Surrounded by a swirl of dried corn stalks, hay bales and black-and-orange Halloween festoonery, the Café at Nick’s Garden Center would be easy to miss — except for the line.
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Hungry shoppers and Halloween revelers stood for 10 minutes or more on a recent weekend day to place an order at the window, then waited at least ten more for their food. No one complained, or even looked particularly bothered.
The payoff was worth it: Bountiful burgers, heaps of fries, and the star of the whole Halloween scene: house-made green chile.
For most of the year, Nick’s, at 2001 S. Chambers Road in Aurora, operates as a sprawling garden shop, selling plants, tools and landscaping essentials. Over the summer, a small produce market opens up in one of the buildings. But things stay busy even when gardening season is over, as Nick’s fires up the chile roasters and a festive fall atmosphere.
Co-owner and managing partner Richard Ortega said Nick’s Fall Fest started in 1994, seven years after the garden center opened. (It’s a family operation; the eponymous Nick is Richard’s dad.)
“It’s just gotten bigger and better every year,” Ortega said. But the fun is fleeting. The Café only runs on weekends through Oct. 27.
Pumpkins, of course, are a big attraction. Small mountains of them rise at every turn. Face-painted toddlers watch a talking animatronic gourd share Halloween facts and not-very-scary stories. The annual Pumpkin Weigh-Off attracts 2,000-pound orange behemoths.
On top of that, the Fest includes mini golf, rubber-ducky racing, a bouncy castle, a tiny train ride and the “Tunnel of Terror.”
Understandably, people were getting hungry. Ortega said the café opened in 2013. “It was just kind of a natural extension, with all the families coming in.”
Half of the menu features green chile made with Ortega’s mom’s recipe. “Mama Dulcinea,” as he called her, grew up outside of Las Vegas, N.M.
For a budget-friendly $7.50, the green chile plate includes a large ladleful of piping-hot chile, plus refried beans, rice and a griddled tortilla. The chile has character: wonderfully, surprisingly garlicky, with generous strips of roasted chile and a small but mighty punch of heat.
There’s also a chile-smothered Mexican hamburger ($12), handheld bean-and-cheese-and-chile burrito ($5) and, of course, chile cheese fries ($7).
The crispy chile rellenos ($6) are popular, as well as the breakfast burritos ($9), which is Ortega’s go-to. “Can’t go wrong with that — sausage breakfast burrito with green chile,” he said.
The Café at Nick’s Garden Center is open on weekends only through the end of October, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. The Fall Fest is open daily; entrance is free, with additional charges for some activities. Visit nicksgardencenter.com for details.
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