What were Denver’s restaurant industry pros talking about in 2016? We provided some answers in part one of our second taste of this year’s chef interviews. Here the reflection continues with more observations on what dining in Denver this year was all about. On how Denver’s changing demographics and the…

This past year was frenetic — and not just in the political arena. Denver’s dining scene continued to move at a breakneck pace, as seasoned restaurateurs, rising stars and fresh transplants alike all opened ambitious new restaurants. Amid all the activity, what were the Mile High City’s hospitality professionals talking…

At the end of this year, Andrea Frizzi will shutter his Il Posto on East 17th Avenue and start anew in a fresh space in RiNo, just around the corner from Vero, the Milano pizzeria he recently launched in Denver Central Market. Il Posto’s new digs are dazzling, a sleek…

When New Saigon opened on South Federal Boulevard in 1982, it was only the second Vietnamese restaurant in Denver. Refugees fleeing the Communist regime in Vietnam were just beginning to settle in Denver at the time, forming the basis of the vibrant community that exists today. New Saigon became a…

On December 31, Andrea Frizzi plans to hold one last blowout New Year’s Eve party at his 17th Avenue location of Il Posto, and then he’ll shutter the nearly ten-year-old neighborhood restaurant in anticipation of a move to new digs at 26th and Larimer streets in RiNo. But when the…

When developers Eric Kramer and Randy Nichols approached Oak at Fourteenth, Acorn and Brider owners Bryan Dayton and Steve Redzikowski about opening a restaurant in PearlWest, the project at 1023 Walnut Street that sits on the old site of the Daily Camera building, Dayton’s first instinct was to pass. Then he…

When Elise Wiggins stepped away from the burners at Panzano — the acclaimed restaurant in the Kimpton Hotel Monaco Denver that she’d overseen for twelve years after taking over for Jennifer Jasinski — the search was on for a chef who could build on her legacy. Enter heavy hitter Patrick…

When Ellen Daehnick launched Helliemae’s five years ago, she had no professional experience in food or hospitality, much less candy-making. But she quickly built an enthusiastic audience for her sultry salted caramels, which are dark, chewy and richly complex. As Daehnick’s business grew, she bought a building in Wheat Ridge,…

When Mell’s Cheese closed its doors a couple of weeks ago, manager Mike Keuler found himself in a situation that inspired immediate action: owner Paula Dick “had to get rid of her product,” he says. “For a cheese shop to close right before the holidays is tragic. I bought her…

When Williams & Graham first slid back the bookshelf that covers the entrance to the bar, it was only the second cocktail bar in Denver, and it came online almost exactly one year after the first: Frank Bonanno’s Green Russell. In the five years since, the city’s cocktail scene has…