Jim Pittenger, who founded the unique Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs in 2005 before leaving the company in July due to a dispute with the majority investor, has opened a new pop-up restaurant in the Denver Milk Market, a market hall in Lower Downtown.
Bikers & Bakers will sell “a variety of signature hot dogs” Thursday through Saturday, “including elk jalapeno cheddar sausage, wild boar sausage and a bacon cheddar bratwurst, with toppings ranging from classics to cream cheese and caramelized onions,” according to a statement from Sage Hospitality.
These are some of the flavors Pittenger once made at Biker Jim’s.
On Saturday mornings, Pittenger serves lemon ricotta pancakes, sour cream waffles and other breakfast foods from Lou’s Hot & Naked food stand at the market.
Pittenger started Biker Jim’s as a food truck at the Sixteenth Street Mall and eventually opened a standalone restaurant at 2148 Larimer St. The company later licensed its name and food to kiosks at Coors Field, Empower Field at Mile High and Ball Arena. In 2021, Pittenger sold the company to his then-friend Andrew Soulakis in exchange for shares in Soulakis’ holding company. However, he stayed on as president.
But in July, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, owner of Ball Arena, sued Biker Jim’s for unpaid fees and evicted the concession stand, prompting Pittenger to leave the company he founded and criticize how it is currently run.
Denver Milk Market, part of the Dairy Block, 1800 Wazee St., also announced Friday that it has developed two new food and beverage concepts and added a game room (with free skee-ball, a shuffleboard table, PAC-MAN and more) as part of a major “refresh.” The new food and beverage concepts are Bos Butcher & Deli, which offers burgers and Mediterranean fare, and Fuso, a pizza and pasta shop.
The food hall was founded in 2018 by longtime local restaurateur Frank Bonanno (Mizuna, Osteria Marco, Vesper Lounge, Salt & Grinder). However, he sold the business to Sage Hospitality in September 2023 because the effects of the pandemic had decimated customer traffic.
Denver-based Sage owns numerous hotels, restaurants and bars in Denver and elsewhere, including the Cruise Room, Polka Lola Social Club, Milepost Zero, Call Me Pearl, Kachina Cantina, Oxford Hotel, Maven Hotel, Rally Hotel and Crawford Hotel.
Bikers & Bakers is open every Thursday and Friday from 5:00 p.m. to close and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Denver Milk Market.
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