After 15 years in business in downtown Boulder, Bácaro Venetian Taverna is closing its doors on March 5.

Chris Holston purchased Bacaro from Corrado Fasano within the past few  months, and Holston will be doing major renovations to the space before opening a new restaurant in late spring. Corrado is moving on to other business ventures,
including PastaVino, where he’s part owner.

To celebrate, Bácaro is offering 15 percent off all restaurant and bar purchases through March 5, (not including happy hour and other special discounts). The month-long farewell February celebration will culminate with a Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday party on March 4.

(Bácaro Venetian Taverna photo)

Eavesdropping on a ‘tween conversation on Twitter: “That’s far away.”

“How far?”

“Like, outside of Boulder.”

Who knew?

Forbes Travel Guide blog has named Boulder as one of the Five Secret Foodie Cities in a recent post. Here’s what it said:

“Boulder may have a reputation for snow bunnies and tapping the Rockies, but there’s much more happening here than ski lifts and beer (what ski lifts?).

“Flagstaff House Restaurant, the Forbes Travel Guide Four-star rated restaurant and Boulder staple for fine cuts of meat and perfectly prepared seafood, is undergoing an extensive renovation that will be complete in February.

“Chef Corey Buck recently opened a breakfast and lunch restaurant called Food at the Riversides.

“And local foodies won’t let you leave until you know that Boulder is also home to five out of the country’s 118 master sommeliers. Boulder’s not just for skiing, folks (where, exactly?). Not anymore.”

To see the rest of the story, go to http://blog.forbestravelguide.com/five-secret-foodie-cities.

Just ignore the skiing references, which clearly came from an out-of-towner. The nearest ski resort to Boulder is Eldora Mountain resort, about a 40-minute drive to the west (depending on the weather) in Nederland.

One of the glorious meat course dishes (duck) served at Flagstaff House restaurant in Boulder. (Flagstaff House photo)

Award-winning architecture firm Arch11 is riding what appears to be the new restaurant tsunami in the Denver/Boulder area with four recently completed projects and six new ones on tap.

The Colorado architecture firm is currently in high demand for its stylish approach to new-American dining experience.  The firm’s restaurant design portfolio includes Denver and Boulder standards like Jax, Lola, and the Bitter Bar.

Most recently, Arch11 has set the stage for Boulder’s award-winning Oak at Fourteenth. The open kitchen design at Oak highlights the growing trend toward experiential dining where customers can see their food prepared. “More and more, you see how your food is put together, which impacts finish selections and kitchen efficiencies,” says Arch11 principal and founder E.J. Meade.

The firm’s design for Fate Brewing Company in Boulder successfully re-purposes an industrial space to fit the spirit of a boutique batch brewing outfit and restaurant. Meade notes that Fate is a large restaurant as trends go. “There is a lot of activity with young restaurateurs to move into smaller and tighter spaces, providing more intimate dining experiences and reducing initial start-up costs,” Meade said. “At 7,000 square feet, Fate bucks that trend.”

For Ignite! – in Denver’s Ballpark Neighborhood – Arch11 re-imagined a historic pawn shop to create a modern urban gastro-pub with a rooftop bar and open street seating. “The building is in a historic district, and we basically rebuilt the entire inside of it while maintaining its 19^th century charm,” said Arch11 partner, Ken Andrews, the project architect.

Humboldt Farm Fish Wine in Denver’s Uptown neighborhood is Arch11’s newest restaurant design, inhabiting the space formerly occupied by the city’s beloved Strings restaurant.  The menu features northern California-inspired seafood cuisine with a nod to the burgeoning farm-to-table concept. Arch11’s interiors match the restaurant’s fresh approach with an open kitchen, warm dark woods, exposed steel and cozy, brightly upholstered seating areas.

Additional new restaurant projects coming from Arch11 will span the culinary globe, including a restaurant featuring low-country Southern fare near Coors Field and a Nuevo Mexican taco bar. In between these cultured concepts are plans for a juice bar to complement the micro-juice trend and another gastro pub, among others.

Oak at Fourteenth, above, and Ignite, below, are two of restaurant designs developed by Arch 11 Architectural firm. (Arch11.com photos)

The life and legacy of Dr. Marion Downs, founder of the Marion Downs Hearing Center with three locations in Aurora, Boulder and Lone Tree, will be lauded during her 100th birthday celebration Jan. 26 at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center.

Singer Donny Osmond is the headline entertainer with emcee duties performed by John Schneider from “Dukes of Hazzard.”

According to the Marion Downs website (www.mariondowns.org), Osmond family matriarch Olive Osmond is most commonly associated with her famous children, however she has another story. Virl and Tom, the two oldest Osmond brothers, were born deaf. Olive and her husband, George, could not afford hearing aids for them so they gathered their four other sons and traveled around performing to help raise the necessary funds to purchase hearing aids. This is how the Osmonds started their world-renowned entertainment careers which led to the “Osmond Brothers,” and eventually “Donny and Marie.”

The Jan. 26 gala will honor Olive and Marion’s legacy by raising funds to build a new facility to allow the MDHC to carry on with the vital work and passion of the two women.

The fundraiser begins at 4:30 p.m. for VIP ticket holders, 5 p.m. for general admission. There will be a silent auction, live auction, cocktails, dinner and entertainment. Tickets: 720-848-3042 or at www.mariondowns.org.

(Photo courtesy of www.donny.com)

John Lehndorff, the Boulder-based pie poobah, award-winning newspaper journalist and my former colleague at The Rocky Mountain News, has just released the Colorado Pie Trail Calendar 2014, which includes sweet stories about the state’s pies and pie producers.

The calendar also provides a comprehensive directory of recommended pie shops, bakers and restaurants across the state. Another feature lets crust lovers plot their personal pie trail from place to place.

Pie guy Lehndorff is the founding executive director of the American Pie Council, head judge for the National Pie Championship, director of the Great American Pie Festival and founding editor of the “Pie Times” newsletter.

You can find him celebrating National Pie Day on Jan. 23, which was registered as a holiday in 1975 by Charlie Papazian of Boulder.

To buy the pie guide ($14.95), go to http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/688460.

Thrillist Nation, the online food judge that drives me crazy because of its overwrought writing has come up with a list of the 16 best burgers of 2013. Two Denver burger makers made it on the coveted top 16 list. They are:

“Best Cheese Overload, If That Existed, But It Doesn’t: The Thrilled Cheese
Burger Radio, Denver
“Created exclusively for you beautiful Thrillist readers, this thing is built between two grilled cheese sandwiches and includes two patties, two slices of American cheese, three bacon strips, and a big hunk of mac & cheese. This is not kosher, but it is very delicious.”

Note: Burger Radio is a food truck that promises “high-frequency grub” with announcements of where the truck is through Facebook, Twitter and its website (www.burgerradio.com).

“Most Reliable Burger: The Three Corners Larkburger
Larkburger, Denver
“Shown at this year’s Denver Burger Battle, a patty sits among bacon, crispy jalapeños, masa-crusted tomato, and Tillamook cheddar. Bacon and jalapeños seem to be the only things we can count on these days. Thanks, guys.”

Larkburger has more than a dozen Colorado locations, including downtown Denver, Washington Park, Arvada, Boulder, Greenwood Village, Littleton and Broomfield. A new location is coming to Centennial soon. For more information, visit www.larkburger.com.

Check out the entire list at: http://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/best-burgers-of-2013-the-year-s-best-burgers-thrillist-nation?utm_content=feature&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Thrillist%20Weekender&utm_campaign=12.22.13%20WKNDR:%20These%20are%20the%2016%20best%20burgers%20of%202013

Frasca Caffe, from the geniuses who are co-owners, chef Lachlan McKinnon-Patterson and master sommelier Bobby Stuckey, closed Sunday to regroup and reinvent the concept.

Apparently, the space just wasn’t working. Instead, the Caffe space will be turned into a private event space for both Frasca Food and Wine and Pizzeria Locale in Boulder, and will be used as an overflow seating for Pizzeria Locale Boulder guests.

According to the press release, “They will remove the coffee station and refrigeration units and build a wine station, and repurpose the wood fixtures and current seating to make one beautiful table to seat up to 10 guests.

“Since opening, the Caffe has increasingly been used at night for larger parties and overflow seating; it currently seats up to 10, but Bobby and Lachlan want to reconfigure the space so that it is more comfortable for guests and provides a more conducive dining experience to what Frasca and Locale offer.”

The new concept is expected to open on Feb. 10.

Frasca Caffe closed Sunday as a coffee shop and re-open on Feb. 10 as a private event space for both Frasca and Pizzeria Locale in Boulder. (Frasca Caffe photos)

Colorado’s first three Trader Joe’s grocery stores are scheduled to open on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. Opening that day will be the stores at Boulder’s Twenty Ninth Street Mall, the one at East Eighth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard (the only venue with liquor including Two Buck Chuck wine) and at Cherry Hills Marketplace at 5901 S. University Blvd.

TJ’s is also planning stores in Capitol Hill across the street from Govnr’s Park restaurant at 672 Logan St. and in Fort Collins at College Avenue and Horsetooth Road.

A glimpse of Trader Joe’s and its beginnings in the 1960s. (Photos courtesy of traderjoes.com)