Though Bowls by KO in Denver serves dishes featuring whole grains, proteins, and veggies, that’s now how chef Katelin Overton started her food career. In fact, the first thing she learned to make was pasta at the tender age of 8-years-old. Ironically, her family was in the food business and ran a slew of ice cream shops in Connecticut, but no one wanted or had the skills to make savory food. So, Overton took over the kitchen at home.
Eventually she leaned into cooking shows and cookbooks. She learned to make other, more detailed foods, but it was with the creation of sauces that she fell in love with being a chef. Even today that joy of sauce can be found, showcased in her own masterpieces at Bowls by KO, now opening in the Sloan Lake neighborhood in Denver. It’s a project years in the making, and will be the chef’s first stand-alone business.
“It’s really exciting, our menu hasn’t changed and we’re doing the same stuff, but in the way it was always intended,” said Overton, who started the concept in 2019 out of her house. “It’s a dream come true.”
The first iteration of Bowls by KO, outside of Overton’s home kitchen, took the form of a food truck and catering business. Then in 2022 she moved into the food hall and restaurant incubator Avanti Food & Beverage in Denver. Now, three years later, she is ready for the next and permanent step.
Only, it wasn’t that easy. Even after Overton found the space she didn’t get the restaurant opened right away. It took a year and $300,000 to open the new Bowls by KO, a project that included turning bright pink and blue highlights into a more pleasing palette, and installing a hood for the kitchen.
But now, the comfortable space is bright with shades of green accenting the modern-meets-industrial space. There’s a large outdoor seating area perfect for the season, and chic indoor options as well. The concept leans toward fast casual, with a counter for building bowls that customers can take on the go or to stay, picking up as they pay.
Save for setting change, fans of Overton’s concept won’t have any jarring surprises, all the bowls from the original menu remain. Guests have the option to build their own bowl too, and add in the market sides, a fresh aspect of the menu that changes seasonally.
Of course the pre-themed bowls remain fan favorite for a reason. For example, the Buffalo Chicken Bowl with white rice, pulled buffalo chicken, garlic kale salad, roasted sweet potatoes, dairy-free ranch, and pickled onions. Another hot item comes in the form of the Deconstructed Shrimp Spring Roll Bowl, which comes with brown rice, jumbo shrimp, shredded carrots, cucumbers, avocado, Thai basil, scallions, sesame seeds, and cashew butter sauce.
New to the line up will be a grab-and-go case featuring fresh meals, sauces, and soon, said the chef, baked goods. She also has a liquor license, so expect beer and wine, as well as a coffee program, to add on to the experience.
Everything made at Bowls by KO are gluten and soy free, a direct response to Overton’s own allergies and dietary journey. Ingredients and using whole foods in general remain a crux of her program. Having struggled through an eating disorder, gut health issues, and PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), she’s dedicated to providing nutrient-dense meals that feed your body in as many ways as possible.
The idea of “healthy” food, added the chef, doesn’t come into play. It’s not low-fat, low-calorie, or low-sugar, it’s just real food without the artificial ingredients and additives.
“I don’t like the word healthy, because healthy to me equals diet, and that is not even a little bit what we’re about,” said Overton. “I started to eat this way and cook this way to teach myself, and I built this menu to make food that I wanted to eat that actually filled me up with ingredients that were good for me.”
Overall, said the chef, she wants you to eat what you like and what you’re craving. There’s no fried food, added sugar, or excess of fatty ingredients, just whole foods to fuel and fill. And hopefully to crave again. Taste the bowls for yourself starting this Friday, September 12. Come and help make the chef’s long term dream a reality and indulge in a tasty bowl of fresh food at the same time.
Follow Bowls by KO on Instagram for updates. 1611 N. Raleigh St., Denver, bowlsbyko.com
