President Clinton and U2’s Bono distract Denver diners

June 10, 2015

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Local news outlets were buzzing Monday over the surprise bigwig lunch guests at Uptown’s Humboldt Farm, Fish + Wine restaurant.

International heavyweights former President Bill Clinton, U2 front man Bono and former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton (briefly) wowed the restaurant’s lunch crowd when they strolled into the 1700 Humboldt eatery.

Denver PR pro Stefanie Jones, who represents Humboldt, was there meeting with her clients and gave me this eyewitness report:

“I was meeting with my clients at Humboldt, Sean Huggard, director of operations, and David Tuitele, GM, and we knew that President Clinton and Chelsea were coming in for lunch. The kitchen was busy preparing several items specifically for President Clinton, including a vegan version of their popular crispy broccoli starter with an egg-free aioli. We were not informed that Bono would be joining them. There were a number of secret service agents in the building who decided where the former President would be seated…

“The Clintons came in and were escorted to the back of the restaurant. I looked at the gathered group and saw one guy that stood out from all of the ‘men in black’ and realized in an instant it was Bono (I’d gone to the show on Saturday night at the Pepsi Center and am a lifelong U2 fan).

“The restaurant was full with a lunch crowd and as they walked through you could hear people buzzing. All of the guests and staff were very respectful and left the President, his daughter and Bono alone to have a leisurely lunch. No one approached the table. Chelsea was there for about 10 minutes before heading out. President Clinton and Bono were engaged in a deep conversation over lunch. The former President enjoyed Humboldt’s kale salad while Bono ordered the sesame ahi tuna and noodle entrée.

“They were there for about an hour and 45 minutes and many of the diners lingered over their lunches to see them depart. Both guests were incredibly gracious, taking photos with the staff and greeting Chef Will Tuggle and the managers.”

Meanwhile, Piper Vitale, a local graphic artist and daughter of Colorado Expression magazine owner Terry Vitale, had joined Jones for lunch.

“Piper and I said hello as they were departing and spent a couple of minutes speaking with them,” Jones said. “Piper had previously been in the art department at Vanity Fair and Bono served as a guest editor for three weeks while she was there so they’d met and worked together years ago. They spoke about the issue and Bono sweetly kissed her hand as they left. Once they’d taken a large group shot with the Humboldt team, they headed out of the restaurant.”

The event, a big deal by any Denver standards, made international headlines in England’s Daily Mail newspaper, which Humboldt posted on its Facebook page.

“We made international headlines and local of course. It was an honor to have Mr. President Bill Clinton, Chelsea and Bono of U2 having lunch at Humboldt!”

The story said, “The old friends just happened to be in town on separate business – a Clinton Foundation event and an arena tour respectively – and couldn’t resist the opportunity to catch up … The Clintons were in town for the Clinton Global Initiative, which started Monday at the Sheraton in downtown Denver.

“Bono, who wore his trademark shades throughout the meal, had just performed two nights at the Pepsi Center on the Irish band’s Innocence And Experience tour.”