Bacon is the product of first-time restaurant-owner David Dill, who has put his years of entrepreneurial experience to work to create an eatery he thinks the neighborhood has been craving. The 2,200-square-foot space, divided between a main dining room and a smaller mezzanine, will serve as backdrop to the menu of chef Brian Crow — a menu that Dill describes as "Americana with a twist."
That menu will, of course, feature bacon — six kinds, in fact, with habanero, garlic, candied, applewood and paleo as regular selections, plus a rotating chef's choice. Breakfast is a priority for the kitchen, so breakfast dishes will be served during dinner hours, too. But despite the eatery's name, there will also be lighter options available, plus dishes suited to the needs of vegetarians, vegans and others with dietary restrictions.
Dill says he didn't skimp on the budget when it came to building out the kitchen, so the result is a much larger workspace for Crow's team than is typical for a restaurant of Bacon's size. "We invested extra dollars to make sure we could keep up when it gets busy — and it also gives us room for diversity on the menu," he explains.
Bacon's bar will sport twenty tap handles, with a dozen dedicated to hyper-local beers, along with Kombucha and Stem Cider. There will also be a selection of wines and spirits, including house cocktails like bacon Manhattans and Bloody Marys.
Although this is Dill's first restaurant, he has traveled extensively as a businessman and has made a point of studying what makes restaurants work. "I was always intrigued when I ran into a restaurant that seemed operationally successful," he says. "It's definitely a business with a lot of variables."
Although he considers himself more of a big-picture guy, Dill also pays attention to the details — a trait he credits to growing up around his father's restaurant. "There's not a single thing inside that you could point to that I couldn't explain exactly why we did it a certain way," he notes, mentioning a high-tech sound system to keep music levels appropriate for every sector of the dining room, the Method Roasters single-origin coffees that will be served as drip or pour-over options, and two-level seating that will add a lively dynamic to the room.
Sunnyside is also important to Dill, a Michigan transplant who's lived in Denver for the past fifteen years. "I wanted to make sure that the community is part of the equation," he says of choosing a neighborhood with a growing population but with few restaurant options. "I believe we can do it right and make it successful."
After Tuesday's opening, Bacon Social House will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.