership of our food. We don’t quite fit into any existing category in Denver as we bridge the gap between cafe and restaurant. We are full service and have an equal focus on a decent cup of coffee and a breakfast and lunch menu that tries to provide creative and healthy options.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I think success means making a living doing the thing that you feel most passionate about. I’m passionate about cooking because simply put, I love eating good, clean food and I love learning about the endless ways of making it. We were very fortunate that there were others out there that felt the same way and liked our food because that allowed us the opportunity to continue doing what we love doing!

Contact Info:

• Address: 2528 Walnut Street
  Denver CO 80205
• Website: stowawaydenver.com
• Phone: (720)583-5481
• Email: stowawaycafedenver@gmail.com
• Instagram: stowawaydnvr

Image Credit:
Jimena Peck

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