COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL JULY 5, 2017
Couple brings fusion to lunch in CG
3A
Effort to help local
"Pay it Forward"
set for August
Group plans to raise money for
an offsite location
A
PHOTO BY CAITLYN MAY/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Carli Elu and Lucas Monroe bring fusion to their passion for food and their new food cart located at the Brewstation Wednesday through Saturday.
Some people out-
side
of the Elu Fu-
cmay@cgsentinel.com
sion food cart don’t
want others in town
to know it exists. The line is already too
long, they say.
It’s a good sign for the new business
that’s parked itself outside of Coast Fork
Feed’s Brewstation and its owners Carli Elu
and Lucas Monroe.
The couple has been together just under a
decade and in Cottage Grove for a smidge
longer, both working in the restaurant in-
dustry for 15-plus years. When the oppor-
tunity came along for them to strike out on
their own, they jumped at the chance.
“It’s always been kind of a dream to open
a bistro,” Elu said in between the lunch
rush. “This was just the most cost effective
way to do it.”
She gestures to the couple’s food cart—a
black tone that attracts the customers and
the heat of the day, scrawled with white cal-
ligraphy and a chalk-written menu detailing
Elu Fusion’s eclectic range of dishes.
It’s a 6 a.m. wake-up call for Elu and
Monroe that allows them to serve pulled
By Caitlyn May
pork, tri-rib and other smoked meats. The
process, Elu says, takes a long time but the
result is certainly worth it. It also means
the couple can deliver on dishes such as the
loaded Greek—a gyro with a twist—prime
rib sandwiches and more. They also offer
gluten and wheat free options as well as
menu items for diners who prefer to adhere
to the vegan diet. Member of the military?
Elu Fusion also offers 10 percent off to ser-
vicemen and women.
“We’re just really passionate about food,”
Elu said, escaping back into the shade of the
truck while Monroe stepped out. On the hot
days, they take turns cooking and standing
over the hot grill.
“In the winter, I may be at the grill a little
more,” Elu joked.
"When it's really hot, I make her do it,"
Monroe shot back.
The menu may change slightly here and
there as the seasons go on as well since the
couple prefers to serve locally sourced food.
Their breads are from a local baker. Their
produce is local as well—as much as they
can manage.
The couple live in Cottage Grove and
rather than take their talents and ideas to
larger cities, they opted to stay in the Grove
and serve their neighbors.
Cottage Grove Planning Commissioner
Darby Valley has stopped by nearly every
day since the cart has opened, Elu said.
His review? Food so great he wants to
keep Elu Fusion to himself and avoid pub-
licity that may see other Cottage Grovers
lining up at lunch time to sample the op-
tions.
For now, Elu and Monroe are content with
their food cart and its location. They say
they're friends and business partners with
the owners of the Brewstation and they've
been granted the spot just outside its doors
to lure customers to their food and their cart.
And they plan to stay there for awhile,
serving a mix of foods ranging from Greek
to Hawaiian to American as grilled cheese-
on a pita of course.
“As a family of three it was time to try
something new,” Monroe said. “We wanted
to make a move and stay local.”
Elu Fusion is open Wednesday and Thurs-
day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and
Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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aron and Raelene Ames were
at the Relay for Life event
By Caitlyn May
in Bohemia Park on June 16
cmay@cgsentinel.com
watching the survivor’s lap. Streams of
walkers were dotted by wheelchairs be-
ing pushed by volunteers and occupied
by those who had fought against the disease and those still fi ghting.
Aaron told his wife those wheelchairs had been donated by Pay
it Forward, a local non-profi t dedicated to supplying residents of
Cottage Grove with free, used items they need.
Raelene went home and started thinking.
“By the time I got home she said, ‘You know, someone should
do a fundraiser for Pay it Forward.’ And that’s where it started,”
said Ames, who currently works as a marketing associate for The
Sentinel.
By the end of that weekend, the couple had put their heads to-
gether and started making phone calls to gauge interest in holding
a fundraiser for Pay it Forward. The group, headed by Mindy Beer
and her daughter Jennifer Neil, currently works out of the pair’s
home collecting items to distribute to the community. Each week,
it serves approximately 500 Grovers but the piles are becoming
unmanageable in the space the group is currently housed in.
Beer previously told The Sentinel that, because the group is based
on Facebook with more than 6,000 members, requests for items has
led to additional buildings being dedicated to storing Pay it For-
ward items. In June, Beer noted, “We may have to close down, we
don’t want to but we need a bigger space to operate out of.”
Enter Aaron and Raelene.
“We’re calling it Pay it Back,” Ames said. It may have been Rae-
lene’s idea but Aaron said he came up with the name on his own and
now the couple is trying to coax sponsors into joining their effort.
The event is scheduled to take place in Bohemia Park on August
27 and so far, the couple has roped in donors for a silent auction and
raffl e. Items include four all-day hoppers from Disneyland with a
value exceeding $600. That prize may turn into a complete Disney
vacation if Ames can score airline tickets and a hotel room. The
couple has also acquired an appliance to auction off and with any
luck, Ames said he may add a car to the list.
“We’ll also have smaller items for the raffl e,” he said.
So far, 10 vendors have also signed up to take part in the fund-
raiser-- including Ames tattoo-artist friend who will be doling out
marker tattoos—but the couple is on the hunt for more interested
vendors. Currently, vendors have agreed to donate 10 percent of
their sales at the event to Pay it Forward and all of the silent auc-
tion funds are designated for the group as well. According to Ames,
there will also be a donation jar at the event.
“I don’t think there’s anyone in town who hasn’t been helped or
knows someone who’s been helped by Pay it Forward,” Ames said,
“They helped me get some stuff for my daughter’s fi rst apartment
and we just want to give back to an organization that does so much
for the community.”
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