Connecting one bite at a time

Why limit love to one person or one family or a few people? Love is a stepping stone. The path is looking beyond the self to serve others—giving love to others, creating more loving connections with every person we meet. Mary Grothe, founder of Sunday Salmon, believes she is living her best life being in service to others. “At Sunday Salmon, we’re creating a space where people from all walks of life will share meals, connect and close the social/economic gap—one conversation and one bite at a time.”

Sunday Salmon is more than a startup nonprofit restaurant. It is a gourmet, organic community restaurant. Located in Castle Rock, Sunday Salmon offers no cost meals and gives everyone a seat at the Sunday night dinner table. The Castle Rock community welcomed this feel-good restaurant on January 3.

Sunday Salmon welcomes up to 12 guests per community table, accommodating a total of 48 guests per seating (and space for 12 walk-ins each hour) with all meals served family-style. Each Sunday, there are two dinner seatings: the first between 5:00 pm and 5:15 p.m. and the second between 6:30 p.m. and 6:45 p.m.

Guests can choose a main entrée of either Faroe Island Salmon or lemon-herb chicken breast served with family style fresh vegetables consisting of balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts, sautéed honey-glazed carrots, a potato medley, roasted broccoli, steak-glazed bella mushrooms and cilantro lime rice. “As an alcohol-free restaurant, we provide organic, gluten-free, and seed oil-free meals at no cost,” stated Mary. “Donations are appreciated but not required.”

As a mom and wife, Mary loves to feed her family.The vision for Sunday Salmon came about because for the last 10 years, she has cooked a meal on Sundays that her family calls Sunday Salmon or family dinner. Sometimes Mary and her husband, David, hosted upwards of 40 family and friends for dinner. With a gluten sensitivity, Mary is into nutrition and health, so most of what she cooks at home––and everything at the restaurant––is 100% gluten free. Forged with an entrepreneurial mind, she thought of opening a restaurant that would serve community meals that anybody could enjoy; thus, Sunday Salmon was born.

Mary previously ran a few businesses, none of them restaurants or nonprofits. Sunday Salmon was outside of her comfort zone. Determined and resolute in her faith, and armed with her personal savings to take on the risks and pressures of launching a new company, Mary felt so driven by purpose and passion that she sold her Porsche and designer bags for the capital seed of Sunday Salmon. Through the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce, Mary found a realtor and secured the space that formerly housed the restaurant Village Inn. Taking only the banquet space area, she was able to remodel the space in less than five weeks, attributing the fast-tracked renovation largely due to the support of strangers who saw her working by herself and offered their services for free. Through her connections, Mary enlisted the help of an executive chef who prepares all the meals, and volunteers to do the prepping and the serving.

Mary shared, “Castle Rock is really special. It’s an affluent community. There’s a lot of wealth here, a very high cost of living, but we do have struggling neighbors in this community. We actually have 3,000 of them to be exact that live at the poverty level or below, and they’re experiencing food insecurity.” She noticed that a majority of the families that are dependent on the food banks do not have access to delicious organic meals. They rely on processed, shelf-stable foods that may leave families dealing with health issues. Mary noticed a lack of healthy free meal options in town, and she was determined to change that for her neighbors.

Mary wanted to extend her dinner table to serve the community. Her mission became about connecting neighbors who are in need with neighbors who have access to resources, to come together, break bread together, then get to know each other. Mary said, “I think back into my own life where somebody reached their hand out and chose to live life with me. That’s how the transformation occurred. We are not supposed to live life alone.”

Eunice Forster and her family (pictured above) dined at Sunday Salmon and said, “Everyone needs to go and experience it! The food was absolutely delicious and so healthy. What a wonderful place where people can go who may not be able to afford to eat out and enjoy an amazing dinner and feel valued. We need more places like Sunday Salmon, and we need to support them in every way we can!”

Currently, Sunday Salmon runs its community meal only on Sundays. The initial campaign is looking to raise about $75,000 to cover marketing costs, rent, utilities, and six months of food ingredients that would feed about 100 people per week for free. Sunday Salmon recently received 501(c)(3) designation, and a second campaign will focus on the organization securing a permanent location with the anticipation of weeknight meals.

Interested in learning more or making an impact by volunteering or donating? Visit sundaysalmon.com.

By ViVi Somphon