Leftovers: 42,000 pounds of potatoes free for the taking!

In this week’s food news briefs, we check in on the status of the new restaurant reportedly in the works by the Beckon/Major Tom team, with some surprising answers. Also, a big pile of potatoes are coming into town free for anyone to take as much as they can carry. And one of Denver’s politico-meeting hot spots brings food back to the table.

Beckon Team Expanding
The Denver Downtown Development Authority this week announced it has approved a $240,000 low-interest loan to Paired Hospitality, the team behind both Beckon and Major Tom in RiNo, to build out a new full-service restaurant and bar at 1530 16th St., also known as The Sugar Building. But a few important steps remain before any new restaurant comes to the space. Among them — signing a lease. 

“In truth, we have not signed a lease yet,” says Duncan Holmes, chef and co-owner of Paired Hospitality with his wife Allison. “Sometimes news comes out before you want it, or you are ready for it. But we’re hopeful to find a new space.”

The loan may also require final approval from the Denver City Council. None of this should be taken as any risk of the Sugar Building not welcoming the Beckon team into its walls. But it’s a good reminder that these things take time. — Bruno

Potatopalooza
Wants some free potatoes? Denver food recovery nonprofit We Don’t Waste has “rescued” some 42,000 pounds of fresh potatoes that were headed for a landfill, and plans to give them away to anyone who wants them. The “Potatopalooza” free potato giveaway will take place Monday, July 27 from 9 a.m. to noon at the groups Park Hill warehouse, located at 6090 E. 39th Ave. 

Anyone with a potato hankering is welcome to come buy and snag as many potatoes as they like with no limits. Bring a tote bag, a wagon; heck, fill up the bed of a pickup truck. They don’t care. They’re just looking to get rid of a huge lot of potatoes before they spoil. — Bruno

Happy news at FIRE, the restaurant at the Art Hotel
After the closing of Racines left Denver’s movers and shakers without their go-to happy-hour spot, many moved their afternoon meetings to FIRE, the restaurant/lounge on the fourth floor of the Art hotel. But recently, fans of the Art’s popular happy hour — Readers’ Choice for Best Happy Hour in the Best of Denver 2026 — were less than happy to find that food service, any food service, didn’t start until 5:30 p.m.

For a happy hour that began at 3 p.m.?

But now that’s about to change. On Monday, July 27, FIRE is introducing a new small bites menu, with four items— whipped ricotta with truffle honey and artisan bread, charcuterie and cheese, hummus with flatbread, and marinated olives — that will be available starting at 3 p.m., when the bar will also offer signature drinks, as well as beer and wine, at $2 off until 6 p.m. — Calhoun

And now, the hail of bullets: 

• The Porky’s Chicken food truck is heading to a fixed home at 401 N. Federal Blvd., according to city filings dug up by BusinessDen. 
• Another Aldi’s location is spotted thanks to application documents noted at the Denver Business Journal, this time adding a presence in Thornton. 
• The will-they-or-won’t-they waiting game of a Jax Fishhouse coming to DIA gets closer to resolution, with a Denver City Council vote clearing the way for the buildout in Concourse C.

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