Today: Dine Out for Chef Amos Watts, Owner of the Fifth String Who Passed Away in April

In April, the local culinary community lost a beloved member when chef Amos Watts passed away suddenly, just weeks before he was set to open the new location of his restaurant the Fifth String, which had operated in LoHi since 2020, when it took over the former Old Major space, then in a temporary home on Larimer Street.

After closing both locations, Watts was excited to move into a new neighborhood, securing the lease for 1490 Eudora Street, just off East Colfax Avenue and right by Benzina. But in the aftermath of his unexpected death, his survivors have been left in a tight spot financially.

Now the family’s goal is to find a restaurant operator to take over the lease for the space, which is about $50,000 to $100,000 away from being able to open and is already outfitted with equipment, furniture and a liquor license.

In order to support Watts’s wife, Jessica, and their two children, Sloan and Loren, while the family works through the details of the restaurant deal, a group of industry professionals have come together to create Dine Out for Amos Watts.

On Wednesday, August 7, restaurants will donate a portion of sales to the Watts family. Over forty restaurants have signed up, and the offers are totally up to each restaurant’s discretion. Some are donating a portion of overall sales, while others are highlighting a dedicated dish or cocktail.

A5 Steakhouse, for example, is donating 100 percent of the proceeds from its A5 striploin. “Amos was a great chef and an even better person,” says chef Max MacKissock, chief culinary officer at the Culinary Creative Group, which includes A5 as well as Señor Bear and Ash’Kara, neighbors of the Fifth String’s original home. “We were always acquaintances, but became much closer when he moved in across the street at the Fifth String. I could hear his infamous laugh when I walked outside. His passing was a terrible tragedy, and we are honored to dedicate the night to raising some money to help his family.”

Kawa Ni, which opened late last year, is contributing 100 percent of the proceeds from sales of its Szechuan dumplings and Maya Bae cocktail. “I didn’t know chef Amos, but from the stories I have heard, I really wish I did,” says Kawa Ni owner Bill Taibe. “It’s always meaningful for our community to come together to help a fellow chef and an industry member. We are all the same people. My hope is this might, in some small way, bring comfort to his wife and kids. We truly feel lucky to be a part of it.”

There’s also a GoFundMe where people can donate directly to the Watts family. 

Here’s the complete list of restaurants participating in Dine Out for Amos Watts on Wednesday, August 7:

A5: 100 percent of the proceeds from A5 striploin
Alma Fonda Fina: 5 percent of sales
Annette: 100% of the proceeds from grilled greens beans and roasted tomatoes
The Bindery: 100% of the proceeds from gin melon cocktail called the Fifth String
Bistro Vendôme: 100 percent of the proceeds from the Lavender Mist cocktail
Black Box Bakery: 100 percent of sales from sausage roll sales
Blackbelly: 100 percent of the sales from a featured dish (TBD)
BrecFast, Breckenridge: 5 percent of sales
BriDer: 10 percent of sales
Carne: A percentage of profits from the day (TBD)
ChoLon (downtown and Sloan’s Lake locations), YumCha: All proceeds from soup dumpling sales
Coperta: 10 percent of sales
Corrida: 10 percent of sales
Culinary Creative Group: Dedicated cocktail (TBD)
Fruition: TBD
Id Est Hospitality: $5,000 donation
Jax Fish House (all five locations): 10 percent of sales
Kawa Ni: 100 percent of the proceeds from sales of Szechuan dumplings and Maya Bae cocktail
La Diabla: 25 percent of sales
Leven Deli & Co: 10 percent of sales
MAKfam: 10 percent of sales
Mercantile: TBD
Molotov KItchen + Cocktails: 100 percent of the proceeds from elk tartare
Odie B’s: $500 donation
Point Easy: Proceeds from dedicated cocktail (TBD)
The Post Chicken and Beer Rosedale and LoHi: 10 percent of sales
Redeemer Pizza: 10 percent of sales
Restaurant Olivia: 100 percent of the proceeds from French onion ravioli
Right Cream: 25 percent of sales
Rioja: 100 percent of the proceeds from the Wildflower Fusion cocktail
Santo: 100 percent of sales from a featured cocktail (TBD)
Sap Sua: 25 percent of sales
Señor Bear: All proceeds from sales of Gordo Crunches
Steuben’s: 10 percent of sales
Stoic & Genuine: 100 percent of the proceeds from the Mermaid Culture cocktail
The Regular: All revenue from Lazy Acre Ranch products (steak tartare, filet and ribeye)
Traveling Mercies: 100% of the proceeds from the citrus marigold gin and tonic
Ultreia: 100 percent of the proceeds from the Delicias cocktail
Westbound and Down: TBD
Work & Class: A percentage of profits from the day (TBD)
Yuan Wonton: 10 percent of all sales