A Movable Feast

They’re baaack! Mel and Janie Master, whose original Cherry Creek food temple, Mel’s Bar and Grill, was one of the Mile High City’s most beloved restaurants until it shuttered in 2007, when the Master clan relocated to be closer to family on the East Coast, have re-turned to their former...

By Lori Midson

March 24, 2011

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They’re baaack! Mel and Janie Master, whose original Cherry Creek food temple, Mel’s Bar and Grill, was one of the Mile High City’s most beloved restaurants until it shuttered in 2007, when the Master clan relocated to be closer to family on the East Coast, have re-turned to their former stamping ground for one night of debauchery: the Mel’s Reunion. “Janie and I have been talking about putting together a Mel’s reunion ever since we closed the restaurant, and now, four years later, we’re finally going to do it,” says Mel, who, along with Janie and their son, Charlie, a manager at Solera, are hosting the reunion at the Egg Shell — which happens to be housed in the former home of Mel’s, at 235 Fillmore Street.

The Egg Shell will close at 5 p.m. today to make way for Mel’s kitchen alumni — Goose Sorensen (Solera), Tyler Wiard, Cory Treadway and Aniedra Nichols (Elway’s Cherry Creek), Edgar Martinez (the kitchen manager of the Egg Shell and a thirteen-year Mel’s veteran) and more — all of whom will join together to prepare a multi-course dinner, the proceeds of which will benefit Judi’s House, a local nonprofit that assists grieving kids dealing with the death of a family member. “Janie and I hugely miss Mel’s, the food, the staff and our wonderful patrons, so when Peggy [Bevan], the owner of the Egg Shell, suggested her space and a charitable component, we jumped at the chance,” says Mel. “This is one way Janie and I can give something back to the Denver community that was so generous to us over the years.” The dinner, which includes wines and several Mel’s “classics” — his vaunted roasted chicken and blue-cheese wedge among them — is $60 per person, exclusive of tax and gratuity. To make reservations, call 303-322-1601.
Mon., March 28, 6 p.m., 2011

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