Aberdeen Ridge, a PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America) community, is a not-for-profit life plan community serving Colorado Springs, Colo. Located on 15 acres of land near renowned Colorado attractions Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods, Aberdeen Ridge offers residences for seniors opting for independent living, assisted living and memory care.

The community, which has a 320-resident capacity, opened in October 2024. 

“Aberdeen Ridge is designed to blend the architectural character seamlessly with the natural surroundings,” says Eric Harrmann, AIA, chief design officer, AG Architecture in Wauwatosa, Wis. “Respecting the vistas was key to the master plan and was critical for building consensus with project stakeholders, including community neighbors. The intent was to mimic the lines of the foothills and emulate the mountains with structure heights building up in a natural gradation to the summit.”

Within the community, a two-story commons provides residents views of the vistas from different elevations. To maintain connections to nature, the architectural team took advantage of views through large window expanses and provided open courtyards and landscaping with native paintings. “These considerations support the overall wellness focus of the community,” Harrmann says. Indoor-outdoor living spaces and a fitness center and pool support seniors’ active lifestyles.

A wood fireplace featuring sculptural stone and dramatic stairs anchors hospitality-inspired dining and amenity destinations on the ground floor. “The act of ascending to the second floor was influenced by the local trail networks and the enhanced views a resident can expect from an elevated location,” Harrmann says.

Among the campus amenities, Aberdeen Ridge contains a main kitchen on the second floor and five distinct dining venues. On the second floor, venues for independent living residents include Mesa, a restaurant with an exhibition kitchen, and Goldfields, a bar and lounge. Juniper supports residents in assisted living, while Prairie Kitchen gives residents in memory care dining options. All residents, along with their families and guests, can use the private dining space, Reserve. On the first floor, Zeb’s, a cafe bistro for independent living residents, offers a casual atmosphere and menu.

“The design team created distinct, authentic restaurant identities tied to local geography and history versus designing generic dining areas that are common in senior living facilities,” says Matt Schuler, director of culinary development, SCOPOS Hospitality Group, Ephrata, Penn. 

In doing so, no detail was too small to consider. “We met with PMMA and Matt to discuss the menu and every detail about production including where butter sits on a steak,” says Robert Huckels, general manager with Cura Hospitality, the dining services management company at Aberdeen Ridge. “Then we were able to select the equipment to support our production of the menu. Beginning the design process with decisions about the type of menu items to be served contributes substantially to the success of the project.” Huckels served as executive chef early in the process, until Carl Sette was hired for the position.

Photos by Richmond Design & Marketing Agency/FIVE19

About the Project

The dining room space at Mesa includes an exhibition kitchen with a retractable viewing window. Photo by Robert HuckelsOpened: Oct. 14, 2024

Scope of project: New build of a life plan community

Website: aberdeenridge.org

Facility: 320 residents when at full capacity: 256 independent living residents, 40 assisted living apartments and 24 memory care apartments

Size: 11,967 sq. ft. total foodservice; main kitchen: 2,153 sq. ft.

• Goldfields (bar and lounge): 1,438 sq. ft.; seats 30
• Mesa (restaurant and exhibition kitchen): 2,797 sq. ft; seats 68
• Reserve (private dining): 301 sq. ft.; seats 12
• Juniper (assisted living dining): 1,740 sq. ft.; seats 48
• Prairie Kitchen (memory care kitchen and pantry): 905 sq. ft.; seats 40
• Zeb’s (cafe bistro): 2,633 sq. ft.; seats 36

Hours: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.; brunch in Mesa, Sundays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; bar, until 8 p.m.; grab-and-go pickup or concierge delivery service from Zeb’s, 24 hours

Average check: Declining balance in independent and assisted living

Menu specialties:

• Goldfields: tapas, house-smoked barbecue pulled pork sliders and Kobe beef burger
• Mesa: roasted filet mignon, sauteed salmon and grilled or blackened fish sandwiches
• Juniper: garlic-and-rosemary roasted chicken and grilled cheese sandwich
• Prairie Kitchen: same menu as Juniper
• Zeb’s: Angus beef burgers, grilled chicken pesto sandwich and fresh hand-stretched pizza
• Kitchen staff: Executive chef and sous chef with Cura Hospitality; budgeted for 9 cooks and 5 utility personnel in the kitchen with PMMA

Equipment investment: $1.5 million

Kitchen Flow and Distribution

Food deliveries arrive on the first floor. Culinary team members use a dedicated service elevator to transport the deliveries to the second-floor main kitchen where they distribute menu ingredients to a walk-in cooler, a walk-in freezer and dry storage. The main production kitchen serves as a commissary for all dining venues.

The cooking suite contains a refrigerated rail, charbroiler, fryers and overhead cheesemelter. Photo by Robert Huckels“The designed workflow minimizes transport distances and maintains food quality,” Schuler says. “Overall, the equipment choices focused on flexibility for different cuisine styles.”

The cold prep area contains workspaces so each team member has access to a nearby refrigerator. “We also have a lot of worktable space and sinks and areas where we can put mise en place and one person is not stepping over anyone else,” says Lance Sanson, vice president, Cura Hospitality.

The culinary team purchases as many locally produced menu items as possible, including Colorado lamb, green chili peppers from Pueblo, cantaloupes from Rocky Ford, peaches from Palisade and other fruits, vegetables, beer and liquor. “We’re buying ingredients that can be used for many dishes,” Huckels says. “For example, we use arugula for pizzas and paninis. Because many items have multiple usages, we can rotate products more quickly.”

After preparation, culinary team members take ingredients to the hot cook area. This contains a tilt skillet for soups, stocks and reductions and a double-stacked combi oven for cooking everything from whole prime ribs, whole turkey and other proteins to casseroles. “The combis are the workhorses,” says Huckels. “Most ingredients are stored in the production kitchen, and most of the meat fabrication and pantry work is produced in the production kitchen and transferred to the cooking suite for dinner services.”

Dining Venues

Mesa, a destination dining restaurant for independent living residents, features an open window between the cooking suite and the dining room, which has a garage-style door that chefs open and close to enable residents to see the culinary action. Aberdeen Ridge also uses this space to host cooking classes and chef demonstrations as part of the facility’s educational programming. “Few senior living facilities have cooking suites,” Schuler says.

Guests dining at Mesa are able to view the culinary action.Culinary team members use the modular plancha to grill meats and vegetables and prepare stir-fries. They also use modular spreader plates, a spreader cabinet, bains-marie and two ranges with six open burners in the saute station to cook a la minute menu items such as sauteed vegetables and tender cuts of meats, as well as pasta dishes.

Culinary staff also use a charbroiler to cook grilled and blackened fish, a fryer for french fries and sweet potato fries, and a range-mounted double pass-through cheesemelter to finish or melt cheese on menu items. “I learned that unlike a conventional cooking line where you can slide back and forth between stations, at the suite, one person can work at two stations like grill and saute with all the support refrigeration and tools they need,” Schuler says. “So, we have to maximize productivity. It’s fun to produce a menu using the suite.”

Goldfields, a bar and lounge for independent living residents, takes its name from a gold mining town about 45 minutes from Colorado Springs. The menu features tapas and other menu items such as house-smoked barbecue pulled pork sliders, eggplant caponata, Kobe beef burgers, crabcake sandwiches and a charcuterie board. Food is brought in from the cooking suite. The bar offers wine, beer and liquors.

At Reserve, the private dining venue in independent living, up to 12 guests can order from diverse, ambitious menus ranging from a made-to-order waffle station to plated breakfasts and lunches.

The Summit Room also provides a venue for catered events, which is an area the culinary staff expects will continue to grow. “We offer exclusive menus for groups,” Huckels says. “For instance, we did a party for 150 people and offered 10 different types of passed hors d’oeuvres — with all of the food being cooked in the combis.”

In addition to events in the private dining room, Huckels notes that because the facility is situated at the base of Garden of the Gods, a National Natural Landmark, guests order food for hikes and picnics.

Juniper, an assisted living restaurant, contains its own cooking suite. “This is also an open kitchen,” says Huckels. Team members use the grill and saute burner to prepare eggs, omelets, pancakes, burgers and grilled chicken for sandwiches. It has its own fire-suppression system.

A refrigerated rail, plancha, charbroiler and overhead cheesemelter provide the culinary team with many options for menu variety. Photo by Robert HuckelsThe equipment package here includes several ventless pieces, including an induction downdraft unit and a combi oven that sits on the back counter. “The equipment here enables fresh cooking at the point of service for menu items such as eggs and made-to-order alternatives,” Schuler says. “The ventless equipment was selected to allow the staff to maintain food quality, which is often lowered when food must be transported over long distances. It also helped with managing budget constraints. There were escalating costs due to the mechanicals involved with vented equipment. That’s why we went ventless, to realize big cost savings.” 

Prairie Kitchen offers dining for memory care residents. The menu features breakfasts with eggs prepared on the range and lunches and dinners with burgers prepared on the range along with roasted chicken prepared in the main kitchen.

Zeb’s, the cafe bistro on the first floor in independent living, offers a casual atmosphere and menu. “This venue is strategically placed near the lobby to create a welcoming atmosphere and offer residents and guests a dining opportunity where they can see culinary activity all day,” Schuler says. The name gives nod to Zebulon Pike, whose expedition helped open the American West, increased trade and led to the discovery of many locations, including Colorado’s Pikes Peak.

Culinary staff at Zeb’s prepare flatbread pizzas in a hearth oven. “I didn’t realize how popular pizzas would be,” Huckels says. “Guests enjoy watching us place flatbreads into ovens and bringing them out fresh.”

Because the ovens require heat-up time, the culinary team roast sausages, vegetables and proteins in the oven before the oven is hot enough to cook pizzas. High-speed ovens at Zeb’s allow team members to heat sandwiches such as grilled chicken pesto and Reubens. They cook omelets, eggs any style and burgers on a griddle, as well as french fries and sweet potato fries in the fryer. Culinary team members also use the salamander to gratiné soups and cheeses on sandwiches, in addition to toasting breads and flash-heating plates holding menu items.

Both dine-in and takeout options are available at Zeb’s. Takeout orders are handled via phone, tablet or a kiosk.

Dishwashing

Flatbread pizza at Zeb’s is a popular item.Project designers strategically placed dishwashing in a central location to support Mesa, Juniper and Goldfields. A ventless undercounter unit was added to the bar area at Goldfields. A ventless door-type dishwasher supports cleanup in Prairie Kitchen. The dishwashing system in Zeb’s minimizes transport and dish breakage.

Two conveyor-style dishwashers reside in the main kitchen and Zeb’s. Cura Hospitality leases all dishwashing equipment. 

“The dish machines shut down when they aren’t in production, which saves energy,” Huckels says. “Hoods also shut down when they aren’t in use.”

With the menu variety and exposition kitchens, guest satisfaction in the food and service at Aberdeen Ridge is high. “This is truly a community with restaurant-style service,” Sanson says. The work satisfaction level is very high for the team members also.

“Food is so important to residents here,” Huckels says. “This is an amazing community and is taking senior living to new heights. I’ve been able to bring my skills in commercial and hotel restaurants into this community. It is a pleasure to be involved.” 

Key Players

Owner: Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Wichita, Kan.

Executive director: Jane Woloson

Dining services management company: Cura Hospitality, Canonsburg, Penn.: Lance Sanson, vice president; Robert Huckels, general manager; Carl Sette, executive chef

Architect: AG Architecture, Wauwatosa, Wis.: Eric Harrmann, AIA, CDO

Interior designer: RDG Planning and Design, Des Moines, Iowa: Richelle Mowry, NCIDQ, lead designer

Foodservice consultant: SCOPOS Hospitality Group, Ephrata, Penn.: Andrey Teleguz, principal; Allison Dommel, studio director; Joshua Shupp, senior project manager; Matt Schuler, director of culinary development; Mary Fusco, director of branding

Equipment dealer: United Restaurant Supply Inc., Colorado Springs, Colo.