Linnea Covington
Audio By Carbonatix
In this week’s food-related news briefs: a rash of legal action comes down on local bars and bar owners, a seafood empire expands, and more food-borne illnesses to avoid.
Owners of The Block Distilling Co., BARna facing legal challenges
Well that didn’t take long. Barely days after first informing investors, then the public, about plans to close down in the coming months, the owners of RiNo’s The Block Distilling Co. already have a lawsuit to contend with. The Denver Business Journal reported that a nonprofit called the Colorado Enterprise Fund claims the company has defaulted on payment obligations for a 2022 promissory note.
Meanwhile, BARna owner Robert Thompson is still dealing with a lawsuit stemming from his Three Saints Revival days, with a real estate investment company seeking $800,000 related to an unpaid 2024 settlement.
DT-Coastal Service?
The Shucking Good Hospitality group — the restaurant team behind Blue Island Oyster, Oliver’s Italian, and Ash and Agave — announced plans to bring a new seafood concept to the Denver Tech Center next year called Coastal Service. According to the announcement, it will be an “East Coast-inspired” menu focused on founder Sean Huggard’s time working as a chef in Nantucket.
Chipotle challenges Taco Bell on foodborne illnesses
From its 1993 debut at 2444 E. Evans Ave. in a former Dolly Madison ice cream store, Chipotle grew into an international powerhouse with over 4,100 outposts around the world today. Founder Steve Ells was inspired by the Mission-style burritos he’d found in San Francisco to open a Denver spot that would fund a fine-dining restaurant; instead, he revolutionized the fast-casual industry. Chipotle was so groundbreaking that it attracted the interest of McDonald’s. Ell’s ultimate replacement as CEO by, yes, a former Taco Bell exec, Brian Niccol, who moved Chipotle’s headquarters from Denver to California.
McDonald’s has long since sold its stake and Niccol left for Starbucks two years ago, but Chipotle’s headquarters remain in California. And last month, it ventured across the border in a bold move, opening a Chipotle in Monterrey, Mexico, with a plan to bring its Mexico-inspired food to Mexico City in 2027.
As thanks, Mexico exported its own homegrown product to Colorado: Jalapeños from a farm in Sinaloa, Mexico, led to a major outbreak of salmonella cases in the state last month, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which tied them to Chipotle and Qdoba outlets. Chipotle tossed the offending peppers on July 20.
Mexico will not get rid of Chipotle as easily. – Patricia Calhoun
And now, the hail of bullets:
- Apparently, man cannot live on beer alone. Odell Brewing in RiNo has decided to finally add food to the menu, along with wine, to lure more customers in the door.
- Most restaurants try to avoid PETA’s attention, but Snooze Eatery is celebrating the animal rights group’s Vegan Breakfast Trailblazer Award, which it earned for a line of protein-heavy dishes like tofu scrambles and “soyrizo” that the animal-free folk seek when dining out.
- Tasting Table has named Boulder’s Foolish Craig’s Cafe as the top Colorado restaurant to be featured on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” series.
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