BAR: TAG
TAG — the initials of Troy Atherton Guard — is the name of the Denver chef’s new eatery at 1441 Larimer St. It’s also the name of Guard’s pet bulldog, a portrait of whom hangs on the wall. Guard brings plenty of experience to the place — stints at Zengo with Richard Sandoval and more recently at Ocean and nine75 with his father-in-law, Jim Sullivan. It took Guard 2 1/2 years to get TAG open. A platoon of fashionable people fill it nightly, a small vestibule is at the entrance, a bar holds 12 for cocktails, booths line the walls, chatter fills the air.
GRILLED: DEE CHIRAFISI
Dee Chirafisi, 49, is one of Denver’s hottest real estate brokers. Kentwood City Properties, the office she runs with her husband, Jim Theye, rules the real-estate roost in LoDo. Chirafisi was the top-producing broker in Denver in 2008 — and that means a lot of closings. She was raised an Army brat, moving every two years in a voyage that took her to New Jersey, Alabama, California, Virginia — settling in college in Florida and Arizona. She moved to Denver more than 25 years ago, worked in the health-club industry, then found her calling in real estate in 1993. She never looked back. She orders a flute of Prosecco.
BH: Did you have a feeling for real estate right away?
Chirafisi: Yes. Some of it is hard work, some of it is talent, some people are cut out for this and some aren’t. I was and I work hard.
BH: How many deals do you do in a year?
Chirafisi: I track it. The biggest was about 80. Last year I had 38.
BH: Do you have kids?
Chirafisi: We never wanted children. We’ve always had pets. I run with them. Indie, a cocker, and Jack, a Gordon setter. And the cat, Toots.
BH: I hear running and dogs are your passions.
Chirafisi: I run six days a week. I wake up and the bike path is half a block away. I either go north or south. Jim and I run together, with the dogs, about 3 or 4 miles. Then I run a couple of half-marathons a year.
BH: When do you go to bed?
Chirafisi: I always stay up for Letterman’s monologue.
BH: What’s your personal style?
Chirafisi: I don’t wear makeup. Today I have a little lipstick on because my dog gave me a kiss and bit me on the lip. But I just don’t have time for it. I mean, I have a choice in the morning. I have an hour and half where I can either go run with my dogs and keep in shape and keep healthy or I can curl my hair and put on makeup and get dressed up. I have always chosen to work out rather than dress up.
BH: Shopping?
Chirafisi: I go to the Garment District sometimes, and Garbarini. I like to wear jeans; I seldom wear a dress. I am mostly known for my boots. I always have really hot shoes. I am a shoe person.
BH: Where do you get the boots?
Chirafisi: Las Vegas. I get them there twice a year. And I wear tights with my boots a lot because I go to Pilates at the end of the day and I don’t have time to change my clothes.
BH: Do you always drink Prosecco?
Chirafisi: I love Prosecco and sometimes I have too much of it. Sometimes I drink Silver Patron.
BH: Do you cook?
Chirafisi: I cook nothing. I don’t think I’ve cooked a full meal ever in my life. We go out to restaurants a lot. I love TAG, Jax, Colt & Gray, Marco’s Coal-Fired Pizza, Wahoo’s Fish Taco.
BH: What’s your favorite place to visit?
Chirafisi: Mexico. We built a house there north of Cabo. In the winter we try to get down there one week a month. When we’re in town we work 2 4/7. When we’re in town we cannot not work. We have to go somewhere else not to work.
BH: You work a little bit in Mexico, don’t you?
Chirafisi: A little. Our AT&T BlackBerrys work better there than in Denver.
BH: Music?
Chirafisi: I love world music. And I’m going to see U2 in June at Invesco. My favorite thing to do is to listen to music outdoors with friends.
BH: Do you listen to music when you run?
Chirafisi: Never. It’s my quiet meditative time. Even in a race. I try not to think when I run. I just try to breathe.
BH: Do you like LoDo?
Chirafisi: Yes. I like the change of it, and that’s probably from being an Army brat. There is new stuff happening here all the time and I get bored really easily. I like the pedestrian life. I walk everywhere.
BH: Books?
Chirafisi: I love Dan Brown’s books. And I’m reading “Guardians of Being,” by Eckhart Tolle. I like books that are philosophical but light and fun.
BH: What’s your idea of happiness?
Chirafisi: Being at peace. And I am a sun worshiper. I love the sun.
BH: We are warned against this. They say it’s a bad habit.
Chirafisi: No. I think the sun is good for you. Vitamin D. It is totally healthy. I am Sicilian, so it is part of my constitution.
BH: What do you fear?
Chirafisi: Heights. I have a fear of falling. I don’t ski.
BH: Are you a good boss?
Chirafisi: I am not an easy boss, but I am a very good boss.
BH: Who do you most admire?
Chirafisi: The Dalai Lama.
BH: What’s your greatest extravagance?
Chirafisi: My boots.
BH: What’s overrated?
Chirafisi: Promptness is kind of overrated. Wealth is overrated.
BH: But you work hard every day to make money.
Chirafisi: I am trying to be an example. I am a teacher. I teach other brokers how to be successful. And I like happy customers. And my customers aren’t happy until we have a closing. Yes, I make great money, but it’s more about having happy customers.
BH: On what occasion would you lie?
Chirafisi: I can’t think of one.
BH: What don’t you like about your appearance?
Chirafisi: I’m getting quite a few wrinkles.
BH: Who is the greatest love of your life?
Chirafisi: I’ll say Jim, because he reads the paper. But it’s my dog, Indie.
BH: What’s your favorite city?
Chirafisi: Sienna, Italy. That’s where Jim and I were married. But it’s too far away.
BH: What’s your idea of misery?
Chirafisi: To be unable to move.
BH: What do you dislike?
Chirafisi: Rainy days.
Bill Husted’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Friday. You can reach him at 303-954-1486 or at bhusted@denverpost.com. Take a peek at Husted’s next column at .
