RESTAURANT DIGEST:
Acova opening in Patsy’s space; pop-ups; Le Bilboquet French Bistro
Acova is bringing comfort food to LoHi at the end of the month, in the former Patsy’s location.
Owners of longtime South Broadway standby The Hornet are behind the new restaurant, according to Misty Forde, the restaurant’s marketing manager.
Patsy’s Inn, a much beloved Italian eatery, had been in business for 95 years before shutting down in August 2016. Ron Cito — grand-nephew of Patsy’s founders — and his wife, Kim DeLancey, ran the restaurant for its last 10 years.
But rather than sell the hot property to developers, Cito and DeLancey looked instead to restaurateurs who would honor Patsy’s legacy.
Enter Sean Workman and Paul Greaves, owners of The Hornet.
The duo bought Patsy’s in August 2016, originally with the intent of opening a place called Vespa, Westword reported at the time. Cito died at the age of 81 in February 2017.
According to Forde, the menu will be filled with the same approachable comfort food as is on the menu at The Hornet, like the lobster mac and cheese, but will also feature dishes that are a touch more upscale, like seafood, oysters on the half shell and, in a tip of the hat to Patsy’s, a handful of Italian dishes.
The bar menu will include wine slushies, whiskies, specialty cocktails and 10 local beers on tap. Acova will offer weekend brunch featuring a $3 bloody Mary with local Family Jones vodka.
Acova, 3651 Navajo St., Denver, scheduled to open at the end of April
The benefit of Denver’s dining scene flooding with pop-ups and take-overs this season is that it offers diners the opportunity for a unique experience and gives chefs the chance to test the waters on a new concept or a chance to collaborate with others in the industry. Some that are upcoming:
• Chef Justin Brunson is hosting an all-female chef takeover at Old Major on April 25 at 5 p.m. to benefit Women Chefs & Restaurateurs, a nonprofit for women who want to pursue a culinary education. The seven-course special menu will feature a beet salad, Persian beef tongue and pea gazpacho. Chefs include Dana Rodriguez (Work & Class and Super Mega Bien), Caroline Glover (Annette), Aniedra Nichols (Tammen’s) and Nadine Donovan (Ace Eat Serve/ Steuben’s/Vesta) among others. Tickets are $55 with a $25 optional wine pairing. Call 720-420-0622. Old Major: 3316 Tejon St. oldmajordenver.com
• Top Chef alum and Bar Dough chef Carrie Baird will take over the kitchen at Pizzeria Locale Boulder on April 25th starting at 4:30 p.m. As the first Denver chef to participate in one of Pizzeria Locale Boulder’s take-over nights, Baird will bring her signature style to the pizzeria’s a la carte menu with items like the roasted broccolini with gouda, super seeds and roasted lemon, and the spicy clam pizza with chile oil, surf clam, garlic, parmigiana and chopped fresh parsley. Reservations are encouraged; call 303-4423003 or visit localeboulder.com. Pizzeria Locale Boulder: 1730 Pearl St.
• On April 28, Ruth’s Butchery will pop up at Salt & Grinder at 5 p.m. and offer a sneak peek at the burger and a side for $5. Beverages extra. Salt & Grinder, 3609 W. 32nd Ave., 303-945-4200. Tickets at bonannoconcepts.com.
Famed New York City Upper East Side French bistro Le Bilboquet will be the first restaurant concept inside the new St. Paul Collection in Cherry Creek North, according to BMC Investments. The mixed-use development with luxury residences will also host the city’s first SoulCycle, as announced in January, and Crate and Barrel’s sister store, CB2.
The plan is to have the 6,700-square-foot location at the corner of 3rd and St. Paul streets open in early 2019, serving up traditional French cuisine mixed with some modern fare (like the restaurant’s signature Cajun chicken) in its fine-dining bistro, while also serving breakfast and lunch from a Parisian-inspired cafe.
And yes, there will be a patio.
Le Bilbouquet, 3rd and St. Paul streets, opening in 2019
“It’s been a journey, but I’m ready to do something different and work on myself,” Goose Sorensen told us about the March closure of Solera, his Spanish/Mediterranean restaurant on East Colfax.
Sorensen still owns the building that will house Hank’s Texas Barbecue, helmed by Old Major alum Christopher Nicki. “This neighborhood has become much more family oriented than when I started this restaurant,” Sorensen said. “People are wanting a place to come where they can bring their kids, and everyone loves barbecue.”
Sorensen opened Solera 16 years ago in an area of Denver that was then rife with prostitutes, crime and vacant buildings. “One time I had all the executives out from the Mondavi winery,” he laughs. “We’re sitting there sampling a 1974 Chateauneuf du Pape and these three working girls came in and asked if we wanted any company. I kind of had to run them out!”
Solera, 5410 E Colfax Ave., closed in March. Hank’s Texas Barbecue opening in late June.
In February, Shake Shack CEOs announced that Colorado’s second location of the popular New York burger chain would be coming to Highlands Ranch — but there wasn’t quite a location, yet.
On Monday, Eater Denver reported the restaurant will open in the new Central Park development, a shopping plaza currently under construction near C-470 and Lucent Boulevard. The Highlands Ranch outpost is scheduled to open this summer to be followed by a third location in Denver International Airport by the end of the year.
Shake Shack, 1509 Park Central Dr., shakeshack.com