December 16, 2014 – Chef Dory Ford—owner of AQUA TERRA Culinary in Pacific Grove—was in Denver today signing the lease on a huge new project in the mile high city. He’s restoring and reopening one of Denver’s landmark restaurants, an ice creamery, confectionery and a speakeasy with a full live music program. In addition, Ford plans to expand both his catering business and his school lunch program to Denver, all the while maintaining his local catering business and restaurant operations at Point Pinos Grill and A Taste of Monterey.
The energetic and talented chef said the time was right to expand his popular business, “Last weekend we got rave reviews on five events we did simultaneously, I’ve got a staff that is firing on all cylinders right now.”
So he started looking around and decided, somewhat surprisingly, that Denver was the place to be. “It’s got a very, very vibrant downtown scene, there are no shortage of restaurants and they’re all busy all the time.” said Ford, adding that the cost to get into the Denver market was not as much as opening in a place like San Francisco. Coincidentally, NPR radio ran a story this morning on Denver’s booming restaurant scene. It reports Denver is the second fastest growing city in the nation, just behind Austin, Texas, and that in one month last summer 40 new restaurants opened. Read full NPR story here.
Ford has leased the historic Baur Building, named for German immigrant Otto P. Baur who arrived in Denver in the 1860s and started a confectionery, bakery and catering business that served the city’s Victorian-era elite. During the Great Depression, Otto’s nephew Joe Jacobs passed out free ice cream cones to thousands of children and the business is thought to be the birthplace of the ice cream soda.
It is located at 15th and Curtis St. in Denver’s entertainment district near the Center for the Performing Arts.
Ford’s new 9,000 sq ft restaurant–which will be called Baur’s and will retain the 1920s vintage sign out front–will be able to serve up to 300 diners and he plans “an intense, from scratch, nose-to-tail style restaurant with a full charcuterie program.” He hopes to open in the first quarter of 2015.
The basement, also 9,000 sq ft, will be converted into an old-timey speakeasy opening onto the alleyway with an exciting line up of live musical acts.
AQUA TERRA’s former director of operations Diane Kleindienst moved to Denver a few weeks ago to oversee the operations. Ford said he will split his time between Pacific Grove and Denver, making sure to be in town for key events like the Concours d’Elegance and graduation season. He hopes to start up his catering business in Denver soon after the restaurant opens and introduce his school lunch program next fall.
Ford—who will celebrate the 5th anniversary of AQUA TERRA next March—says there are enough projects in Denver to keep him busy for at least another five years. He also revealed a farm is in the plans, a place outside Denver that would provide farm-fresh ingredients for his food businesses.
About the author
At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
