Longtime friends Valerie Brotelande and Scott Waller did extensive neighborhood research before opening Duets Bistro & Deli in Longmont. They went so far as to live in the surrounding area off Airport Road for many years, raising families and embedding themselves in the community before starting their own restaurant.
“He lives on that side of Airport,” Brotelande said, pointing in one direction, “and I live on that side of Airport,” pointing in the other. “Because we’ve lived so long here, we knew what we wanted to have that was missing. We don’t have sandwiches here on this side of town, so that’s why we’re doing the deli. Then the restaurant will have a little French twist as well, because I’m French.”
“We both knew that this area wanted cocktails,” Waller added. Brotelande chimed in, “And good, good wine.”
Located in the former Oskar Blues Cyclhops Bike Cantina space at Nelson and Airport roads, Duets opened its deli sandwich operation on Feb. 3, with their bistro menu rolling out on March 3.
The deli side features sandwiches in the $10–$15 range, including staples like roast beef, Reuben, ham and Swiss, and turkey dip; vegetarian options; and more French-leaning options, such as ham and butter, prosciutto and brie, and ham and raclette. Soup and salads round out the deli menu.
The bistro menu pairs American pub classics like burgers and wings with more European-themed offerings like croque monsieur, gnocchi and ratatouille. Aside from a $36 beef filet, almost everything is below $25, with most dishes under $20. They also offer a weekday happy hour and a full bar with craft cocktails.
Waller said they wanted to keep the menu affordable, balancing quality with value and making sure they didn’t price out their neighborhood customers.
Valerie Brotelande and Scott Waller, owners of Duets Bistro & Deli in Longmont. Credit: Gabe Toth
“I love eating in Boulder. I love Pearl Street. And so I want to take some of that food and some of that quality and bring it up here to Longmont – but not as much the prices,” he said. “So keep it affordable. It’s important to us to have families still coming in here.”
Waller and Brotelande first met years ago when their kids played on the same soccer team. They hit it off but also had separate lives to pursue at the time. Post-Covid, Waller had left his banking job and returned to the service industry, rejoining Oskar Blues — where he worked in the early 2000s — at Cyclhops. That’s where he ran into Brotelande, who had her own massage therapy business at the time.
“One day I asked him if he was willing to open his own restaurant,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to open a restaurant or a bar since I was 20 years old. So that was the occasion — when I saw him working here, I was like, ‘That’s it. It’s gonna happen.’ And it did.”
He added, “That’s why I was there — to see how much it changed. After Covid, I decided to see what the restaurant [business] was like, and then met her and decided that she gives me the confidence to go forward with this and be partners.”
Duets Bistro & Deli in Longmont. Credit: Gabe Toth
Their partnership is a give-and-take between the two — and part of the inspiration for the name Duets, along with the pairing of the bistro and deli concepts. They said they have different strengths and perspectives on food, and have been able to blend their ideas well.
“We don’t step on each other’s toes,” Waller said. “We have our own lanes, but we come together all the time. It’s been an awesome partnership. It’s just knowing that we have each other’s back and bouncing ideas off each other.”
Brotelande said she wanted to offer traditional French food, while Waller felt they should also include burgers and other American fare. (For the burger, they settled on a pub burger with cheddar and a Duets burger with caramelized onions, mushrooms and brie.)
“I don’t ever want her to sacrifice that French cooking, that quality. So we have some different things that really separate us from just being a regular restaurant,” Waller said. “She gives the identity to this place. She gives that twist to this place that sets us apart — the French twist with the American food.”
They said the response has been overwhelmingly positive. There are still tweaks and improvements to make as they develop cash flow, but the foundation is in place. Happy hour and weekends have been strong and business has been steadily increasing. They said the restaurant has also attracted Niwot customers who don’t feel like wading into Boulder. The patio will be opening soon as the weather warms up.
Duets Bistro & Deli in Longmont. Credit: Gabe Toth
They’d like to start offering Sunday brunch in the next few months. The spacious entry area, in time, will also be home to a cooler of grab-and-go foods such as sandwiches and chicken salad, as well as staples like milk and shelves of dried goods. That might include spreads; olives, pickles and giardiniera; and anchovies and other cured items, though the concept is continuing to evolve.
“A year from now,” Waller said, “this is probably the part that’ll look more different than anything else.”
Duets is located at 600 S. Airport Rd. and is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
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