Flying Pig Bacon Co. Aiming for Summer Launch in Olde Town Arvada

Chef/restaurateur Jamie Shotton has been building a career in the western suburbs for more than a dozen years, starting a catering company with his wife and then opening Baldoria on the Water, an events center in Lakewood; Westrail Tap & Grill on South Union Boulevard; and Flying Pig Burger Co. in Littleton. Shotton is poised to add another eatery to his mini-empire this summer, this time in Olde Town Arvada.

Two years ago, the Eggshell closed after thirty years serving breakfast at 5777 Olde Wadsworth Boulevard, and Shotton soon signed a lease there. But because the building has historic designation (it's more than 100 years old), he had to work with the city to make sure his plans wouldn't change its architecture and appearance too much. But he eventually got approval and began construction last November. Now just a month or so away from opening, Flying Pig Bacon Co. will offer a slightly more upscale experience than his two other restaurants, Shotton explains.

Shotton's initial goal was to open an all-day restaurant with a heavy emphasis on breakfast, and he says that will happen, but Flying Pig will start out a little more modestly at first, with lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. He hired Kyle Gaddas, who was most recently at Westbound & Down Brewing Company in Idaho Springs, as executive chef to create a menu that unsurprisingly will focus on pork and bacon, but that will also include Southern elements and a few Asian specialties, including banh mi, bao buns and Korean fried chicken sandwiches. The overall goal is to provide a more modern and upscale dining experience than at Shotton's Littleton burger bar, while maintaining a fun and casual atmosphere.

"I could have just done another burger bar, but Arvada already has good burgers," he notes, pointing across the street to Schoolhouse Kitchen & Libations. "We'll have more small plates and shareable dishes to make it a little more interesting."

An undulating bar in the center of the space, opening onto a courtyard patio, will serve specialty cocktails and beer from sixteen tap handles.

Former Eggshell customers will remember that courtyard; it's one of the most enviable patio spaces in the city, with a mature tree providing shade and brick walls offering privacy and shelter. Shotton says he plans to add some weatherproofing to make the courtyard usable for most of the year, and is also adding a water feature with rows of beer taps (that will flow with water, not beer). A second patio at the front of the building will provide additional seating.

Inside, 3,000 square feet of kitchen and dining room is divided into an interior room where a few semi-private booths are being built, and a brighter space up front with a second bar that the Eggshell used as a coffee counter but that Shotton is converting into a dessert bar with a garage window that opens onto the front patio.

Flying Pig Bacon Co. is expected to open in mid-June, with hours roughly from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. nightly. Once the restaurant is established and the opening team is comfortable, weekday breakfast will gradually be added.