Sunday Salmon is feeding the community one meal at a time
By: Jay McKinney
WITH THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE of everyday life, home-cooked family dinners often feel more like special occasions than a normal part of the day. For Mary Grothe, the founder of Castle Rock’s non-profit restaurant Sunday Salmon, Sunday was the day she could forget the worries of her corporate job and focus on preparing a healthy salmon dinner for her family.
As a self-proclaimed “hostess with the mostest,” Grothe has always found joy cooking large dinners and sharing the table with her loved ones. Towards the end of 2023, she had a vision to scale her passion for cooking and offer an incredible salmon dinner to those in need. She began researching and discovered that more than 3,000 people in her own community of Castle Rock lived below the poverty line.
“When I dug into it, I realized these are schoolteachers, single parents, retail workers, restaurant workers, and people that this town needs,” Grothe says. “I started to say, ‘You know what, I think the need is big enough in our own backyard.’”
Despite having no experience running a restaurant, Grothe found a brick-and-mortar location in Castle Rock and opened Sunday Salmon in January 2025. Initially, the meals lived up to the name, serving a salmon dinner every Sunday evening. However, after Grothe discovered how important her initiative was, the restaurant began opening on occasional Thursdays and Tuesdays as well. In the first year alone, Sunday Salmon served just under 20,000 meals, and there is no sign of the restaurant slowing down in 2026.
For Sunday dinners, the restaurant offers two seatings: one at 4:45 p.m. and another at 6 p.m. All the food is organic, gluten-free, seed oil–free, and very accommodating for those with food allergies. In addition to salmon, there’s chicken or steak accompanied by cilantro lime rice, roasted vegetables, and a gluten-free dessert. Reservations are highly encouraged, though walk-ins are available each evening.
While the restaurant is regularly packed, Sunday Salmon has also acquired a mobile food trailer that has allowed it to support other places in the community, including age 55+ apartment complexes such as The Meadowmark and Auburn Ridge. And it also provides meals to Unity on Park, a facility that houses people with intellectual developmental disabilities as well as low-income adults.
Last August, the restaurant also entered a partnership with Castlewood Classical Academy, delivering meals to the students and staff on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
“More than just convenience, this partnership has enhanced the overall experience on campus,” says the school’s executive director, Cassie Cini. “It supports a healthy, intentional environment where both students and families feel cared for, and we are incredibly grateful for the thought and care that goes into every meal.”
Recently, the restaurant launched an initiative called Wednesday Wheels to help those facing critical food insecurity get through the middle of the week. With the mobile food trailer, the restaurant offers delivery, as many of these people also deal with transportation issues, according to Grothe.
For 2026, Grothe is predicting Sunday Salmon will serve upwards of 30,000 meals through the restaurant and the partnerships it has secured. After being open for one year, the volunteer-run restaurant is eligible for grants. However, donations are appreciated, as they enhance the community’s well-being, one meal at a time.
SUNDAY SALMON
207 Wolfensberger Rd., Suite C.
Castle Rock
720.409.1950
sundaysalmon.com
