The Populus Hotel by Civic Center Park will include two new dining concepts when it opens this summer, the hotel’s hospitality group announced Tuesday.
The Denver building inspired by Colorado’s aspen trees at 240 14th Street will have two restaurants led by Executive Chef Ian Wortham, who previously worked at Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder and Tavernetta along 16th Street Mall.
The restaurant downstairs will be called Pasque and the hotel’s rooftop bar and restaurant will be called Stellar Jay.
“Chef Ian is an inspiring talent, renowned in Colorado for his work creating imaginative, ingredient-driven food, which is a perfect fit for Populus’ nature-forward ethos,” said Populus General Manager George Prine in a statement.
A rendering of Pasque, the ground floor restaurant of the Populus Hotel.
The ground-floor restaurant is named after a Colorado wildflower, purple in color and found in meadows. The inside of Pasque takes inspiration from the forest floor and will incorporate organic shapes, textures and soft light — tying into the 265-room hotel’s biophilic design.
Pasque will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner using seasonal ingredients found in Colorado and the Mountain West region. Its cocktails and wines will come from small family-owned companies, the hotel said.
The hotel also hired Curtis Landrum to be its director of food and beverage. Landrum previously worked with Wortham at Tavernetta and will work on sourcing local producers for the menu.
Rendering of Stellar Jay, the rooftop restaurant and bar to open at the Populus Hotel.
The rooftop terrace with views of downtown Denver will serve dinner through “live-fire cooking” of wild game, farmed meats and fresh seafood. Stellar Jay, named after a Colorado bird that feeds off of Pasque wildflowers, will be both indoors and outdoors. It will also have a private dining room for special occasions.
The Populus aims to be the first carbon positive hotel in the nation and is set to open this summer.
The restaurants are also being set up with sustainable practices to fit the hotel’s mission, according to the news release. Food will be sourced from local or small farms, instead of conglomerates, to ensure their farms are using restorative farming practices.
But forget farm-to-table restaurants. These restaurants are also bringing the table back to the farm.
The rooftop terrace of the 13-story Populus Hotel on May 30, 2024 still undergoing construction. Parts of the “aspen eye” windows peek out for visitors going to the top floor’s restaurant and bar, which will be called Stellar Jay.
The hotel said it would put all food waste through a “biodigester” to create compost or fertilizer products to give back to farms. It’s the first hotel in downtown Denver to do so.
The Populus Hotel was designed by global architectural firm Studio Gang to resemble aspen trees with windows shaped like the characteristic dark scars on the tree’s bark.
The building finished construction on its exterior and is now working on wrapping up the interior. The hotel is being developed by Denver-based Urban Villages — who have also worked on downtown’s Larimer Square and the Sugar Block — and will be managed by Aparium Hotel Group.
The Populus Hotel in downtown Denver’s Golden Triangle neighborhood on 240 14th St. is set to open this summer.
The hotel is another example of biophilic design, the architecture style to make buildings look more like nature. The restaurants follow this inspiration in both its menu and interior décor, according to the hotel.
“Pasque and Stellar Jay are inspired by the elegance and beauty of nature,” Chef Ian Wortham said in the release. “We’re proud to create food that not only celebrates the flavors, aromas, and artistry of our natural world, but makes you feel good knowing it is sourced and prepared thoughtfully.”
