A New Restaurant Takes Over the Oldest Building in the Union Station Neighborhood This Spring

One of the first fire stations in Denver gets a new life this spring when Woodie Fisher Kitchen & Bar opens in the space,

The former Hose House No. 1 in the Union Station neighborhood became a print shop in the 1920s, and then turned into a welding shop until the 1980s. By 1986, it became a historic site, and property owner Focus Property Group worked with Historic Denver to preserve the building it purchased in 2004.

Woodie Fisher, on the corner of 20th and Chestnut Streets, plans to bring what it dubs a “neighborhood gathering place” with global dishes representing the Mediterranean to the Lowcountry in South Carolina.

Executive chef Kelli Daniels, formerly from Briarwood Inn, once owned and operated a catering and mobile vending company that specialized in high-end, boutique events across the country. She was a runner-up on The Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen, Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell, and was a competitor on Chopped.

“The inspiration behind the dishes at Woodie Fisher is vast, but ultimately results in a cohesive menu for the diverse neighborhood around us,” Daniels says in a press statement. “We pulled fire-driven elements representative of the building’s past, elements of the Lowcountry Delta from my time in Memphis, Tennessee, Mediterranean elements from my family’s heritage, and even ballpark nostalgia for baseball fans across the block. Guests will see a nuance woven into a menu from which they still feel comfortable ordering.”

Woodie Fisher [Official Site]

Daniels plans to serve fire-inspired small plates using Colorado-raised proteins, locally- and seasonably-sourced whole grains and greens, and even nostalgic classics for pre- or post-baseball outings.

Dishes will include Superior Farms lamb meatballs with smoked tomato sauce and feta; the Beet Down, a salad made with quick pickled and roasted beets, citrus segments, celery tops, toasted sunflower seeds, and fresh buttermilk ricotta; Redwood’s cheddar and scallion biscuits with black pepper honey butter; Colorado bison short ribs with toasted garlic and scallion relish; sweet potato and taro chips with harissa honey; and more.

The restaurant is named after Redwood “Woodie” Fisher, one of Denver’s earliest fire foremen, who died while trying to stop a runaway fire team, a horse-drawn hose wagon, in 1870.

• Woodie Fisher Kitchen & Bar [Official Site]

• All Coverage of Union Station [EDEN]