Gonzalezes host ribbon cutting for Neri’s Courtyard Bar and Grill
By Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
Saturday evening, Aug. 9, a small crowd of employees, family, friends, customers and other community members joined Neri and Jonathan Gonzalez on the patio of Neri’s Courtyard Bar and Grill in downtown Breckenridge for a Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting ceremony.
Neri and Jonathan Gonzalez celebrated the grand opening of Neri’s Courtyard Bar and Grill in downtown Breckenridge on Saturday, Aug. 9. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
“We want to just say thank you to the Chamber of Commerce especially, and the Breckenridge EDC for putting together this kind of a vision and a project and trusting us with that vision and project,” Jonathan Gonzalez said. “Thank you to them and to the community.”
He explained that they had been working on the restaurant for about a year and opened to the public about three months ago. They’ve been working on fine-tuning everything since May.
“We kept on wanting to change this and do that. And I love what Neri had said. She said, ‘I think the missing piece was just to open the doors and have you guys come in here.’ And I think that was a missing piece, and it’s just been great,” Jonathan said.
The menu includes a variety of items, from tacos and roasted street corn ribs to burgers and wings to chicken fried steak and teriyaki-glazed salmon.
According to her Chef Neri Gonzalez Facebook page, Neri was born in Mexico City and spent much of her youth in Poza Rica, Veracruz. When she was 17, she moved to the United States and attended Graham High School, where she met Jonathan. After they got married in 2007, Neri and Jonathan lived in Rochester Hills, Michigan, for a while before moving back to Graham and opening Neri’s on the Square in 2010. In 2020, Neri graduated with honors from the Culinary School of Fort Worth. She has continued to expand her skills with training such as pastry classes in New York.
Neri’s Courtyard Bar and Grill is located at 223 W. Walker St., in the old Bealls building. They renovated the building, adding a large bar in the middle, as well as dining seating on the first and second floors. One wall was left with exposed rock, and the original decorative ceiling was uncovered and left in place.
Outside, the restaurant includes the former vacant lot to the east of the building. It’s been converted into a courtyard, complete with a fountain and a stage for entertainment. Saturday evening, Alejandro Martinez of Graham performed inside, and later Breckenridge’s Yesterdaze Wine performed in the courtyard.
In addition to the newly opened restaurant in Breckenridge, the Gonzalezes also own Neri’s on the Square in Graham and Neri’s Firehouse Restaurant & Take Out in Jacksboro.
Neri’s Courtyard Bar and Grill is located in the old Bealls building in downtown Breckenridge. Over the past year, Neri and Jonathan Gonzalez have renovated the space, installing a large bar in the center of the building, including second-floor seating and leaving an exposed rock wall. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Cutline, top photo: Jonathan and Neri Gonzalez are surrounded by family, friends and co-workers as they prepare to the cut the ribbon in a Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 9. The ribbon cutting ceremony was held in the courtyard of the new restaurant, in front of the live-performance stage. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
