As of late, Denver has bid adieu to several of its long-established restaurants. Families and friends have gathered at places like the now shuttered Le Central to share a final meal and reminisce the countless anniversaries, birthdays and other familial milestones celebrated in these hallowed establishments. And while these closings have caused painful nostalgic yearnings for many, this week’s celebrations for one of Denver’s oldest neighborhood outposts serves as a reminder that some of our most treasured places of confluence will remain despite the passing of time.

Cherry Cricket Celebrates 70 Years this September

The Cherry Cricket in 1959.

The Low Down: This month the Cherry Cricket, a beloved Cherry Creek bar and restaurant, celebrates its 70th anniversary. Known for its award winning burgers, the time-honored establishment has been championed throughout the decades for serving up classic American fare to the community in an unchanged setting despite the rising tides of development and commercialization in the area.

“It means so much to us to be a part of this community for seven decades,” said Kathy Huddleston, general manager and two decade veteran at the Cherry Cricket. “I’m truly honored to serve all those generations for almost 20 years now. It’s always exciting for me to hear such wonderful stories from our guests who’ve been enjoying The Cricket throughout their lives with friends and family.”

In honor of this milestone, The Cricket will host an anniversary party on Friday, October 2 and will offer throwback prices from 2 to 4 p.m. with burgers for only $1.90 and Coors Banquet for $0.72. Regular happy hour will follow until 6 p.m. and cake and champagne will be served starting at 9 p.m.

Other Anniversaries:

Asbury Provisions Celebrates 1 Year

The Low Down: Today, Asbury Provisions located in the DU neighborhood will celebrate its one-year anniversary with a release of a special collaboration beer made with Renegade Brewing. There will also be rare one-off beers available on tap along with giveaways and specials. The event starts at 4 p.m. and is open to the public.

The Source Hotel Breaks Ground

Ground Breaking Party at The Source. Photo by Brittany Werges.

The Low Down: Yesterday evening, The Source, a popular RiNo marketplace and restaurant emporium, broke ground on its forthcoming hotel. Located in the adjacent lot, the 10-story building will boast 100-rooms, a 300-space parking garage and a 25,000-square-foot courtyard with that will connect to The Source and host retail and restaurant space such as a full animal barbecue, a pie maker,and a kitchen store.

“It’s a culmination of a long process to get to this point… But we are really excited about expanding what is already happening at The Source and adding some new dimensions to it,” said Kyle Zeppelin of Zeppelin Development, the group responsible for The Source Marketplace and The Source Hotel.

In addition the hotel will welcome New Belgium Brewery’s very first Denver location on the ground floor, as well as a rooftop barrel bar called “The Woods.” The 10-barrel pilot-program plans on developing a lineup of new sour beers, as well as other unique brews like single hops and one off beers.

“We want to get weird with it,” said Cody Reif, a research and development brewer at New Belgium. “We will be doing a lot of things we can’t do in Fort Collins.”

The hotel will come in conjuncture with other on-going developments in the neighborhood, including the addition of sidewalks, bike lanes, a park, and a pedestrian bridge.

“This is a part of a bigger vision for the neighborhood,” said Zeppelin. “Fortunately we are not the only game in town anymore.”

The Source Hotel is set to open in 2017, with early projections aiming for the first quarter of the year.

New Chef at Nocturne

Nocturne Jazz & Supper Club. Photo by Lindsey Bartlett

The Low Down: This month Nocturne Jazz & Supper Club welcomed Greg Weadick, the sous chef since the opening of Nocturne, to take over for Executive Chef Dustin Beckner. Beckner will still be a part of the dining team through a consulting role, as well as working in the kitchen a couple times a week but is taking on a smaller part in order to dedicate more time with family. “After 21 years of long kitchen hours doing inventory/prepping/etc., he just really needed to spend more time being a family man —and we welcomed him to make that move to find a little more life balance,” said Scott Matson, owner at Nocturne. Currently, the menu is not scheduled to change and the restaurant will continue to serve its modern American fare accompanied by the musical delights of its resident Jazz musicians.

Other Industry News:

Noah French Leaves Sugarmill—Eater Denver

Infinite Monkey Expands to Austin—Westword

BlackBelly Market Expands with Full Butcher Shop—Eater Denver