Troy Guard's Brunch Concept HashTAG Opens in Highlands Ranch November 16

Since the pandemic, restaurateur Troy Guard's TAG Hospitality Group has gone through a lot of changes.

In 2021, Guard closed his first restaurant, TAG, which had been a staple in Larimer Square since it debuted in 2009. Later that year, he also shuttered TAG Burger Bar and a concept he'd tested out at Junction Food and Drink, Big Wave Taco. Last December, he sold Grange Hall, the food hall he'd opened in Greenwood Village just over a year earlier, to a strip club operator. In January, he closed the recently refreshed FNG, his LoHi eatery. And in September, he shuttered the Larimer Square outpost of Bubu.

But he also expanded Los Chingones, his Latin group, and soon he'll open his first wine bar, Done Deal. Now he's doubling down on his brunch restaurant, HashTAG, with a second location set to open on November 16 at 1485 Park Central Drive in Highlands Ranch. The news follows an earlier announcement about plans to open an expansive HashTAG outpost complete with a 4,000-square-foot, year-round rooftop patio at 1125 17th Street in early 2024. “We are incredibly excited to bring a HashTAG to the vibrant community of Highlands Ranch,” Guard said in announcing the news. “I have given a lot of love to the city of Denver, but I have never opened a restaurant as far south as Highlands Ranch." (Grange Hall was south, but not that south.)

HashTAG's original location debuted in Central Park in 2017; the restaurant is known as a lively brunch spot with a menu that includes chilaquiles, cast-iron cinnamon rolls, a variety of hot cakes, omelets and more.

“We’ve been focusing on the expansion of HashTAG downtown, but when the chance came about to open one in Highlands Ranch, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up, and we had to jump on it," Guard says. There are plans to add even more HashTAGs in the future, both within and potentially outside of Colorado. (He already operates a location of his Denver steakhouse, Guard and Grace, in Houston.)

Guard isn't alone in looking to the suburbs for expansion opportunities. In fact, he's right on trend. Local brands such as the Cherry Cricket and Denver Biscuit Company have recently opted to open locations south of town — in Littleton and Centennial, respectively — while others, like Blue Pan and King of Wings, are opening outposts in Golden soon.

But Guard is also going big with HashTAG's downtown plans, a move that signals his confidence in the resurgence of business in the area — and for the city's ongoing love of boozy, mid-day meals.