Meet Nick Doyle of Nick’s Italian in Fort Collins

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Doyle.

Nick, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up in a big Irish family of nine kids in Illinois. We went out to dinner once a week and I loved restaurants as a kid. I loved the sounds and vibe and the cloud of cigarette smoke. When I was 19, I started working in my first restaurant in Vail and it’s all I’ve done for thirty years. After a number of years working for the Rio Grande and The Kitchen restaurant groups, my dream of opening my own place happened five years ago.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It hasn’t been smooth but that was a matter of getting noticed in a town that had a lot of restaurants. I went into a space that had been occupied by a restaurant with a bad reputation and that hurt us more than we anticipated.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Nick’s is known for our Italian American favorites. Buccatini Carbonara, chicken parmesan, NY style pizza, lasagna and our now famous Nick’s Burger. We won a contest a few years ago run by the Coloradoan newspaper to vote for the best burger in town and we won out of eighty restaurants. That was very good for business. People love our warm Brussel caesar and our agrodolce chicken wings.

What were you like growing up?
I was full of energy and drove my mom crazy. She use to tell me, “go run around the block,’ and I would. I loved sports and the outdoors. I moved to Colorado to ski and go to school and never left. I love people and I landed in a great career for that.

Pricing:

• Price range is apps under $12 and entrees under $19

Contact Info:

• Address: 1100 S. College Ave.
• Website: nicksfc.com
• Phone: 970-631-8301
• Email: info@nicksfc.com

Image Credit:
Andy Ryan

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