‘Top Chef’ alum closes LoDo restaurant after two years

It took four years for “Top Chef” alum Jamie Lynch to bring his Church and Union concept to Denver. It took only two years for the place to close.

Saturday, June 20, was the last night of service for the Southern-inspired restaurant, located at 1433 17th St. The closure was announced on the company’s social media page.

“After nearly two years, it is with heavy hearts that we announce Church and Union Denver will be serving its final guests,” the post read. “From our first visit to Denver five years ago, we fell in love with this city, and that feeling never left us. Serving the Lodo Community has been a privilege and a joy we will carry with us.”

Church and Union opened in September 2024 inside the former home of Degree Metropolitan Food + Drink in the old St. Elmo Hotel, originally built in 1896. It was the fourth iteration of the brand and the first out of the Southeast, where there are locations in Charlotte, Charleston and Nashville.

But don’t call it a chain. Lynch, who has family connections in Colorado, ensured that both the decor and several menu elements were specific to the Denver area, including certain seasonal ingredients and Colorado references throughout the space (both Blucifer and Casa Bonita received nods).

Guests over the two years it’s been in operation are sure to remember the black ceiling with the entire text of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” painted in white, word-for-word; a process said to have taken 400 hours to complete.

Our first look at the restaurant when it ultimately opened in 2024 noted that it served “the best Colorado trout we’ve had in a long time,” along with a still-cravable Banoffee pudding. While certain staples of the concept remained on the menu, the kitchen crew had the freedom to introduce items based on what was happening locally at the time.

In addition to regular brunch and dinner service, Church and Union leaned heavily into Denver’s theater scene through a partnership with the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. The restaurant offered a three-course, pre-show prix fixe menu, typically priced at $50, timed around curtain calls and available alongside its regular menu.

The specials evolved with major productions, including themed menus inspired by shows such as “The Phantom of the Opera,” complete with dishes and cocktails designed to complement the Broadway performances, such as a “Beneath the Opera House Ricotta” and “Music of the Night Harissa Chicken.”

But sometimes, the restaurant got caught taking its creative license a bit too far. A Harry-Potter themed “School of Magic” popup that was to take place in the restaurant’s basement space was abruptly canceled earlier this year for aligning a bit too closely with the source material’s intellectual property lawyers.

And now the entire restaurant is gone. The company did not cite a specific reason for the shutdown.

“To everyone who joined us for dinner, celebrated milestones, gathered with friends, hosted events or simply made us part of your lives, thank you,” reads the announcement. “Your support helped create something truly special and we are deeply grateful for every memory made within these walls.”