Longmont will soon see a return to the mid-century diners that road trippers once loved. A new hangout — part restaurant, part bar, part event space, and part time machine — is coming to Prospect in the next few weeks. Johnson’s Station is a reimagining of a 1950s rest stop that fed hungry travelers, as Jack Kerouac mentioned in On the Road. Chef Steve Queen is excited. And for good reason.
The restaurant is housed in a fascinating building – a gas station that was relocated from Longmont’s Main Street to the Prospect neighborhood. For years, the building was gated until it could be financially rehabilitated. Now it has been revitalized and Queen gets to lead the menu development and kitchen teams that will take guests back in time.
Queen plans to combine key elements of what is important to him in cooking with upscale versions of what travelers in the 1950s might have expected at the service window of a diner. Burgers. Hot dogs and spicy chicken. Iced cocktails. Smoked pork sandwiches. Classic American cuisine.
THis style of food seems pretty predictable, but Queen has plans to make it even better. “I’m never going to throw ingredients into something just to throw thirty things into it.” I’m very direct and when I describe something I cook, you’ll taste what I describe. An orange, carrot and ginger sauce tastes like this, in that order. Fillers and distractions are left out. I like it spicy. Reduced.” To further prove his point, he talked about how he makes spicy chicken. Marinated in buttermilk and then cooked with butter and lard, it’s spicy with a crust that’s present but not overpowering. It’s also about the texture. It also happens to be gluten-free.
Aspects of Johnson’s Station’s environment also play into Queen’s personality. The space recalls some of his most formative years in high school, where in class he discovered not only that he appreciated cooking, but also that he was interested in photography and architecture. “Exposure to that makes all the difference. There’s so much you don’t learn in high school about careers. What I remember most from that time are the things I was able to put into practice and apply in real life over the long term.”
Of all the things he was able to try in school, cooking was the one that ultimately stuck with him. He attended Johnson and Wales University in Florida and then worked in various restaurants, including his parents’. Like many others, he came to Colorado for the mountains. But unlike many others, he cooked in Cherry Creek. He then worked for River and Woods, which is part of the same group, Working Title, that owns Johnson’s station.
Throughout his journey, there was no person who was his mentor, but he said he felt it was to his advantage. He focused on developing his own techniques purely instinctively. Consequently, he pushed himself to learn more. HHis restaurant philosophy is that there is always something to learn. Professional chefs should study techniques, ingredients and areas for improvement in depth. There is always something to know or to delve deeper into.
And now his next learning chapter seems to be beginning in Longmont, at a well-preserved rest stop decorated in the style of an Americana road trip (pun intended). One can only imagine how much more he will learn and create in the future for the benefit of his guests.
