When did the big Second Empire house at 12 Riverside Avenue first share its grounds with a restaurant? According to the house's 1984 National Register nomination, it was the 1960s or 1970s, and the Carriage House Restaurant reopened there in 1981. The nomination says an earlier restaurant in the carriage house had closed after a short run during the years the Roy Wilson family owned the property.
Antithesis is the house's newest dining room, and it is still settling into a schedule. The plan announced in August doesn't match the one posted today. If you live in Cañon City and haven't been yet, the easiest first visit is the service that opened most recently: weekend brunch.
The schedule changed between the announcement and the door
On August 4, Travel Dreams Magazine ran the launch announcement. It promised a public opening on August 12, lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. daily, and guests 13 and older. A week earlier, the Cañon City Daily Record had reported a private soft opening, with the public opening that Wednesday and service Wednesday through Sunday.
The restaurant's own website currently lists:
- Dinner and bar: Wednesday through Sunday, 5 to 10 p.m.
- Brunch and bar: Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Children: ages 6 and up are welcome at dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. and throughout weekend brunch.
- Chef's Table: listed as "Coming Soon."
So the age minimum dropped from 13 to 6, and the planned daily lunch hasn't arrived. In its September 30 listing, the City of Cañon City's visitor site still marks lunch service "Coming Soon" and gives brunch hours as 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., half an hour later than the restaurant's own posted close. On September 23, The Gazette's Table Talk column described the weekend service as "brunch and lunch" running 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Read together, the sources say daytime food is a weekend thing for now, and a weekday lunch would be news when it arrives.
Before a Saturday visit, confirm the late end of brunch by phone at 719-778-3231.
Brunch is where the menu relaxes
The weekend menu is short. The Gazette listed seasonal oysters for the table, a Caesar, French onion soup, an egg white frittata, classic eggs Benedict, cornflake-crusted French toast, sandwiches and desserts. On the restaurant's posted menu, the Baby Gem Caesar is $15, French onion soup $16, the frittata and French toast $24 each, eggs Benedict $28 and K.F.C. $22.
The dish that got the column's headline is the Royale with Cheese, at $34. It's a double smashed burger with Cooper sharp cheddar, house-made pickles and fries, and it comes with a milkshake. Executive chef Johnny Church explained where the name came from:
"When Mark interviewed me for the job, he wanted to have an outstanding burger on the menu. I immediately thought of the burger scene from 'Pulp Fiction.'"
The columnist reported that every table in their dining room, one of three spaces in the restaurant, had at least one milkshake, served in a drugstore-style glass with a boba straw. Church also told the paper he planned a pie of the day on top of the listed desserts. On the columnist's visit it was peach with caramel sauce.
At posted prices, a Caesar and the Royale come to $49, which includes a shake. That's how you see the mansion's rooms on a Saturday morning, with children 6 and up welcome the whole service, without booking a $78 entrée.
Dinner is the full version, and the prices move
At night the room serves the menu the Greksas built the restaurant around. The website lists starters from $9 house-made rosemary and sea salt focaccia to $36 pan-seared sea scallops. In between are $28 seasonal oysters, $21 Peruvian shrimp ceviche, a $34 Wagyu beef and octopus carpaccio, and a $22 dish called "Bacon Wrapped Bacon." The city's visitor listing describes that one as slow-cooked pork belly, bacon, a sunny-side quail egg, tomato jam and avocado.
Mains on the website menu:
- 12-hour braised wild boar pappardelle, $39
- Roasted butternut squash ravioli, $28
- Organic half chicken, $34
- Ora King salmon, $42
- Colorado lamb rack, $62
- Creekstone Farms New York strip, $68
- Classic Beef Wellington 1889, $78
The city's listing describes the Wellington as a nod to the mansion's own history. It also says the sautéed mushrooms come from Mycocosm in Colorado Springs and the Affogato is made with local St Bernard Whiskey. Signature cocktails such as Fire & Silk and Smoke & Orchard are $18, the Old Fashioned, White Negroni and Martini are $16, the Affogato is $18, and two zero-proof drinks are $9. The wine list runs from a Rioja Reserva up to Napa bottles like Opus One and Shafer Hillside Select, and the city's listing notes that many sell out.
The website prices may already be behind. OpenTable's version of the menu, marked updated October 3, lists the New York strip at $71, the Wellington at $81 and the salmon at $52. The restaurant's own menu page was last changed September 23. If you're planning a dinner budget, go by the booking page. OpenTable also lists the dress code as smart casual, which the restaurant's own pages don't mention.
The kitchen behind both menus belongs to Church. The August announcement lists executive roles at Las Vegas and Los Angeles restaurants including XIV, Aureole and Eiffel Tower Restaurant, a Food Network "Chopped" title, and a spot on Vegas Magazine's list of the city's top five private chefs.
A house that keeps getting a new job
The schedule changes make more sense against the building's history. The National Register nomination describes a three-story house with a mansard roof and classical ornamentation, built for Lyman and Mary Robison and their son. It dates the house to 1884 and the front portico to 1890. In a 2019 Pueblo Chieftain story, Lyman Robison is a Scottish immigrant who made his money in mining, and the house went up between 1882 and 1884. The nomination itself cites older accounts that put construction in 1885 or 1886, so "the 1880s" is the safest way to date it.
The house's uses since then, in order:
- A long stretch standing vacant, until the Roy Wilsons bought it in 1961. They first planned to tear down the house and carriage house, then restored the house and lived in it instead.
- A house museum, open to the public from 1965 to 1979, with a carriage house restaurant that closed after a short time.
- A home again for Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Ireland from 1979, with the Carriage House Restaurant reopening in 1981. The house was added to the National Register on October 11, 1984.
- An event venue that hosted weddings, holiday parties and celebrations under the owner before the current one. Then Alpine Depot LLC, owned by Mark Greksa, bought it on December 12, 2018. The Chieftain reported it would be called the Royal Gorge Mansion, with a bed-and-breakfast planned.
- Antithesis, opened in summer 2026 by Mark and Dawn Greksa, who also run the Royal Gorge Route Railroad. The Daily Record credits Dawn with much of the renovation and all of the decor choices.
The overnight idea from 2018 hasn't gone away. Mark Greksa told the Daily Record that lodging could be added in the future. He also said a dinner at the mansion means "another night to spend in Cañon City. That helps everyone." The restaurant's Events page already books weddings, rehearsal dinners, corporate gatherings and holiday parties. Its posting on that page is just the newest form of the venue role the house had before 2018.
Booking a first visit this fall
The Daily Record reported that seating starts at 40, with room to expand, so tables are limited. Reservations go through OpenTable from the restaurant's site, and the team takes calls and texts at 719-778-3231 or email at [email protected]. Families with children should book dinner between 5 and 7 p.m. Anyone planning a December gathering should know the restaurant takes holiday party inquiries through its contact page.
For a Saturday visit, the most reliable plan is a reservation shortly after the 9 a.m. brunch opening, a Caesar, and the Royale with Cheese with its milkshake.
At Gold District Realty, we've followed the Robison Mansion through near-demolition, a museum, a carriage house restaurant and now Antithesis. Owning an 1880s house in Cañon City usually means figuring out what an old building can become. If you own one and want to know what it's worth today, start with Ruthie's Instant Property Valuation and we'll talk through the history that comes with it.
