Luna Hotel in LoDo (1612 Wazee St.) is in for some big changes. Geoff Smith, Jeff Sufkin and Josh Dinar, the guys who put out Dining Out and Savoring the City magazines, have signed a 10-year lease on the swank property and have some big plans. They are joined by Geoff McFarlane and Mark Lynn.
The name of the hotel will change to Jet Hotel next month. Flow bar in the lobby will become Jet Bar. And the restaurant in the basement will become a private club called 20.
“There are 19 rooms in the hotel,” Smith explains. “The club’s the 20th.”
The boys will pour some money into the rooms and public spaces. For guests and partyers, they’re looking for young professionals, the kind of people who bunk in boutique hotels. The biggest change is the private club. Although very popular in cities such as Los Angeles, New York and London (even Aspen has the Caribou), it’s a notion that has never caught on in Denver. There has been talk of a club over the years, but one has never taken off.
“There will be a yearly fee, but we’re just trying to figure out the pricing,” Smith says. “You’ll get a card that will get you discounts around town, a bottle of champagne on your birthday and on your first visit. We’re talking to one of the top chefs in Denver. There already seems to be a lot of interest in this, just talking to people around town.”
The hotel name will change next month. Look for the new bar and private club in April.
More eats
The much-hyped Summit at the Broadmoor opens officially Jan. 22 with a weekend party aimed at bringing in some celeb chefs to show support for chef Rollie Wesen, son-in-law of Jacques Pepin.
Charles Master at Brix is busy trying to open his two new joints – Studio 5270 downstairs from Brix in Cherry Creek and Brix Downtown. Sadly, his architect John Eatwell died in mid-December, just before permits were to be issued. Master plans to celebrate Brix’s second birthday Feb. 2 and hopes his other “babies” will be up and running by the end of that month.
Steak au Poivre sleeps with the fishes. Operator Marco Colantonio plans to reopen the subterranean space as Euro, serving “eclectic European cuisine” on Jan 19. Meanwhile, at great cost he has remade the bar of the old Manhattan Grill into Bar Luxe, which had a soft opening Tuesday night. It’s very plush, very swanky – and hopes to attract a young, sophisticated martini guzzling crowd.
Nightclub king Regas Christou has put two joints on hold, Salty Dog at 865 Lincoln and The Living Room at 1055 Broadway in the wake of a recent early morning shooting at his popular Funky Buddha. Neighborhood groups will oppose the new licenses at hearings – but Regas knows that nothing comes easy.
City spirit
Sightems: O.J. Simpson at La Tour restaurant in Vail NY Eve … Dishy Mischa Barton from “The OC” at the J-Bar in Aspen … Hunter Thompson’s widow, Anita Thompson, set to co-edit a new magazine focusing on her neighborhood called “The Woody Creeker” … Sez who: “So little time and so little to do.” Oscar Levant
Bill Husted’s column appears Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Husted also appears on Fox 31 News. You can reach him at 303-820-1486 or at bhusted@denverpost.com.
