Music maestro Chuck Morris was lampooned and lauded during Curious Theatre Company’s annual “Denver Stories,” a series of profiles of local movers and shakers.
Chuck and his wife, Becky, and all five Morris kids attended along with musician and long-time Chuck-managed act Leo Kottke, Phil and Nancy Anschutz, Jeremy Shamos (lead sponsor and event co-chair), Libby Anschutz Brown, Gov. John Hickenlooper, Mayor Michael Hancock, Steve Farber, David McReynolds, Dan and Sally Scherer, Jeff and Amy Springer, Janice Sinden and Doug Friednash from the mayor’s office, city council members Chris Nevitt and Mary Beth Susman, and Jamie Van Leeuwen.
Highlights included hilarious intros by the good guv and the mayor. Mayor Hancock joked that he was actually asked to play Chuck in the play. Cameos by Kottke playing the fan that asked for an autograph during Chuck and Becky’s wedding, and Don Strasburg, Chuck’s longtime business partner played Brent Fedrizzi, Chuck’s other rising star, in a scene dedicated to the pranks that office workers often played on Chuck.
The play was creatively written and infused with musical performances by local playwright Dee Covington and Chuck was played by actor Jason Henning, who had an uncanny voice like Chuck’s.
The play took the audience through Chuck’s journey from Queens, N.Y., to Boulder where he dropped out of a Constitutional Law Ph.D program at CU to manage the Sink and eventually book some of the famous bands at Tulagis, Ebbets Field, The Rainbow Music Hall, Fillmore and Red Rocks.
Chuck made his closing remarks by thanking his two mentors: the late Barry Fey and Phil Anschutz.
Union Station secures new restaurant tenants
Larimer Associates and their partners announced the first three major restaurant tenants for the rebirth of Union Station, under major construction on Wynkoop Street in Lower Downtown.
The three newcomers will be The Kitchen Next Door (a sibling of The Kitchen at 1530 16th St. and the original in Boulder), Snooze (brace yourself for the line in Denver, The Streets of Southglenn and Fort Collins) and a new concept from master chef Alex Siedel, owner of Fruition.
All three locally owned restaurants will open in the revitalized train terminal in July 2014 with each featuring a large patio for outdoor dining.
“This is an exciting first step in establishing Union Station as Denver’s next great dining destination for both locals and visitors,” said Jeff Hermanson, chief executive officer of Larimer Associates. “These award-winning restaurants represent the true Colorado experience and embody downtown Denver’s genuine collaborative spirit.”
Before selecting the restaurants that Larimer Associates would lease to at Union Station, they held a series of focus groups to help determine the public’s preference for the landmark property.
“We consistently heard that Union Station is an iconic Colorado building with a rich history and that everyone wanted to see Colorado-based businesses in there,” said Pat McHenry, leasing and acquisition partner at Larimer Associates. “This really resonated with us and was a great guide as we sought the hippest concepts and most talented chefs to anchor Union Stations. Luckily for us, these restaurateurs are excited about being a part of Union Station as we are.”
Scheduled to open in July 2014, Denver’s new Union Station also will feature several other locally owned dining and retail establishments as well as a 112-room luxury boutique hotel managed by Sage Hospitality. For more information, go to www.unionstationindenver.com.
The people behind the Union Station redevelopment in Lower Downtown. Three locally owned restaurants, The Kitchen Next Door, Snooze and an unnamed concept from Alex Seidel, owners and chef of Fruition, will become a part of the new Union Station in 2014. (Photo by Ellen Jaskol)
Chef shift
New Ritz-Carlton executive chef Ruben Garcia got to show off his culinary chops during a VIP cocktail party Wednesday in one of the hotel’s sweet suites.
Hotel General Manager Steve Janicek hosted the party at the downtown property that has received the only Denver AAA Five-Diamond distinction.
Garcia will oversee all hotel culinary activities and operations, including the kitchen of Elway’s Downtown, in-room dining and the property’s banquet and catering services.
Garcia was most recently executive chef at The Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe since the resort’s December 2009 opening, which followed his time at The Ritz-Carlton South Beach in Miami.
For the invite-only tasting, chef Garcia cooked up an amazing array of appetizers including bacon-wrapped chorizo stuffed with dates, tomato-peach bruschetta and white truffle crostini, Colorado lamb slider with Haystack goat cheese and Fresno chile (seriously to die for), foie gras torcon with peach-habanero jam and a seared scallop with fresh corn grits.
I look forward to more fab food from the new chef.
Smashing pizza
Smashburger founder Tom Ryan, the man who also brought you Tom’s Urban 24, a 24-hour diner style restaurant on Larimer Square, just opened another fast-casual eatery Live Basil Pizza at 6305 E. Hampden Ave. on Thursday.
The new chain plans to open more outlets. The process is similar to Denver-based Chipotle Mexican Grill where customers go through a line choosing what ingredients they want on their thin-crust pizzas before the dough goes in an oven that can cook a pizza in 150 seconds, according to an Associated Press report.
“Co-founder Ryan says he thinks fresh, fast pizzas made before a customer’s eyes is where the market is heading,” according to the story. “A handful of shops, including 800 Degrees in Los Angeles, has similar concepts. Plans for such a chain were announced previously under the name Honest Pizza.”
Honestly? I just want my pizza delivered to my house hot and in under an hour.
On another pizza note, Pizzeria Locale from the Frasca folks will open at Sixth and Broadway (also known as the impossible place to park safely) next week.
Eavesdropping on a wife needing help with her dress from her husband:
Wife to husband: “Honey, can you help me get this zipper up?”
Husband: “I’m a man; I can only pull the zipper down.”
Did you hear that I have a new column, “Mile High Life,” in Colorado Community Media’s 17 weekly newspapers circling Denver? Be sure to like my Facebook page! Also, here’s where you go to get my column emailed to you Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I’m now the social-media liaison for the Mile High Chapter of the Colorado Restaurant Association, so read my latest restaurant news there. My email: penny@blacktie-llc.com.
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