World of Beer in Belmar to Close; Crazy Mountain Brewing Co. to Open in Same Space

9News is reporting that World of Beer in the Belmar development will close and that locally-based Crazy Mountain Brewing Company will take over the space.

Although the Belmar World of Beer location seems to have done well, the closure appears to be part of a larger trend- around 20 World of Beer locations have closed recently around the country, with the majority being locations without food service.

Crazy Mountain Brewery Company, founded in 2010 by Kevin and Marisa Selvy, is based out of Edwards, Colorado and produces both year-round and seasonal beers.

Bar Louie to Open at 7111 W. Alaska Dr. in Belmar

The word on the streets is that Bar Louie is set to open a location at 7111 W. Alaska Drive, the former home of Belmar's now-shuttered Elephant Bar.

I've personally never eaten at one, but they do seem rather ubiquitous in all the metro area's "life-style centers." There's one at Northfield in Stapleton, another at the Streets at South Glenn, and at least one more up north at the Westminster Promenade.

Bar Louie appears to specialize in burgers, flat bread pizzas, sandwiches and salads, but the menu seems to cover all the bases.

Again, I've never eaten at one. Anyone have any thoughts?

Refresh Planned for Villa South Shopping Center

Business Den reports that the Villa South Shopping Center at Mississippi and Wadsworth has been purchased and the new owners plan to spend $2.5 million refurbishing the aging strip mall. The shopping center's only notable tenant is Johnny's New York Pizza, a popular choice for pizza delivery in the downtown Lakewood area. As the new owners plan to raise rents substantially, it's an open question whether Johnny's or any of the current tenants will remain.

In Photos: First Friday on Block 7

Chuy's Tex-Mex Coming to Belmar

Chuy's, the Austin-based Tex-Mex restaurant with a cult following, plans to open a Belmar location later this year.

Negotiations have been ongoing for at least a year to bring the restaurant to 499 S. Vance Street, across from the Belmar Chick Fil-A. This is the corner lot that cuts into the parking garage attached to Whole Foods and Mile High Wine and Spirits, and it's fantastic to see it finally get developed.

I haven't seen any renderings of the planned structure, and Chuy's is known for giving each of their locations its own, unique look. Among the common design elements are shrines to Elvis and funky, vintage decor.

As far as the menu at Chuy's goes, it's standard Tex-Mex fare, gently influenced by a New Mexican focus on green chilis. As such, it doesn't represent anything particularly new to the culinary scene in the metro area, where "Colorado-Mex" already blends New Mexican, Mexican, and Tex-Mex flavors together. I've never eaten at a Chuy's, but reviews tend to mention the freshness of their ingredients and their housemade tortillas. Perhaps the most notable thing about the menu is the absence of green chili, by which I mean the green chili, tomato, and pork stew that tops nearly every burrito, tamale, and relleno served in Colorado. Instead, Chuy's goes with New Mexican green chili, which is a thinner sauce made from green chilis alone.

My favorite Tex-Mex joints in Denver are the Blue Bonnet, Benny's, and the Rio Grande. And although I don't eat at any of these restaurant all that often, all three are well worth the occasional crosstown drive. For me, I'm excited to see how Chuy's fits in. If the food and the atmosphere are at least as good, then Chuy's will be a great addition to downtown Lakewood.

CubeSmart Self-Storage Planned for 6206 W. Alameda Ave.

The defunct Asian buffet at 6206 W. Alameda Ave. may become a self-storage facility under a proposal currently before the Lakewood Planning Commission.

The plan calls for demolishing the current structure and replacing it with a multistory building with a masonry facade on the first floor and glass curtain walls and metal canopies on the upper floors. The building would house climate controlled storage units, as well as business center with private workstations and a shared conference room.

The building would have windows along Alameda, connecting the office space inside to the Alameda greenway. Parking would be along the side and back, while a masonry wall and landscaping would separate the development from neighboring residential areas.

Overall, this plan strikes me as a good one. This is a site that's peripheral to downtown Lakewood, and as such, isn't a good site for a restaurant. A self-storage center is useful to have nearby, but isn't going to generate a lot of traffic and disrupt neighboring residential areas. At the same time, it's a chance to replace an eyesore structure and parking lot with a building that follows current zoning and building codes, placing the building along Alameda in order to contribute to the overall streetscape, and requiring higher quality materials on the facade.

First Take: Brodo Italian Scratch Kitchen is Good, Really Good

I stopped into Brodo today to take in the lovely February weather (!) and try a few things off their menu. The short story is that I had an amazing meal made even better by outstanding service. The longer story? Here goes:

As I wrote back in October, I've had some reservation about owners Shaheen and Knauf's decision to focus on Italian American classics instead of the more authentically Italian dishes they offer at their Greenwood village location, The Wooden Table. And I still have this concern. But I was able to find more than enough interesting choices on today's lunch menu to make it difficult to settle on just a couple of items.

As expected, the menu had plenty of pasta and red sauce, along with a meatball sandwich and chicken or eggplant parmesan. None of these choices stood out as particularly interesting, but I was tempted by the braised pork shoulder and chicken marsala, especially as they seemed likely to come with homemade pasta.

In the end, though, I started with an order of mussels in white wine, butter, and garlic, topped with a slice of grilled ciabatta. I paired it with a house chardonnay, and I got to say, I love mussels and white wine. This is a classic dish, but one that's easy to screw up if the mussels aren't top notch, or if they're over cooked. The ones Brodo served up were perfect, with not a single unopened shell or too-chewy bite. Instead, the mussels were tender and buttery, and the broth that they were served in was so good that I requested a side of bread to dip into it. The bread was crusty and fresh, and together it was practically a meal.


The mussels are on the appetizer menu, which means they're a couple of bucks off at happy hour (making then $12 instead of $14). The side of bread was just a couple of dollars, and at happy hour glasses of house wines are just $5. Taken together, this is a combination that I'm looking forward to going back to try again sometime soon.

After the mussels, I went for the hanger steak salad, which involved slices of the aforementioned hanger steak atop a plate of spring greens, gorgonzola, roasted grape tomatoes, and a sherry and gorgonzola vinaigrette. The steak was as tender as any steak I've ever had, and cooked exactly to my requested medium rare. The salad was perfectly balanced, and a true delight, especially when matched with a glass of a 2015 Posta Fazzio malbec. At $12 a glass, it was a bit of a splurge for a humble blogger like myself, but had deep cherry and plum undercurrents that went beautifully with the steak salad.

At this point, I'd eaten enough to call my appetizer and salad a meal, but obviously I was very pleased with the quality of both the ingredients and the cooking. Brodo seems like the real deal, if you can get past the conservative, ultra-classic nature of the menu.

I also want to highlight the quality of the service, because my server was outstanding. He clearly knew the menu, the food, and the ingredients, and he orchestrated the arrival of each course perfectly.

My only complaint was with the ambience, and specifically, the decor. The renovation of the space itself has been tastefully done. There's a large garage door that opens onto a spacious patio (hello spring and summer happy hour!), and a warm, open dining room under high ceilings and modern lights. But the tables and chairs seem a little institutional, and the wall art appears to have been plucked from a Bed, Bath, and Beyond discount bin. If Shaheen and Knauf really want to compete, they need to hire an interior decorator to finish the job.

But I really enjoyed my meal, and I think Brodo is going to be an outstanding addition to Belmar and downtown Lakewood. If you haven't gone over to try it yet, you really should. Order the mussels and a glass of wine, sit out on the patio, and enjoy a warm, February afternoon.