Beckon/Call, Denver
Chef Duncan Holmes and Allison Anderson have incorporated music and a guest’s entire experience at Beckon/Call in a way that is completely holistic and natural.
Perhaps it’s becuase it’s baked into Allison’s title - as the Director Of Experience, she takes the role of what would normally be considered General Manager and elevates it to a master class in hospitality.
Consider the music at Beckon - the evening’s answer to their popular all-day dining option over at Call.
Beckon is a ticketed chef’s table dining experience with ever-changing, seasonal menus. It seats 34 people in a U-shape with Chef Duncan and his team serving you from the center of the intimate dining room, and the entire meal takes about two and half hours. Becuase the meal happens in phases, each evening’s soundtrack is a hand-picked selection of albums played in their entirety, allowing the staff at Beckon to play through about three records of their choosing over the course of a meal. In the age of streaming music and playlists, the decision to play through records at Beckon is an extention of the meal itself, forcing you to slow down and pay closer attention to each of your senses throughout the experience.
Call was named one of Bon Appetit’s Hot Ten Best New Restaurants of 2018. Bon Appetit described it as an all-day hang where you may arrive at 10am, but end up staying until 2pm with all of the spritzes and endless slection of unique items to snack on, like their smoked salmon tartine, roasted carrot salad with peas, and Scandinavian-inspired bites.
Call is now on a brief hiatus as Duncan, Allison, and the team undergo some renovations, but Beckon is now a year in and has topped multiple must eat lists in Denver and beyond.