Say Hello to Denver's Most Indulgent New Food Hall
Pizza, wings, beer, fries, etc.
You know the saying—one man’s suburban sports bar is another man’s treasure. That’s the case for chef/restaurateur Troy Guard and the defunct C.B. & Potts in Greenwood Village. Guard, along with partners Kevin Hawkins and Ken Himel, bought the 13,000 square-foot building in 2019, with the goal of transforming the former sports bar chain into a food hall, brewery, and gathering place for the Denver Tech Center community. In late September the team debuted Grange Hall, an electric, nine-stall-deep food hall and microbrewery, where all the concepts were hand-picked by Guard.
“That area is begging for something like Grange Hall,” Guard says. “So many businesses, families, and events happening down there, and there isn’t any sort of central social hub. I envision all sorts of people using the space, from business lunches or couples out on a date to families and friends spending time together.”
While Guard is using the large, bright space to expand one of his own restaurants (the build-your-own-bowls concept Bubu), and to debut two new ones, Rado Burgers and Crazy Love Pizza, he reserved the remaining stalls for non-TAG Restaurant Group food options, pulling from Denver and beyond. In the beyond category is the much-anticipated The Crack Shack, the San Diego-based fried chicken eatery with a big following. The hulking, messy chicken sandwiches have gotten most of the attention at The Crack Shack’s six existing locations, but it’s the Colorado-exclusive Grange Fries that steal the show here. The schmaltz fries are loaded with spicy chicken nuggets, Hatch chile-cheese wiz, bacon, and ranch dressing, and they will make you never want non-chile-cheese wiz and spicy nugget topped taters again.
“As far as the non-TAG Restaurant Group stalls, it’s been about me sourcing food I enjoy eating and bringing those guys out to Denver. The Crack Shack is a great example of that, plus coming soon, J. Dawgs out from Utah," Guard says.
J. Dawgs will be the hall’s first pop-up stall, a space reserved for rotating concepts, whether they be open for mere days or months. The hot dog spot will open in early 2022, one of three stalls that aren’t yet serving. A soon-to-be-announced BBQ concept is expected to open later this year, and Honey Fish, by Mizu Izakaya owner Jianxiong Li, will start serving its Temaki handrolls and sushi at the end of the month.
Open now, Uptown & Humboldt is stuffing the lamb gyros and peanut butter and jelly hoagies that have made it a popular food truck around town, and Eiskaffee is at the ready for something sweet. Just what is an eiskaffee, you ask? It’s a German-inspired ice cream treat from the High Point Creamery team. Cold brew coffee is topped with vanilla ice cream, grated chocolate, and whipped cream, so it’s kind of like an affogato but even more decadent.
And then there are Guard’s two new restaurants. Crazy Love Pizza is his first pizza spot, but he’s been perfecting his Sicilian recipe for years. The square pan pie gets a quick hit in the Italian wood and gas oven before being capped with toppings both traditional and unexpected. (Like the Korean-inspired ‘za with kal bi steak, kim chi, sesame bean sprouts, and soy gochujang.)
“I had been wanting to try my hand at pizza, so I knew this would be a great launching point for that,” Guard says.
If you’ve been to TAG Burger Bar, you know the man loves his burgers—and, let’s just say, untraditional toppings. Guard’s Rado Burgers lives up to the over-the-top burger hype, with the option to add foie gras, Funyuns, grilled shrimp, and fried pickles to your patty. But don’t sleep on the fish sandwich or adult grilled cheese, either.
Of course while indulging in foie gras garnished burgers, eiskaffee, and spicy chicken topped schmaltz fries, you’re going to get thirsty. The microbrewery portion of Grange Hall was a priority for Guard, and he tapped Great American Beer Festival gold medalist Ty Nash to helm Little Dry Creek Brewery. Nash has 10 beers on draft, ranging from a hefeweizen to a hazy IPA, and the hope is that Little Dry Creek will brew enough beer to someday source Guard’s mini empire of restaurants.
The cocktail menu at Grange is also impressive, especially considering you’re next to an Office Depot and a strip mall. Choices include the Yuzu Highball with whiskey, lemon, and ginger beer; the chipotle and pineapple-tinged Pastor Marg; and, two words that should go together more often, the Champagne Martini.
If the food, beer, and Champagne Martinis aren’t enough to keep you entertained, Grange Hall has cornhole and Pac-Man to be played, as well as views galore from the patio, and homey lounging areas sprinkled inside.
You’d be forgiven if you never made it down south to the C.B. & Potts, but Grange Hall is something more. It’s worth a stop for hungry and thirsty DTCers, and it warrants the drive for Denverites willing to venture beyond city lines to further their food hall repertoire.