Reader: How many times have we seen Denver chef/restaurateurs spread themselves thin?

Chef Troy Guard is a very busy man. Today he'll open Bubu, a new concept in the former TAG|Raw Bar space in Larimer Square; he's planning to put another spot in Lowry. Before that, he'll pour his expertise from TAG Burger Bar into Acme Burgers & Brats, opening next week...

By Patricia Calhoun

July 17, 2014

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Chef Troy Guard is a very busy man. Today he'll open Bubu, a new concept in the former TAG|Raw Bar space in Larimer Square; he's planning to put another spot in Lowry. Before that, he'll pour his expertise from TAG Burger Bar into Acme Burgers & Brats, opening next week in Union Station. Then there's his flagship, TAG, as well as Sugarmill and Los Chingones, which both opened at the end of last year; he's active at all of them. And in March, he opened Guard and Grace, a modern steakhouse that's his biggest restaurant yet. Even with everything else on his plate, we saw Guard there earlier this week, working with the staff, making sure everything lived up to its name. His name.

As Gretchen Kurtz found when she reviewed Guard and Grace for this week's Cafe section, the place looks stunning and the menu is interesting -- but the service and execution can be uneven. It's a big place, and making it work is a big job...even when you don't have other restaurants to run.

Says Denver Dave:

How many times have we seen over-reaching, ambitious Denver chef/restaurateurs spread themselves so thin expanding their empires that they ultimately fail because they lose focus on the basics? Stick to your knitting, Chef Guard, and focus on delivering consistently wonderful dining experiences rather than seeing how many "concepts" you can bring on line.

Have you been to Guard and Grace? If so, what was your experience? What's your favorite Troy Guard restaurant -- and why?

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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