Denver’s SAME Café Embraces Pride All Year Long

While June may be the official Pride Month each year, isn’t Pride something that should be celebrated every day? Sure, June is long gone, but it got me thinking about the meaning of Pride. As with anything so personal to each of us, we all express Pride in ways that are as unique as we are. I recently had the pleasure of talking with two remarkable women who are proud members of the LGBTQ community as well as chefs at the SAME Café (So All May Eat) on Colfax. It is at SAME where delicious food and friends are plentiful, no matter your walk of life, and the atmosphere is alive with positive energy and amazing aromas wafting from the kitchen.

Carrie Shores is the executive chef at the SAME Café. Shores says that Pride to her “means a lot of different things.”

“A few ways I am most connected is through inclusivity, expression of self, and determination,” Shores says. “One way I express inclusivity is through food. Food doesn’t judge. Cooking is my outlet and how I can connect with people. When you are at a table surrounded by people, and there is food involved, people generally feel a sense of belonging. Food makes people happy!”

Shores says that she didn’t have a real connection to true expression and what it meant to her until she was in her early 30s.

“Unfortunately, that meant for most of my early adult life, up to that point, I expressed myself in ways that were more harmful than helpful,” Shores reflects. “It has been a long journey, but I am grateful for the place I am in my life right now.”

She adds, “I am determined to try and keep a positive outlook during the current shit storm that our world is in, to continue the fight for all who feel they don’t belong in a world that puts up barriers for us to be who we truly are. We must create a world that is less focused on taking our rights away and create one that is inclusive for all, including the LGBTQIA community.”

Before Shores came out at age 32, she was married to the father of her two children. Once she realized something was missing, she finally took the time to find herself and says that she felt “whole” for the first time in her life. She says that she never quite felt like she was being true to herself until she accepted who she really was. She’s since found a sense of inner peace and happiness.

“My wife and I love to cook, be outdoors in nature with our dogs, be in the garden tending to flowers, veggies, and herbs, practice yoga, and hang out with our kids whenever possible! We are plant-based, so any meal centered around fresh veggies is our cup of tea! I like to play around with gluten-free sourdough and bagels as well.”

Shore’s passion for food and cooking is written across her face when she talks about it. She has come from the world of haute cuisine to the SAME Café and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Kim Brazile, who has been cooking for 22 years, is the lead kitchen coordinator and culinary instructor at the SAME Café. When talking with her, she just lights up and cant help but smile when she talks about cooking.

“I love what I do,” Brazile says. “My favorite part of my job is watching people enjoy what I prepared for them. Food brings people together. Certain flavors can transport you back in time.”

Brazile started a program at the SAME Café called the 5 Star program.

“My idea for this came from always wanting to work with youth,” Brazile says. “I had a hard life growing up. My mom wasn’t the nicest to me. I was an alcoholic before I even graduated high school, but now I have almost three years of sobriety! I feel that what helped bring me back to life were the teachers and adults who showed me kindness growing up. I’ll never forgot about them.”

The 5 Star Program is Brazile’s way of passing that kindness on to the next generation and showing them that, no matter what happens, they too can also make it through the rough times in life.

Brazile teaches bi-weekly cooking classing at the SAME Café with local youngsters interested in gaining some culinary skills.

“Once a month, we are doing a nice five-course meal made by the kids!”

Brazile came out when she was 29 years old and says that she feels that a lot of people in the LGBTQ community have similar experiences.

“We try to live our lives the way society tells us to,” she says. “I have known for a long time that I was interested in females, but I didn’t pursue anything with another woman until my relationship with my son’s father ended when my son was six months old. We tried to make our relationship work, but it just didn’t. That’s when a lightbulb went off in my head, and it just clicked for me that this is my life, and only I truly know what is in my heart.”

Brazile had her first date with a woman a few weeks later, as well as her first kiss, and she just knew that she was home.

“I knew that part of me that had been missing was complete for the first time,” she recalls. “I am so lucky. My family was supportive, and the ones who weren’t aren’t in my life anymore, so their opinions mean nothing to me. All of my friends already knew that I was gay, so there was no surprise there. I just wish that they would have told me!”

She continues, “As a person of color, I knew the Civil Rights Movement inspired the Gay Rights Movement that we are still fighting to this day. We will be fighting for our rights for a long time to come. I hope to one day live in a world that doesn’t see color, sexuality, or other uniquenesses as a negative but rather embraces our differences as a wonderful and welcome positive thing.

“For me, I feel like I’m always Black first. I get misgendered all the time. I have at times been walking down the street and see someone hold their purse tighter as they pass me. I have been dismissed and overlooked more times than I can put into words. I have been unjustly profiled by the police. Gay rights, civil rights, and all human rights go hand in hand. We should all be fighting this fight together.”

Say hello to the staff at SAME Café; grab a tasty bite, and relish in the joy of Pride, regardless of the time of year! SAME Café is located at 2023 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver. They are closed Saturday and Sunday and open Monday through Friday for lunch, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Photos courtesy of SAME Café