Fire on the Mountain Brings Popular Wings, Psychedelic Vibe to West Washington Park

West Washington Park will get its first taste of Fire on the Mountain’s wings and psychedelic vibes when the popular Highland wing spot opens its second Denver-area location at 300 S. Logan Street.

Fire on the Mountain, which was founded in Portland in 2005 and is named after the classic Grateful Dead song, made its Denver debut when owners Craig Oberlink and Andrea West opened a location at 3801 W. 32nd Avenue in 2012.

Oberlink said he and West couldn't be happier with how the Mile High City has embraced the concept, which led to the decision to seek out a second outpost. The West Washington Park location made sense, he said, because it’s located at a busy intersection that is far enough away from Highland that most area residents don’t travel up there to eat at the original Denver Fire on the Mountain.

Paul Albani-Burgio/Eater

Oberlink said the new location will have a mostly identical menu to the Highland location, but with the addition of new sandwiches made with chicken tenders (the Cousin Vinnie) and chicken bacon and ranch (Joe’s Chicken, Bacon Ranch). That means the focus will remain on the wings, which come slathered in a choice of 12 sauces.

In addition to the traditional fried bone-in wings, Fire on the Mountain also serves lightly fried seitan strips that can be covered with a choice of sauces, serving as a vegetarian wing option. Boneless chicken tenders and battered-and-fried cauliflower wings can also be ordered in a choice of sauces. A selection of salads, burgers, and munchies such as French fries, mozzarella wheels and nachos round out the menu.

Oberlink said the new space also features a full bar with 16 taps (versus the Highland location’s 10) that will offer a constantly rotating selection of craft beers from both Colorado and beyond.

Paul Albani-Burgio/Eater

“We have a lot of specialty tappings and cool sours and IPAs and stuff like that from all over the country,” he said.

While beer is the focus, Oberlink said the bar also has “good whiskey and vodka and all of that stuff” though it doesn’t serve “fancy cocktails.”

The new location is one of four planned ground-floor tenants for the old Trevino Mortuary building, which is being renovated to include nine apartments as well as the four tenants.

Oberlink said the space, which consists of one large dining room, is more open than the Highland location but otherwise has a similar feel. Two sides of the building feature large garage doors, which will open on nice days. Drink rails will be built along the garage doors in lieu of a full patio, though one could eventually be added in the future. There are also several TVs for watching sports.

The Washington Park restaurant will also maintain the “modified hostess service” of the Highland location, in which a hostess seats diners at a table but food is ordered from a counter and brought to a table. Oberlink acknowledged the system can seem strange but said it allows the restaurant to better manage the crowds that were a constant presence in Highland.

The new restaurant will also feature a large mural overlooking the dining room filled with the faces of several rock and roll musicians, including David Bowie, John Lennon and Eric Clapton as well as members of The Grateful Dead. The mural is similar to the mural that decorates the exterior of the 32nd Street location, but features many more musicians.

Oberlink said that it is possible that another location could follow but he and West plan to take it slow when it comes to that possibility and stay focused on the Washington Park location for the foreseeable future.

• Fire on the Mountain [Official]
• All previous Eater Denver coverage of Fire on the Mountain [EDEN]