There’s been a lot going on at Guard and Grace lately. In January it announced plans to expand into Charlotte, North Carolina. In June it hosted a collaborative dinner with Top Chef winner and former employee Tristen Epps. Then at the end of July, it announced the departure of executive chef Brent Turnipseede.
No reason was given for the departure, but a pair of statements by Turnipseede and Guard & Grace founder Troy Guard seemed pretty amicable. After all, the two have a long history. Turnipseede was the executive chef of Guard and Grace’s parent company TAG Restaurant Group for almost four years before leaving to helm American Elm. He returned to Guard and Grace last December.
No word yet on where Turnipseede is off to, or who might be replacing him.
However we do finally have some news on where former Hop Alley executive chef Geoff Cox has gone. He’s going to be opening a pan-Latin restaurant in the Source Hotel and Market called Cimera this fall as executive chef. Superstar Peruvian chef Diego Muñoz is leading the charge, with Cox executing the day to day. Muñoz is known as the former head chef of the world renown Astrid & Gastón, which placed number 14 on the World’s Best Restaurants List, and first on the brand’s Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Meanwhile, the hidden hideaways keep coming at Williams & Graham, which recently opened a speakeasy behind a wooden bookcase in Concourse A at the Denver International Airport. According to a job listing on Poached, the restaurant/bar is seeking an executive chef. However the company’s website lists chef Ashley Novelo in that role. We’ve requested more information on what’s happening with the job listing and will update when we hear more.
