Our Story
A new restaurant is taking shape in downtown Colorado Springs, offering New American Café Cuisine rooted in the belief that great food, served with genuine care, should leave you feeling restored.
Who We Are
Café Madro is a small team with big intentions. Our coffee cart is the first chapter — a way to introduce ourselves to the building and the neighborhood before we open our doors as a full restaurant in early fall.
We believe the best hospitality is the kind you feel before you even order. We're working on it every day.
Come say hello.
Our Team
United by a shared history at Garden of the Gods Gourmet and at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
Larissa Vendola
Executive Chef
Larissa is a classically trained chef with a degree from Colorado State University and formal culinary training at the prestigious Cook Street School in Denver. She specializes in European cuisine with particular depth in French and Italian technique — the kind of foundation that shows in every detail on the plate. Locally recognized and award-winning, Executive Chef Larissa brings both discipline and warmth to the Café Madro kitchen.
Amy Fairbanks
Assistant Executive Chef
Amy grew up on the Big Island of Hawaii, where food is culture and cooking is a way of life. She launched her culinary career at Merriman's Restaurant — one of Hawaii's most celebrated farm-to-table institutions — before bringing that spirit of fresh, local, inspired cooking to Colorado Springs. Award-winning and community-recognized, Amy's food reflects where she's been and where she's planted roots.
Lynn Schlemeyer
Owner & General Manager
Lynn brings an extensive background in marketing, business development, and leadership across high-tech industries and major universities to Café Madro. Her prior venture, Garden of the Gods Gourmet, became a beloved Colorado Springs institution — and Café Madro carries that legacy forward with the same commitment to quality, community, and genuine hospitality.