Troy Guard Opening His First Wine and Cocktail Bar on January 16

"I love downtown. I think it's the heartbeat of everything," says restaurateur Troy Guard, who opened his flagship restaurant, TAG, in Larimer Square in 2009.

Since then, his TAG Restaurant Group has gone through many changes — including the 2021 decision to shutter TAG and the closure of his only remaining Larimer Square eatery, an outpost of the fast-casual Bubu, in late 2023. "Ever since Asana took that over, we've been in talks with them," he says of Larimer Square's current ownership group, which has been tackling much-needed renovations on the historic block since purchasing it in December 2020. But the construction projects have already cost Larimer Square many of its longtime tenants, including Green Russell and Bistro Vendôme.

Now two locations of Bubu remain: in Granite Tower, at 1099 18th Street, and in Republic Plaza, at 303 16th Street, which is where Guard will open his first wine-and-cocktail-focused concept, Done Deal, on Tuesday, January 16.
The space was formerly a bank, but when that closed, the building's owners, Brookfield, approached Guard about adding a new amenity for its tenants. Along with wine, cocktails and local craft beer, Done Deal will serve a food menu that includes charcuterie and other small bites. "It's a place where people can come for lunch, or for a 3 p.m. meeting or happy hour," Guard says. It will start off slow, he adds, opening only from 3 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Done Deal isn't the only deal in the works for the TAG Restaurant Group. Before COVID, Guard was envisioning big expansion plans for Bubu, but that has since shifted. "My focus now is on growing HashTAG and Guard and Grace," he says of his brunch concept and steakhouse. "Then, in a couple years, maybe circle back on Bubu and Los Chingones."
In November, Guard opened a second HashTAG in Highlands Ranch, and this spring he'll debut a third, at 1125 17th Street, with more in the works. "I want to have five total opened by the end of 2025," he adds, all of which will be in the Denver metro area.

He's also considering taking a different space in Larimer Square. "It's just a great block," he notes. "If we're able to do something there, I would. ... Everyone always asks about bringing TAG back, but I've always got a lot of crazy ideas."

One thing is certain, though: Guard is hopeful for the future of downtown. "Everybody got thrown for a loop, and that's okay," he says of the pandemic. "But in my opinion, good things come when you have to readjust. Something big and awesome is going to come out of this. People are working toward some fun, big ideas. ... It would be great to get downtown humming again."