Restaurateur John Kunkel’s 50 Eggs Hospitality Group is proud to announce that its award winning concept CHICA helmed by Celebrity Chef Lorena Garcia will debut in mid-November in Aspen, Colorado, just in time for ski season.
Positioned at the base of Aspen (Ajax) Mountain inside the Residences at The Little Nell, CHICA is located at 501 E. Dean Street Aspen, CO 81611. The 4,335-square-foot restaurant boasts an additional 2,969 square feet of patio space with an outdoor bar, with views of Aspen Mountain. The restaurant will be open year-round for locals and visitors alike to enjoy lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, as well as après-ski and late night. Offering a total of 165 indoor and outdoor seats, this new hotspot will serve as a gathering place for Aspen’s stylish visitors and locals.
“As a long time visitor to this beautiful town, I am very pleased to open CHICA Aspen and firmly plant our roots in the community,” says 50 Eggs Hospitality Group Founder and CEO John Kunkel. “Our award-winning design, cuisine and cocktail program will be something new that locals and visitors alike will love.”
The Aspen expansion of CHICA features classic renditions and signature interpretations of Latin American dishes, an award- winning wine and cocktail program and a dining experience complete with live entertainment. The menu draws from CHICA’s Miami and Las Vegas locations and also showcases new dishes. The menu allows guests to explore the bold flavors of Latin American cuisine as one culture, with influences from Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, and more.
Chef Garcia – best known for television roles on “Top Chef Masters,” “America’s Next Great Restaurant” and Univision’s “Despierta America” – has focused her entire career around bringing the robust and vibrant flavors of Latin cooking to a global audience.
“It is so exciting to bring the bold flavors of CHICA to Aspen,” says Garcia. “We look forward to introducing the most popular dishes from our Miami and Las Vegas locations, as well as some inspiring dishes unique to our Aspen location.”
Bringing a new dynamic to Aspen’s nightlife, the restaurant’s CHICA Nights, every Friday and Saturday, provides a dining experience filled with live musicians, exotic performers and an animated lineup of DJs to dance the night away.
CHICA’s jaw-dropping design is the brainchild of Rockwell Group, a New York-based architecture and design firm focused on high-end brands such as José Andrés’ Think Food Group and NOBU Hospitality. The restaurant beckons with décor that draws influence from Latin American colors and textures such as handmade tiles, bright accents and colonial-inspired ironwork.
For more information, visit chicarestaurant.com/aspen and follow along on Instagram and Facebook at @ChicaRestaurants.
CHICA Aspen is now hiring for full and part-time positions. To inquire about positions in Aspen, please contact recruitment@50eggsinc.com.
Conceptualized by 50 Eggs Hospitality Group in collaboration with Celebrity Chef Lorena Garcia. CHICA is a celebration of vibrant Latin flavors and culture. CHICA made its initial debut in 2017 inside of The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and followed with a second location in Miami’s historic MiMo District in 2019. The menu features influences and flavors from Garcia’s hometown in Venezuela, as well as Peru, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, among others. From the hearty wood-grilled steaks to the freshly prepared ceviche and seafood delicacies, Garcia meticulously reimagines each and every dish in her own distinct global style. CHICA delivers an unparalleled dining experience and is open daily for lunch, dinner, weekend brunch, private dining, and late-night on weekends for a unique nightlife and culinary experience, coined CHICA Nights. From daytime into the late hours of the night, CHICA is that lively party – part delicious feast, part Carnival – that serves as a singular all-in-one dining and entertainment destination.
Las Vegas | 3355 S. Las Vegas Blvd St. 106, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Miami | 5556 NE 4th Ct., Miami, FL 33137
Aspen | 501 E. Dean Street Aspen, CO 81611
For more information, visit: https://www.ChicaRestaurant.com
Instagram: @ChicaRestaurants
Facebook: /ChicaRestaurants
Founded in 2001 by seasoned restaurateur John Kunkel, 50 Eggs Hospitality Group is a globally acclaimed restaurant group known for its game-changing concepts, critically acclaimed chef partners, and signature warmth hospitality. Named Restaurant Hospitality Magazine’s “Coolest Multi-Concept Companies in the Land,” 50 Eggs, Inc. focuses its efforts on developing cutting-edge brands that deliver unparalleled dining experiences throughout the United States and abroad. The multi-faceted full-creative firm owns and operates some of the country’s most influential restaurants, with 12 successful restaurants in its current portfolio, and several more brands and location expansions on the horizon. Signature concepts include the James Beard Foundation Award-nominated Yardbird, with six eateries in Miami, Las Vegas, Singapore, Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington, D.C. and more to come, including Chicago and Denver in 2022. CHICA a collaboration with Celebrity Chef Lorena Garcia debuted at the Venetian Las Vegas in 2017 followed by Miami in late-2019. The Venetian Resort is also home to two additional 50 Eggs Hospitality Group concepts including Spritz Restaurant & Bar and Capri Pool Restaurant & Bar. Lastly, the group’s fast-casual Spring Chicken concept delights guests in both Miami International Airport and Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.
This year (2021), also marking the groups’ twenty-year anniversary, 50 Eggs Hospitality Group will open CHICA’s third outpost location in Aspen and reopen Yardbird in Beverly Hills. The group’s award-winning restaurant concepts continue to expand throughout the United States, and internationally, with the upcoming addition of its newest concept, WAKUDA. Created in collaboration with world-renowned, two-Michelin-starred Chef Tetsuya Wakuda, the brand-new eatery is a collision of time and culture through cuisine. Opening at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands and in Las Vegas early-2022. For more information, visit: https://www.50EggsInc.com, and follow @50EggsInc on Instagram and 50EggsInc on Facebook.
As a restaurateur, philanthropist, TV personality and published author, Chef Lorena Garcia is well-known for her numerous accomplishments in the culinary world, not only as a chef, but as the author of two cookbooks, TV series host of Emmy-award winning show “Despierta America” for Univision (Delicioso), co-creator, executive-producer and host for Nickelodeon’s “Food Hunters” and season 4 finalist on Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters.” Beginning her culinary training at Johnson & Wales, Garcia graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts and obtained her honorary doctorate degree. Chef Garcia has furthered her love for education with her culinary loft in Miami, FL. The Venezuelan-born chef has a constant focus on culinary development and hosts events and provides a culinary incubator within the space. Lorena furthered her craft early on in her career by studying in countries known for great cuisine. Chef Lorena always finds time to give back, developing “Big Chef, Little Chef” as a comprehensive non-profit program to help children and their families take control of their eating habits and, ultimately, their lives.