Downtown Cortez restaurant Loungin’ Lizard soon will be twice as big and will offer an expanded menu, owners Amanda and Brian Puett said Tuesday.
They plan to offer breakfast items in the next few weeks, and to be open seven days a week in the coming months, Amanda Puett said.
“People can expect the same quality and uniqueness from us,” she said.
The restaurant also is expanding into the space next door to the existing dining room, which previously housed the San Juan Coffee Shop. Amanda Puett said the new space will include a different menu with steaks and tapas. They hope to open the expansion in June.
San Juan Coffee vacated the space on Feb. 1 after being located there for about two years. Loungin’ Lizard opened in November 2014.
The new breakfast menu will include some non-traditional items, such as breakfast pizza and chilaquiles.
“We do everything a little different,” Brian Puett said.
Breakfast hours will be from 7-11 a.m., and lunch and dinner will follow with the restaurant open until 9 p.m. each day. Brian Puett anticipates they will begin doing a happy hour in the new space, which also will have patio seating.
When the new portion of the restaurant is opened this summer, the goal will be to provide faster service, especially for people working downtown who have a limited amount of time for lunch.
Brian Puett plans to offer pizza and stromboli by the slice during lunch in the new space.
“We want to keep the locals happy, and we want to be able to help people looking for something quicker downtown,” Amanda Puett said.
The couple jumped on the opportunity when they heard the coffee shop would be leaving. Downtown space is coveted, so they had to act quickly.
“We knew it wouldn’t stay vacant for long,” Amanda Puett said.
jacobk@the-journal.com
