Stephanie Aleman and her fiancé, Gregg Sciez, spent a harried weekend searching out an alternative venue for their July 15 wedding reception.
Aleman, a schoolteacher, and Sciez, a dishware distributor, are among an estimated 40 couples left scrambling for alternative locations after learning the Brittany Hill restaurant where they booked their events will close.
The hilltop restaurant at 9350 Grant St. in Thornton will shut its doors to special events June 29. The restaurant closed for general dining this month along with a sister restaurant, the Chili Pepper at 2150 Bryant St. in Denver.
“They really left us in a pickle,” said Aleman, 25.
She and Sciez are among six couples that have moved their receptions to the Oxford Hotel in Lower Downtown Denver.
Representatives for Brittany Hill owner Specialty Restaurants Corp. of Anaheim, Calif., did not return calls Monday. Employees at Brittany Hill declined to comment.
Specialty Restaurants recently purchased the 4.25-acre parcel beneath Brittany Hill and has approached the city about building condos on the site, said D. Robert Smith, business development director for Thornton.
So far, no plans have been submitted, he said.
Specialty Restaurants also operated the shuttered Baby Doe’s Matchless Mine restaurant on a parcel adjacent to the Chili Pepper. A developer last year met with neighborhood residents to detail plans for building apartments on the site of the two restaurants. It was unclear Monday whether those plans are still being pursued.
Bride-to-be Aleman booked her 200-guest reception at Brittany Hill more than a year ago. Restaurant staff told her the restaurant would be remodeled but did not indicate that anything else was in the works, she said.
Specialty Restaurants has said it will refund Aleman’s $1,000 deposit and pay for an insert into her invitations that would notify guests of the change, she said.
The Oxford is waiving some fees and making other arrangements to keep the event within the couple’s budget, which Aleman declined to reveal.
“They did an awesome job helping us out,” she said.
The Oxford’s catering staff was notified of the closing by a panicked bride and met with Brittany Hill representatives to see about accommodating some of the weddings, said Kathy Byrne, director of sales and marketing at the Oxford.
“We are taking calls and doing what we can to help the displaced brides,” said Byrne.
Brittany Hill staffers told Oxford representatives that about 40 brides were impacted. Byrne did not say how much of a boost the extra business would provide for the Oxford.
Recent data from the Wedding Report shows that Colorado brides spend an average of more than $13,000 on food, beverages and locations for their receptions.
Specialty Restaurants operates restaurants in 14 states, according to its website. Its holdings include the Sunbird in Colorado Springs. A woman who answered the phone at the Sunbird on Monday said there are no plans to close the restaurant.
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-820-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
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