Justin Brunson ready to open Honor Society eatery near Union Station
bustled with activity one afternoon late last week in the growing neighborhood north of Union Station. It’s not yet open, but the staff had gathered to test things out.
“It’s our first real ‘playing restaurant,’ ” said chef Justin Brunson, one of the founding partners. “Today half the staff sits down and gets fed, and then they swap.”
Brunson, whose successful Denver restaurants include Old Major and Masterpiece Deli, is expanding into what he calls the “fast fine” space, which pushes the fast-casual trend more toward fine dining.
This week, the team will host a series of soft openings for friends and family, and then Honor Society will open to the public Tuesday in a neighborhood that’s growing fast.
“When I moved here 13 years ago and worked at Zengo, the area was all hoboes and heroin addicts,” said Brunson, pointing a few blocks northwest, toward Zengo and Riverfront Park.
Lots of new office spaces are opening north of Union Station, filling in blocks that were once forlorn and empty. Brunson hopes to attract both a lunch and dinner crowd from the new buildings — everyone who craves healthy, delicious food.
And with the free mall shuttle right outside, there’s the added potential of drawing office workers from the other end of 16th Street, people who crave artisan-style lunches served quickly and at reasonable prices.
On Friday afternoon, the staff also taste-tested craft cocktails, with Brunson fine-tuning the drinks, sipping and suggesting minor tweaks.
Meals will range from about $8 to $14, and the menu highlights such proteins as sustainable Scottish salmon and Aspen Ridge flank steak, plus tasty vegetables like sautéed spinach and kale with garlic and chili flakes.
Anything but fishy
Lots of people want to know more about the sustainable seafood movement in landlocked Denver, and here’s the perfect opportunity.
On Aug. 26, more than 10 local chefs team up with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch to host Go Fish!, a dinner of seafood selections from environmentally friendly sources.
Seafood Watch is one of the country’s leading sources of sciencebased information on sustainable seafood, and the event is hosted by chefs Dory Ford of Baur’s Restaurant of and and
They’re members of the Seafood Watch Blue Ribbon Task Force, a group of culinary leaders committed to preserving the ocean, and they started talking to friends about creating an event on the local scene.
“We got a tremendous response from chefs here,” said Ford. “We’re really excited. It’s going to be great to meet a lot of other like-minded people.” Participating chefs include Alex of Fruition, Troy Guard of of of of
Local purveyors signed on include Ocean to Plate and Seattle Fish Co.
Tickets, $40 per person, can be purchased at baursrestaurant.com/ event/monterey-bay-aquariam-seafoodwatch-go-fish/ or by calling 303-615-4000.
The dinner will be at Baur’s Restaurant Listening Lounge, 1512 Curtis St., from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Aug. 26.