Restaurateur Michael Shiell's excavation and rebuild of the subterranean Larimer Square restaurant space that once housed Lime is nearly complete; Craigslist ads have popped up announcing positions available, and one local chef who recently found himself out of a job has answered the call. Lance Barto, most recently the executive chef at Brazen before owner Chris Sargent let him go at the end of February, will open Milk & Honey as chef de cuisine alongside Shiell.
Milk & Honey and Barto both announced the news on their Facebook pages yesterday — Barto's as a call for a "bad-ass staff. Competitive pay, kick ass food," and the restaurant's as an alert to "ready your tastebuds, Denver."
Let's hope the third time is a charm for Barto, who opened both Brazen and, previously, Central Bistro, before being shown the door. His previous experience also includes time as the executive chef at iconic Denver restaurateur Noel Cunningham's Strings.
Milk & Honey expects to open in May, after numerous construction delays have pushed the date out from its original estimate of summer 2014.