Briarwood Inn becoming event center; Bonanno’s Dairy Block project; Bar Helix
Apparently opening just one restaurant at a time got boring for chef/restaurateur Frank Bonanno. His next project is opening an entire food hall.
Bonanno Concepts will open Milk Market at Dairy Block on the ground floor of 18th and Wazee streets, the Denver Business Journal first reported last week. The 15,000-square-foot food hall will have a good-looking array of bars and restaurants, all of which will be operated by Bonanno’s group.
Among the concepts are a pastry shop (Morning Jones); a seafood restaurant (Albina by the Sea); a salad bar (Green Huntsman); an Asian bao bun joint (the awesomelynamed Bao Chica Bao); a tap room (Stranded Pilgrim); and a wine bar (Cellar).
Bonanno will be reviving his Lou’s hot fried chicken at Lou’s Hot & Naked, and continuing his sandwich and pizza legacies with S&G Salumeri and Bonanno Brothers Pizzeria, respectively.
And because this is Denver and it might as well be written into law at this point, there will also be a poke bowl concept called MoPoke.
Milk Market at Dairy Block: 18th and Wazee streets, Denver; dairyblock.com; opening early 2018
●●● Marcella’s, a Columbus-based Italian restaurant named after a real-life Tuscan cook, opened Sept. 30 in LoHi. The restaurant’s signature dish is a giant braised veal meatball, which the Marcella’s team calls “the eighth wonder of the world.”
1801 Central St., Denver, 720-484-5484; cameronmitchell.com/restaurants; Mon.-Thurs. 4-10 p.m., Fri. 4 p.m.-12 a.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4 p.m.-12 a.m., Sun. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4-10 p.m.
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Finally, Boulder Countybased Oskar Blues has moved into Boulder proper. The brewery’s Boulder Taproom opened Sept. 22 with all the requisite beers you’d expect, plus a food menu where it advertises nothing costs more than $15. (Guys, you’re a brewery. If you were selling $20 cheeseburgers, we might have a problem.) Oskar Blues Boulder takes over the former World of Beer space on the Pearl Street Mall.
921 Pearl St., Boulder, 720-645-1749; oskarblues.com; Sun.-Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
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Finally, a bar that serves Miller High Life (the champagne of beers!) with its champagne, and Pringles potato chips with its caviar service. Bar Helix is that high-low lounge we’ve been waiting for, a deliberately sexy space with a menu to match.
“Swirl Girl” Kendra Anderson, a sommelier/chef/ glamorous-gal-abouttown, launched her first bar, the super-sleek cocktail lounge Helix in RiNo on Oct. 3. The vibe is a mix of 1970s cool (the tile behind the bar is reminiscent of a disco ball; Marvin Gaye is on the playlist) with gritty street feel (pink graffiti; unfinished floors).
The signature cocktail is the highly-drinkable Bar Helix Negroni ($14), a take on Anderson’s favorite drink. Other cocktails have names we can’t print, because it’s that kind of place.
“We like to call it twentieth century hedonist,” Anderson said.
The biggest surprise might be the food. Anderson tapped John Hadala, most recently at Il Posto, to helm Helix’s culinary creations, and his menu is well-executed, unexpected and fun.
Try the classic caviar/ Pringles combo service ($80) — also served with tater tots, because of course. Not ready to pop caviar till you can’t stop? Try the Bump + Bubbles ($20), where you lick a taste of caviar off your hand and chase it with champagne.
Bar Helix: 3440 Larimer St., Denver, 720-449-8587; barhelixdenver.com; Tues.-Sat. 4 p.m.-midnight, closed Sun.-Mon.
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Austin transplants will be thrilled to have Lustre Pearl in the neighborhood. Well-loved in Texas for its cheeky décor, loads of live music, beer and cocktails, the Denver Lustre is now open and will soon start hosting its raucous weekend barbecues.
1315 26th St., Denver, 720-508-3948; Mon.-Fri. 2 p.m.-2 a.m., Sat.-Sun. 11 a.m.-2 a.m.
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If you, like me, have long abhorred having to drive to multiple places to get your fix of both Italian ice and frozen custard, do I ever have welcome news for you. Rita’s Italian Ice added frozen custard to its menu and debuted Rita’s Italian Ice & Creamery in Castle Rock last month. This combo is sure to save us all thousands of dollars in gas and hours in commute times.
3990 Limelight Ave., Castle Rock, 303-660-0835; ritasfranchises.com/castlerock; Sun.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
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Alert: There was a breakfast switch in Cherry Knolls. The Egg & I on University is now a First Watch. Just what is a First Watch, you ask? According to its website, it’s a “breakfast, brunch and lunch restaurant that doesn’t moonlight with steaks or anything else later in the day.” I think that probably tells you all you need to know.
6890 S. University Blvd., Centennial, 303-694-9100; firstwatch.com; Sun.-Sat. 7 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
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The Briarwood Inn ,a classic Golden restaurant that’s been around since 1979, is closing. According to a message on the Briarwood’s voicemail, its last night for dinner service will be Saturday, Oct. 28.
It’s not going away forever, though: It will reopen on Nov. 1 as an event venue. Which means that even if you can’t stop by for dinner, you can invite a couple hundred of your nearest and dearest to dinner via hosting a wedding or vow renewal at the Inn.
The Briarwood Inn: 1630 8th St., Golden, 303-2793121; thebriarwoodinn.com.
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We said goodbye to the Denver Beau Jo’s at the end of July, and now the Boulder location is closing, too, as The Daily Camera first reported. The restaurant posted the following message on its website:
“We look forward to serving our Boulder friends again at our new Longmont location, which is scheduled to open in late 2017. “
The Longmont Beau Jo’s will be at 2033 Ken Pratt Blvd.
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After 18 years, 730 South Bar & Grill closed after brunch on Sept. 24. The restaurant epitomized the neighborhood eatery, feeding its Bonnie Brae friends’ bodies and souls since it opened in 1999.
730 S. University Blvd., Denver, 303-744-1888; 730south.net
●●● Downtown Denverites and DTCers were even less perky this past Monday morning than usual — Espresso Americano closed all of its U.S. locations (including the 16th St. and DTC Blvd. outposts) on Sept. 24, a manager at the Greenwood Village cafe confirmed.
216 16th St., Denver, 303534-5385 and 5322 DTC Blvd., Greenwood Village, 303-9539085