Urban Farmer Gets Things Buzzing for National Pollinator Week

Urban Farmer and Executive Chef Chris Starkus will celebrate the week with a mural, food, and more

ColoradoBiz Staff //June 6, 2019//

Urban Farmer Gets Things Buzzing for National Pollinator Week

Urban Farmer and Executive Chef Chris Starkus will celebrate the week with a mural, food, and more

ColoradoBiz Staff //June 6, 2019//

Sage Restaurant Group’s Urban Farmer announced a number of partnerships and activations to celebrate National Pollinator Week, June 17 to 23. The week will feature a series of events learn about bees and their essential role as pollinators. This includes the reveal of “The Buzz” mural with artist Bobby Lopez; a bee-inspired dinner at Urban Farmer; a Bee My Honey spa treatment at the adjacent Oxford Hotel & Spa; an outdoor honey ice cream pop-up from Frozen Matter; and more.

Urban Farmer’s Executive Chef Chris Starkus, an avid beekeeper himself, is currently working to earn his Master Bee Keeping Certification, a three-year endeavor requiring multiple hours of research as well as looking after Urban Farmer’s rooftop bees and hives at his very own Lost Creek Micro Farm in nearby Lakewood, CO. Starkus is thrilled to share his passion for bees to educate the public about pollinator populations and raise awareness on why bees are so crucial to environmental health and sustainability.

Urban Farmer’s Pollinator Week Schedule includes:

Happy Hour and Q&A With mural artist Bobby Lopez

Thursday, June 20; 5pm-6pm

Mural artist Bobby MaGee Lopez will join the Urban Farmer team to answer questions about his inspiration, technique and “The Buzz,” his most recent mural in Urban Farmer’s alley (on 17th Street between Amante Coffee and the Oxford Hotel).

Lopez, who owned and operated Innerspace Art Gallery in the RiNo Art District in Denver for two years, has a number of murals around the Denver area, including in Larimer Square and RiNo.

Urban Farmer will be serving a cocktail at the event, the Bees Knees: hibiscus gin with bee pollen bitter, honey and lemon. The cocktail highlights multiple local products, including Idlewild hibiscus gin, Waggle Bee Pollen Bitters, and edible flowers from Lost Creek Micro Farm.

Frozen Matter Pop-up

Friday, June 21; 4pm – 7pm

Stop by Urban Farmer’s alley for a scoop of honey ice cream from Frozen Matter, made with honey from Urban Farmer’s rooftop hive.   

“The Buzz” Mural Reveal & Celebration

Saturday, June 22; 2pm – 7pm

To finish the week, Urban Farmer will unveil the “The Buzz” mural in Urban Farmer’s alley. The mural features honeybees, native pollinators and Colorado wild flowers, including flowers grown from Urban Farmer Pollinator Seed packets.

Attendees will have an opportunity to learn more about pollinators at booths from the Seeds Trust, Pollinator Partnerships, People & Pollinators Network, and Colorado State Beekeeper’s Association, which will feature a live observation hive.

Chef’s Garden Table Bee Dinner

Saturday, June 22; 7:00pm

Chef Starkus dips into his private honey collection to bring guests a bee focused dinner. Enjoy an exclusive taste and be the first to dine at the Chef’s Garden Table; Urban Farmer’s new private outdoor experience. The five-course pre-fixe menu will be available for $160 per person, including beverage pairings.

The menu will include:

  • Welcome cocktail: Bees Knees, hibiscus gin, bee pollen bitter, honey, lemon
  • For the Table: Biscuits with white oak smoked honey butter
  • Course One: Farmhouse and Grain Salad, French rosemary honey-mustard vinaigrette
  • Course Two: Foie Torchon, tart cherry compote, ohi’a lehua blossom, pumpernickel bread
  • Course Three: Sea Trout, west coast wild flower honey glazed carrots, chili jam, black quinoa
  • Course Four: Chestnut Honey Glazed Pork Chop, crispy oyster mushroom, spicy creamy corn
  • Course Five: Brulee Honey Cake, rooftop honeycomb, beeswax and lavender ice cream

In addition to each of these events, Urban Farmer has partnered with a number of vendors for donations, deals, and more.  

Urban Farmer will donate $1 of each Bees Knees cocktail and each Roadhouse Brewing Co ‘Honey Drip’ beer sold during lunch and dinner for the entire month of June to Pollinator Partnership. The honey basil Kolsch from Roadhouse is brewed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming with sweet Idaho wildflower honey and local basil, to create a crisp, slightly sweet and herbal profile.

And, from June 17 to June 23, the Oxford Spa will donate a portion of proceeds from each Bee My Honey signature spa treatment purchased also to Pollinator Partnership.

For more information on Urban Farmer or reservations to experience the Bee Dinner, call 303.262.6070 or visit https://urbanfarmerrestaurant.com/denver/.

About Urban Farmer

Urban Farmer is Sage Restaurant Group's modern farm-to-table steakhouse, located in the heart of lower downtown Denver. The seasonally driven menu highlights nose-to-tail cuts of naturally raised meat, carefully curated by Executive Chef Chris Starkus, who was recently named one of Colorado Biz' "25 most influential young professionals." The restaurant focuses on in-house whole animal butchering and sustainable practices like rooftop bees, window-grown micro greens, and incorporating ingredients from Chef Chris' very own micro-farm in nearby Lakewood, CO. The contemporary space features a sprawling outdoor patio just steps from Union Station, comfortable booths and large windows that open into the heart of LoDo.

Sage Restaurant Group

Denver-based Sage Restaurant Group, led by restaurateur and hospitality veteran Brent Berkowitz, creates experiences where food, drink and inspired design meet and mix. These independent restaurants, adjacent to hotels, deliver exceptional catering and in-room dining experiences. With locations across the country, Sage Restaurant Group’s concepts feature a distinctive scene and a subtly infused local vibe designed to appeal to a guest who is hungry for life.

About the Artist

Bobby MaGee Lopez was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He attended the Bemis School of Art at 10 years of age and at 12 he started a custom design business. He received the Artistic Excellence Award for his work in high school, and upon  graduation he enrolled at the Art Institute of Colorado. He completed his BFA at Metropolitan State University of Denver with an emphasis in mural painting. Bobby MaGee, named after the Janis Joplin hit, owned and operated Innerspace Art Gallery in the RiNo Art District of Denver, CO for two years before pursuing mural painting full time. Many examples of his art can be found in and around the Denver area.