Slop till you drop: Pueblo's Top 10 slopper stops named by local foodies

Tracy Harmon, The Pueblo Chieftain
3 min read
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A famous menu item at Gray's Coors Tavern is the slopper. It is believed to have originated at the tavern.
A famous menu item at Gray's Coors Tavern is the slopper. It is believed to have originated at the tavern.

The Pueblo public has voted for their 10 favorite slopper-serving venues in Pueblo County and the birthplace of the chile-slathered cheeseburger, Gray’s Coors Tavern, is heating up the top spot just in time for its 89th birthday.

Thousands of votes were calculated and a list of the 10 fan-favorite Pueblo slopper-serving venues have been named by the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce. Now Pueblo residents and visitors alike can give different versions of the slopper a try on the self-guided tour.

The top 10, in order of votes received are: Gray’s Coors Tavern, Sunset Inn, Heart & Soul at Star Bar, Riverside Bar & Grill, Cactus Flower, Lunch Box food truck, Gold Dust, Café Murillo food truck, Milberger Farms and Three Sister’s Tavern.

Coors Tavern, 515 W. Fourth St., opened in 1934 in the same location it occupies today. Local legend has it the tavern starting serving the slopper in 1950 or 1951 — at least the red chili con carne version. 

Current owner Dean Gray and his siblings have taken over the restaurant, but their parents, Gary and Carolyn Gray, teamed up with cousins Don and Mary Gray in 1983 to buy the business. That was when the Pueblo green chile version of the slopper was born.

Although versions vary, the slopper is basically a cheeseburger on an open-faced bun, topped with red or green chile. Some feature smothered french fries, others have freshly chopped onions.

One really has to have a knife, fork and spoon to eat the meal to the bottom of the bowl.

The Grays estimate they use 20 pounds of Pueblo chiles each week. That equates to about 1,040 pounds of locally grown green chiles in a year.

Those chiles are used to make about 12 gallons of green chili daily, or nearly 4,400 gallons of green chile in a year.

“That would probably be a good guestimate, give or take. It’s a lot of green chile,” Gray said with a chuckle.

More slopper news:Gray's Coors Tavern, birthplace of Pueblo's signature green chile slopper, turns 87

Dean Gray, who along with his siblings runs Gray's Coors Tavern, said he is "very happy" the eatery took first place on the Pueblo Chamber's slopper tour featuring the top 10 eateries that offer the iconic dish.
Dean Gray, who along with his siblings runs Gray's Coors Tavern, said he is "very happy" the eatery took first place on the Pueblo Chamber's slopper tour featuring the top 10 eateries that offer the iconic dish.

“We’ve been at it a long time and plan to keep on doing the normal sloppers we always do,” Gray said.

He said the family and staff are humbled by the first-place honor, adding they are “just happy to be able to serve the community.”

“That is awesome and we are very happy we got first place. We are proud of that being the home of the slopper,” Gray said.

All 10 winners will be featured in the 2023 Slopper Stop Tour Map, which will be available through the official Pueblo Visitor Guide, the Visit Pueblo website and all Pueblo Chamber social media platforms.

The self-guided foodie tour inspires locals and visitors alike to try Pueblo’s iconic dish as their chile-tolerance level will allow.

The tour “will give people ideas of where to go and try sloppers that maybe they never tried. You can expand your slopper horizon,” said Donielle Kitzman, chamber vice president.

More slopper news:'Expand your slopper horizon': Slopper Tour to showcase Pueblo's iconic chile-smothered dish

Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo's Top 10 slopper stops named to 2023 Slopper Tour

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