The Co-Host for the Junes’ Denver Happy Hour is Antti-Pekka Hynninen, Physicist (National Renewable Energy Laboratory aka NREL). I think I met Antti-Pekka last Fall at a friends’ birthday at El Diablo. He’s the only physicist I know of that exists on earth Nice guy, super smart and fun to be around. Come join us at Highland Tap and Burger (32nd/Vallejo). It’s one of the newest hippest restaurant in the Lower Highland neighborhood.
Please join us on Wednesday, June 15th
Denver Happy Hour is the way you want networking to be. Here's the Concept. A New Co-Host(s) & Bar/Restaurant Once a Month. Free Appetizers and Happy Hour Cocktails from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. A Great way to meet new people, catch up with friends, and Explore Denver. It's the Best Excuse to mingle during the week. www.denverhh.com
Highland Tap & Burger
2219 W 32nd Ave, 32nd/Vallejo, Denver
720-287-4493
highlandtapdenver.com
Complimentary Appetizers
Happy Hour Specials
5:30pm to 7:30pm
Co-Host for the Night:
+ Antti-Pekka Hynninen
Hi, my name is Antti-Pekka. I moved to Denver two and a half years ago and find it to be a very friendly little town. On my free time I enjoy rock climbing, salsa dancing, and long walks on the beach.
I work as a physicist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the National Bioenergy Center. Our goal is to reduce the cost of ethanol that you put in your car’s tank every time you fill up. Instead of corn-based ethanol, we make ethanol out of plants and brushes that grow anywhere. The challenge in doing this is to know how to economically break down the strong cellulose backbone that holds plant cells together. At NREL, we use supercomputers to study the structure of cellulose to learn the best way to break it down. My job is to write the supercomputer software that is used in these studies.
To learn more about NREL visit www.nrel.gov.
+ More About Highland Tap & Burger
Welcome Letter To Our Neighborhood Family
In October of 2009 Kris, Kevin and Brad invited me (Juan) out to Denver to look at a space in the Lower Highlands called Aztec Sol; it was a place that they felt was in the right place at the right time for a new venture with an owner, Elvira who was as kind to us as a shot of tequila on a lonely night. The trip lasted 3 days and included a Patriots loss to the Broncos and a Rockies defeat at the hands of the Phillies, both on the coldest day on record in October in the state of Colorado. While bitter about the events and weather from that weekend I headed home to talk to my wife (the boss) about a possible investment opportunity and a move across country from Massachusetts to Colorado, a place Katie had never even been before. A couple of months passed and there was very little communication between the representatives of Aztec Sol and our group so we thought it was a dead deal and began to look around Denver for other options. Then we got the call and by January of 2010 it was time to introduce Katie to the great state of Colorado. And the weather gods were certainly on our side as she drove around the city on one of those sunny winter days when people were out in the parks and the city was rampant with activity. The weather, the people and the hospitality that Kris, Kevin and Brad bestowed upon us made the decision very easy. The ensuing months were spent on weekly conference calls with the group, trips back and forth from Massachusetts to Colorado and Kris, Kevin and Brad working diligently with Matt Ward and his InWard Charles General Contracting Company and Scott Giles, our Architect and now friend to put together the plans that resulted in what you see today.
In June we broke ground and while there were a few hiccups along the way we were able to execute and hit most of our timelines. But June was our most significant month for another reason; it was when we convinced our chef, Elijah Odell to join our team. It was an interesting process to say the least, as Eli is a classically trained chef with a fine dining background. Our concept, we told him, was to put some of the flavor profiles he found in fine dining in between the bun in a casual pub style atmosphere where people could watch a game, get something other than a bunch of fried food and processed meats and enjoy a pint of Colorado Craft beer. We told him about our approach which was family first, customer centric and team oriented. Fortunately for us Eli agreed it was indeed the right concept at the right time and in the right neighborhood. We are so very blessed to have him leading our efforts in the kitchen.
The final piece to the puzzle was figuring out how to come up with an approachable beer list that men and women, beer geeks and the curious consumer would all find appealing. It would be criminal not to take a few moments to thank the teams from Avery, New Belgium, Lefthand Brewery, Bristol Brewery, Tommyknocker, Odell, Ska and Oskar Blues for their unyielding support. They have spent countless hours educating our staff, taking us on brewery tours at their locations and providing us with endless amounts of word of mouth support. It’s our hope that we are able to introduce you all too some cool and unique beers that these world class breweries make right here in Colorado. They are part of our family and we are excited for what the future of our relationships holds.
So I’ll fast forward to today which has given us all as a group an opportunity to reflect upon this venture. As a group we’ve had an opportunity to meet some of the most amazing people in the best neighborhood in Denver, hands down. We have received a lot of positive feedback, some pats on the back and some much needed constructive criticism all of which has helped us and will continue to help us grow as a business. We are more grateful than any of you will ever know. It’s our hope you’ll enjoy a few casual nights with us and take some time to get to know our staff and your neighbors at The Tap.
Respectfully,
Juan, Katie, Kevin, Kris and Brad
