Mark Antonation

5 days ago | 5280.com | Mark Antonation

After a three-year run, local food delivery service Pinemelon is throwing in the apron. The Denver-based company was launched by founder and CEO Alex Lee in 2022 after the pandemic made grocery home delivery a booming business. His goal? To differentiate the business from other services by providing a range of local and organic products in addition to brand-name staples.

2 weeks ago | 5280.com | Mark Antonation

The bar at Restaurant Olivia stocks spirits from all around the world, but what sets the Italian eatery’s cocktails apart are house-made flourishes using ingredients you might not expect in a mixed drink—like syrup made from kabocha squash. In addition to providing unique flavor, this syrup and other ingredients like it are part of an overall mission to find uses for fruit and vegetable trimmings otherwise destined for the trash.

3 weeks ago | 5280.com | Mark Antonation

My home neighborhood, Harvey Park, is a wonderful place to live and a quiet, almost suburban environment where pedestrians and cyclists are common and dog-walking competes with yard-sale shopping as the unofficial sport. But it’s not exactly a hotbed of culinary activity. Even looking west and south toward busy Bear Valley and Sheridan Boulevard, the dining options are few and far between, and it’s a rare occasion when something new opens.

1 month ago | 5280.com | Mark Antonation

Tommy Lee’s Hop Alley is no stranger to glowing reviews and accolades, even in this magazine. But for the Chinese restaurant’s staff, it still hit like a bombshell when it was listed as a 2025 James Beard Award semifinalist in January for, of all things, Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program. “I thought Hop Alley’s wine program was important to maybe 75 people in Denver, but to be recognized on a national level was very surprising,” says wine director Jacob Roadhouse.

1 month ago | 5280.com | Mark Antonation

A big announcement came from the James Beard Foundation on Wednesday as the New York City–based culinary organization named its 2025 Chef and Restaurant Award nominees in 14 food, beverage, and hospitality categories. The foundation introduced three new categories this year—Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service—in honor of its 35th anniversary.