Denver is getting a taste of Aspen.
AJAX Downtown, sister restaurant to AJAX Tavern in the award-winning The Little Nell hotel at the base of Aspen Mountain, will make its debut behind Union Station in August.
It will replace Citizen Rail, although the steakhouse’s executive chef Jared Becker will continue leading the kitchen at AJAX Downtown. The menu will still feature premium cuts of Colorado-sourced beef, dry-aged and cooked on a coal-fired Josper grill. Becker later plans to introduce a secret menu that pays homage to its sister restaurant.
The change comes a year after Denver-based Continuum Partners sold the Kimpton Hotel Born and the adjoining Citizen Rail to Aspen One, the parent of Aspen Skiing Co.
Aspen Skiing operates the Aspen/Snowmass resorts, and Aspen Hospitality, which represents the group’s portfolio of hotels and residences, including The Little Nell, Limelight Aspen and Limelight Snowmass in Aspen.
Aspen One has since converted the Kimpton Hotel Born, which first opened at 1600 Wewatta Street in 2017, into Limelight Denver. And now, Citizen Rail will close on June 29 to make way for AJAX Downtown, the new sister restaurant to AJAX Tavern, a famous après ski destination since it opened in The Little Nell in 1989.
“My vision for AJAX Downtown is to push our culinary program into the highest level of competition within the Denver food scene,” Becker said in a news release. “We will utilize the culinary talents of our team and inspiration from Aspen to deliver an outstanding experience for each of our guests and cannot wait to welcome the community back into the space this August.”
