Small Bites: Six hotel restaurants in Colorado are among the best in the country 

In this week’s food-related news briefs: 

Blue Pan Pizza expanding into Under the Umbrella space
We were sad to see the Under the Umbrella Cafe and Bakery close after 20 years in Congress Park. And now we’ve learned that neighbor Blue Pan Pizza will expand into the space at 3509 E. 12th Ave., turning it into a takeout and delivery operation. 

These six hotel restaurants in Colorado are among the best in the country
Reservation platform OpenTable this week released its list of the top hotel restaurants in the country, with six Colorado establishments included. The list is based on over 10 million diner reviews left on the platform, along with diner ratings and the percentage of five-star reviews. They include: 

• Alteno in the Clayton Members Club and Hotel – Denver
• Quality Italian in the Halcyon – Denver 
• The Grand Atrium at the Brown Palace – Denver 
• Wildflower in the Gravity Haus – Denver
• Slope Room at Gravity Haus Vail – Vail
• Swiss Chalet inside the Sonnenalp – Vail

Restaurant fraudster to be sentenced next week
Sentencing for former AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q owner Jared Leonard is set for next week, Aug. 13. Leonard came to Colorado in 2018 with plans to open Au Feu, a smoked-meat shop, at the then-in-the-works Zeppelin Station food hall. “I was supposed to open Au Feu and then go back to Chicago,” Leonard told Westword that February.

But Leonard’s been back in Chicago for the past year — behind bars. In June 2025 he was indicted by an Illinois-based grand jury on federal wire fraud charges connected with more than $1.6 million in pandemic relief loans under the Paycheck Protection Program and Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. Most of that money never made it to any of his restaurants, not in Chicago or in Colorado, where he went on to start several other spots.

Staff at AJs walked out a few months prior after learning the owner had mismanaged payroll taxes as well. But things are looking much better for former employee Patrick Klaiber, who now runs the popular Riot BBQ in the same space, which just expanded to Sedalia this summer, as well as the recently opened Chicken Riot. 

According to BusinessDen, the government is seeking a 34-month prison sentence. He’s asking for 12 months. Both sides agree he owes $2.3 million in restitution. 

And now, the hail of bullets: 

• Business Den obtained a letter to investors of The Block Distilling Co. saying that it plans to shut down sometime in the coming months. The RiNo distiller has been open for 10 years. 
• Union Station’s Mercantile announced it is adding a brunch service for the first time starting this weekend, from 10:30 – 2:00 every Saturday and Sunday. 
• A Mexican cocktail and spirits bar called Terruño Ancestral Spirits is planning a Lodo launch in the coming weeks at 1526 Blake St., according to an Instagram post by liquor distribution company More Than Experiences. 
• And in the biggest WTF of the week, the Denver Post reports that the Colorado State Board of Pharmacy is suing Panaderia y Taqueria Chihuas for selling antibiotics imported from Mexico without a license. 

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