Anthony’s Pizza & Pasta, the Colorado restaurant company that has been serving New York-style pizza since 1984, recently remodeled and added a new bar to its 700 Colorado Blvd. store with plans to add full-service bars to four more locations.

This new bar offers diners the opportunity to enjoy a glass of wine, beer or a signature cocktail along with their meal.

“With the renovations and updates to this restaurant, we are filling a void on this stretch of Colorado Boulevard,” said John Lebel, president and CEO of Anthony’s Pizza & Pasta International. “There aren’t many family-friendly restaurants in the neighborhood that offer a full bar. We are happy to provide that convenience to our loyal fans and new customers.”

The DU store and Stapleton Anthony’s are set to have bars open within the next three-to-six months.

Locations, menus and additional information can be found at www.anthonyspizzaandpasta.com.

Tickets are on sale Monday for Get the Led Out – The American Led Zeppelin, a benefit concert for Colorado Public Television 12, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

This six-piece tribute band will take you back to the ’60s and ’70s as it re-creates the legendary British group’s distinct studio sound, with all the bells and whistles, and brings the Led Zeppelin experience to the big stage.

With a whole lotta love, Get The Led Out will perform hits from classic Led Zeppelin song catalog including “Rock and Roll”, “Black Dog”, “Since I’ve Been Loving You”, “Ramble On”, “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You”, “Dazed and Confused”, “Your Time is Gonna Come”, “Going to California”, “Heartbreaker”, “Stairway to Heaven” and many more.

For more information, and to sample music and video on the band, go to www.gtlorock.com.

Tickets are $38 general admission (plus service charges) at www.ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster centers.  To charge by phone, call 1-800-745-3000. Tickets also available through Channel 12 online at www.cpt12.org or by calling 303-296-1212 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Eavesdropping on a woman talking about the Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk: “Looks like a Humvee and an alligator had a love child.”

Want to see this column continue? Want to advertise your business here? Call Trisha today at 720-985-6947 or e-mail her at trilind@hotmail.com.

Sana Hamelin, owner of The Denver Cat Company, Denver’s only cat-friendly cafe, was served a legal hair ball May 7 by a customer claiming that one of the resident felines bit her hand in February, according to a story the Eater Denver website (www.denver.eater.com).

The cat nip incident apparently led the customer to treatment at Urgent Care and subsequently on an oral antibiotic prescription.

“After it became apparent that the alleged cat bite was causing a stir, Rocky Mountain Feline Rescue, the original cat adoption partner, terminated its business dealings with the cat cafe,” according to the Eater story. “Since then, For the Love of Paws and Planet Pet stepped in to provide kitties for adoption at this feline-friendly spot.”

Hamelin took to Facebook to plead her case to fans. The post said:

“Guys, I’m having a very hard time. Although I’m working, all I can do is serve customers and then take breaks to cry. The cafe is being sued by some scummy people who are alleging thousands in damages from a cat bite. I have no choice but to deal with it even though I have no time or money for it because this is America, and people have the right to ruin everything. For some perspective on how hard this solitary endeavor of starting and running this rescue effort has been for me, consider that I drive a wreck of a truck that I got off Craigslist and I shivered through the whole winter because it doesn’t have heat (and now I’ll sweat through the whole summer because it doesn’t have A/C either). I never have a weekend off, I live in a tiny apartment, and I haven’t taken a vacation in over three years. I’m tired.

The Colorado Symphony announces a summer season fueled by pop stars, video games, family fun and spectacular vocalists. The Colorado Symphony collaborates once more with some of the country’s biggest and brightest talent at Red Rocks, the Arvada Center, Fiddlers Green, and Boettcher Concert Hall for a summer of live music suited for taste. Single tickets go on sale for newly announced concerts Friday.

Five concerts highlight the virtuosity of the Colorado Symphony musicians at Red Rocks Amphitheatre this season: Scottish indie pop band Belle and Sebastian open the season in June, followed by the duo of Ben Folds and Ingrid Michaelson. July features the Colorado Symphony’s and DeVotchKa’s annual collaboration, with special guest Kishi Bashi. The Colorado Symphony rounds out August with international sensation Video Games Live and Diana Krall featuring Pink Martini.

The season also showcases a star-studded Fourth of July conducted by Colorado Symphony Music Director Andrew Litton; a family-focused afternoon of music, “Inspired by Nature”; a costume-friendly night of the Music of Harry Potter; and a season-closing Rodgers & Hammerstein Celebration at Boettcher Concert Hall, which will be Scott O’Neil’s final performance as resident conductor.

Mozart is highlighted this summer at the Arvada Center Outdoor Amphitheatre and at Boettcher Concert Hall, the latter focusing on six powerhouse vocalists showcasing their talents in Mozart’s operatic works.

Summer concerts at Boettcher Concert Hall on sale Friday are: Mostly Mozart, July 11; The Music of Harry Potter, July 18; Family Day at the Symphony: Inspired by Nature, July 26; Audience Choice, Aug. 8 and Rodgers & Hammerstein Celebration, August 15.

For more information on the summer series, review the summer brochure: http://issuu.com/coloradosymphony/docs/symphonysummer​ or visit www.coloradosymphony.org.

Johnny Ballen, owner the The Squeaky Bean, a farm-focused award-winning New American restaurant in LoDo, has hired Chris MacGillivray as the new executive chef.

MacGillivray, who comes to the Squeaky Bean with nearly two decades of high-end cooking experience, is taking over the burners from outgoing chef Theo Adley, whose two-year tenure at the Bean concludes Saturday. And while Adley is departing to explore new culinary opportunities, MacGillivray is returning to familiar ground. He originally cooked at the Squeaky Bean in 2012 alongside then-chef Max MacKissock.

MacGillivray’s other stints include sous-chef positions at Vail’s Sweet Basil and Beaver Creek’s Grouse Mountain Grill. In addition, MacGillivray was chef de cuisine at the now-closed Olivea under then-chef John Broening, as well as the opening sous-chef of Linger. Mostly recently he was the executive chef of Uptown’s Caveau Wine Bar.

“Chris was an integral part of our kitchen crew when he worked with Max, and there’s no question that he’s a super-talented chef and leader who’s meticulous, takes immense pride in his work and pays a great deal of attention to details and technique,” said Ballen, adding that MacGillivray is also dedicated to accentuating the vegetables that are grown – and plucked – from the Squeaky Bean’s three farms: a small plot in Highland that produces herbs; a second, larger expanse of land in Lakewood that grows everything from heirloom tomatoes to edible flowers; and a three-acre organic farm at the Center at Warren Tech, also in Lakewood, that just received a Community Sustainability Award from the City of Lakewood.

“It makes sense for us to make vegetables the star of our menu, and I’m really looking forward to having Chris utilize the bounty from our farms, in particular the fantastic farm at Warren Tech, a collaborative partnership between us and Warren Tech High School,” Ballen said.

MacGillivray views his new executive chef role at the Squeaky Bean as an opportunity to focus on what he loves most: the purity of ingredients unearthed from the soil. “When I first worked at the Bean, I was really captivated by the unwavering commitment to their farms and their zeal for cooking with impeccable ingredients, and as the executive chef, it allows me to work even closer with…the farms, and that makes me super-excited,” he said.

The Squeaky Bean is located at 1500 Wynkoop St., in the historic Saddlery Building, serving lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, dinner from 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and Saturday and Sunday bingo brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For additional information, visit www.thesqueakybean.net, or call 303-623-2665.

Chris MacGillivray

Lisa Paterson, owner of The Briarwood Inn, a Colorado fine dining restaurant since 1979, has announced that the restaurant is launching a new phase with the hiring of Chef Jeff Jones, previously executive chef of Parallel 17. Paterson, daughter of Reid Pasko, the original owner of the Briarwood Inn, leads operations and Duncan Newman will continue to serve as the general manager.

Together the new management team will pilot the next phase of the 285-seat fine dining restaurant, which will focus on a chef-driven concept that stays true to its roots while evolving with the Colorado dining scene. Most recently, the Briarwood Inn has introduced a 175-seat garden terrace and patio area.

A graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, with six years of Colorado restaurant experience, Jones will revamp the menu to focus on locally sourced and seasonally focused menu items.

“The Briarwood Inn is a Colorado institution and I’m honored to have been brought on as a part of this family,” Jones said. “This restaurant has a rich history of being one of Denver metro’s finest dining establishments and I’m looking forward to creating dishes and experiences for new and familiar faces.”

Owned by the same family for more than 35 years, the Briarwood Inn has maintained the reputation of being a destination for special occasions and events of all kinds. Pasko opened the doors to the Briarwood Inn in 1979. After he passed away from cancer in 2008, Paterson made the decision to purchase the restaurant from her father’s estate in order to carry on the tradition of operating the family-owned business.

“The Briarwood Inn has been a labor of love for my family for over three decades now,” Paterson said. “As we embark upon this new chapter for the Briarwood, we promise to continue to deliver classical five-star cuisine and service for the next 35 years that our loyal customers have come to expect from us, and introduce the Briarwood experience to a new generation.”

A new menu is expected to launch this summer.

The Briarwood Inn is nestled in the foothills of Golden at 1630 Eighth St.

Drop by the Curtis – a Doubletree by Hilton on 14th and Curtis this week to join in the celebration of National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day by casting a vote on how many DoubleTree by Hilton chocolate chip cookies are in the four large acrylic boxes on display in the hotel’s lobby for a chance to win a getaway to Denver’s only pop culture-themed hotel.

Votes can be cast between 7 a.m. today through 4 p.m. Friday. The winner will be selected by a random drawing and announced at 4 p.m. Friday; you do not have to be present to win. The winner will receive an overnight stay in one of the new Curtis “hyper themed” suites, valet parking, Disco Brunch for two people at The Corner Office Restaurant + Martini Bar including bottomless Bloody Mary’s and a tin of DoubleTree cookies.

Since 1995, DoubleTree by Hilton has been handing out freshly baked chocolate chip cookies to guests – it now hands out more 77,000 cookies daily and 28 million cookies annually.  Each signature cookie is filled with an average of 20 melted chocolate chips.

Located in the heart of downtown Denver, the 336-room Curtis recently completed an extensive $7 million renovation that included upgrades to all 336 guest rooms, a lobby expansion and the creation of 13 “hyper themed” suites all featuring custom art by Colorado artists, unique flooring and decorations. Available suites include a Star Trek suite on the “Sci-Fi” floor and a Jimmy Buffett room on the “Mad About Music” floor. The hotel – which is a member of Hilton HHonors guest rewards program – is home to the Oceanaire Seafood Room and The Corner Office Restaurant + Martini Bar. For more information, visit www.thecurtis.com.