James Beard nominated chef opens new restaurant in RiNo 

An acclaimed chef from Lyons has brought his cooking to Denver.

Chef Theo Adley, a James Beard semifinalist with his restaurant Marigold, opened his second restaurant Heretík in the River North Art District at 1441 26th St. on Friday. 

The new counter-service restaurant’s menu is inspired by the cuisines of Northeast Spain and Southern France, featuring curated small plates of seafood and rotisserie cooking. Heretík will include a rotation of American-raised poultry for dishes such as the French ‘cou-nou’ chicken, guinea fowl, duck and quail and it has a raw bar of fresh seafood.

“The Basque regions along the coast have always felt like home to me; it best articulates the way I love to cook and the way I love to eat. Bringing that to Denver, the city where I found my voice as a chef, is a full-circle moment for me,” Adley said in a press release.

Heretík has a six-seat counter and a 24-seat dining room with an open kitchen where “the choreography of cooking” is part of the experience, the press release said.

The menu also has conservas (tinned seafood specialities that are popular in Spain), pâté and chorizo-like sausage called txistorra.

“We want this to feel like a bistro you’d stumble into, where you’re greeted by oysters on ice and the warmth and aroma of the rotisserie,” Adley said. “A place where you can get curious at the raw bar, share a bird off the spit, and linger over a great bottle of wine.”

The restaurant is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. On Fridays and Saturdays, it closes later at 11 p.m.

Chick-fil-A opens another drive thru-only restaurant

A new Chick-fil-A designed to prioritize quick service is opening in Aurora this week.

The Atlanta-based fast food chain announced it will open a new location at 7495 S. Gartrell Road on Thursday, which will be drive-thru only — the second of this Chick-fil-A format’s kind in Colorado. 

Chick-fil-A opened its first drive-thru prototype in the state last month in Denver at 9111 E. 40th Ave. in the Central Park neighborhood. 

The restaurant accepts drive-thru, carry out, third-party delivery and orders through Chick-fil-A’s Mobile Thru app. This format also includes a walk-up window for carry-out and an outdoor seating patio, but no indoor seating.

For the Aurora restaurant, anyone wearing cow attire on the restaurant’s opening day can get one free entree or kid’s meal. 

The restaurant will be open Mondays through Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays. The new Chick-fil-A is expected to create 50 jobs, the company said.

Hotel at Denver International Airport completes first phase of project

The Westin Denver International Airport, the only hotel connected to the airport’s main terminal, announced it finished the first phase of its transformation project.

The hotel redesigned its meeting and event space totalling 37,000 square feet as it wants to invest in the future of hosting events at the airport. The design is inspired by the role of water in shaping the Western landscape and geometric designs from agricultural irrigation and city grids, the hotel said in a press release.

“Our goal with this transformation was to create meeting environments that feel intuitive, flexible, and deeply connected to place,” said Kurtis Hanson, general manager, in a news release. “As we mark 10 years, this investment reflects both the strength of the Denver market and our commitment to providing planners and attendees with spaces that support productivity, well-being, and meaningful connection.”

The upgrades into the Westin’s meeting space is part of a wider $25 million upgrade of guestrooms, gyms, public spaces and dining set to be completed in Spring 2027.

The hotel has 21 event rooms and 15 breakout spaces that have been remodeled. Its largest room with views of the Front Range can accommodate 850 attendees and the Westin at DIA also has two ballrooms.

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