Siloam Proud

Siloam Proud Wednesday, June 24, 2020 n 11C Siloam Springs Herald-Leader 960 S. Mt. Olive Siloam Springs, AR 479-524-5161 888-736-2020 We have been treating people in Siloam Springs since 1974. The doctors' experience coupled with the most up-to-date ocular equipment make Roberts-Philpott your Hometown Total Eye Care Center. Find us on Facebook. Greg Philpott, O.D. Leah Cate, O.D. Jordan M. Netzel, O.D. We e yr HOMETOWN Visi Cent!!! Established June 8, 1902 Not Only Siloam Springs' FIRST Funeral Home... One of Siloam Springs' OLDEST Businesses. backstrom-pyeatte.com 1401 E. Main Siloam Springs 479-524-3121 Call Today 918-422-5138 Fax 1-918-422-8882 Referral Fax 1-918-512-7365 Quality care since 1985 • Medicare-Certified Rehabilitation • 24-Hour Skilled Nursing Care • Memory Care Unit Skilled & Long-Term Care Facility Located Near West Siloam Springs Behind the Casino 564 Stateline Road Colcord, OK 74338 "One thing here at Tintos is our staff is a family," she said. "Just like we treat our community as a family, we treat our staff as a family." Allgood made the deci- sion to close the restau- rant for a few weeks and reopened it with limited capacity on June 3. Finding Siloam Springs Tintos & Tapas was an idea 20 years in the mak- ing, Allgood said. She al- ways dreamed of owning a restaurant, but never had the opportunity until her family moved to Siloam Springs about two years ago. Allgood grew up in San Francisco but she and her husband moved around the country following his military career, living in locations such as Seattle, Wa., Virginia Beach, Va., Maryland and New York, she said. During this time, Allgood was busy working as a nurse and raising her young children — Jaiden and Kloie. In 2012 Shawn Allgood retired from the U.S. Navy and the family first moved to Cabot, where they fell in love with Arkansas, before moving to Siloam Springs for a job opportunity for her husband and to be closer to friends. "I have always wanted to open a small cafe or a small eatery," she said. "My par - ents have had small cafes and eateries. … I have just always loved the restaurant business, I have always been attracted to it — food in general and coffee." She brought the idea to Kelsey Howard, then director of Main Street Si - loam Springs, and also got feedback and support from other businesses in Siloam Springs. "We were trying to be aware and make sure that what we brought wasn't in direct competition with someone else," she said. "We wanted to be fair, in a way, and we wanted to be something a little different so that Siloam has variety." Allgood's parents, Anuar and Genny Ramirez, own a coffee farm in Columbia along with her brother and sister, who live in California. Initially, All - good wanted to import her parents' coffee and sell it in her cafe, but negotiations with the co-op that her parents sell through didn't work out, she said. She still has photos of their farm hanging in Tintos & Tapas and a picture of her parents is featured on the coffee beans she sells. Running Tintos & Tapas is also a family affair. All - good's son, a 17-year-old soccer player at Siloam Springs High School, said he first learned to make empanadas when he was four or five and his grand- parents would come visit. Even though his mom holds him to high stan- dards, Jaiden said he enjoys being an employee in his family's business. He also likes to bring his friends to hang out and drink coffee at the cafe. "Because I have so much fun with (my mom), if I wanted to pursue a job in culinary arts, I could easily do that and I would love to do that," he said. Allgood's daughter, 14, also likes to bring her friends to the restaurant and sometimes helps out with tasks such as making empanadas. Community Community and col- laboration is built into Allgood's business plan for Tintos & Tapas, she said. The restaurant tries to col- laborate with as many local businesses as possible, and has worked with Pure Joy to create a Guava Sorbet, as well as with businesses such as Bad Dog Beanery, Ivory Bill Brewing, Cafe on Broadway and TC Screen Printing. Allgood has also part - nered with Confident Cof- fee Roasters in Johnson Ark., to create a perfect Colombian tinto, roasted specifically for Tintos & Tapas, which she also sells by the bag of coffee beans, she said. Supporting other lo - cal businesses is impor- tant because collaboration builds community, Allgood said. "It helps build a bond with our customers and with all the other local businesses and with that bond we get to build a support system for each other," she said. "I think that is so important and I have seen that." CUISINE Continued from Page 9C Photos by Janelle Jessen/Herald-Leader Jasmine Allgood, owner of Tintos & Tapas in downtown Siloam Springs, plates some empanadas. Riley fills an empanada with a mixture of chicken and herbs. Employee Claudia Riley rolls a ball of empa- nada dough. Tinto, or Columbian coffee, is a featured item and the namesake of the restaurant. Allgood shaves a piece of Colombian sugar cane to sweeten tinto, or Colombian coffee.

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