Amy and Dustin Barrett, owners of Tables in Park Hill, say that kitchen staffers were cheering when they were able to start plating food again. The dining experience for customers just wasn’t the same with meals packed away in boxes and delivered outside closed doors. It was, of course, a survival necessity, and even now, they’re grateful to provide takeaway for those who want it. But greater indoor dining capacity is bringing the Barretts one step closer to the true dynamic of their restaurant: an interactive experience between food and setting, staff, chef and customer.
Sitting down to dine is like taking a seat at a Broadway play, Amy Barrett says. It’s a show in its own right, where the guest’s reaction informs and inspires the kitchen. A year after the pandemic first forced Colorado restaurants to close to on-premises dining, many in the industry are looking forward to regaining a degree of normalcy, where they can see the fruits of their labor reflected in the faces o