Denver’s Departure restaurant closes after two years in Cherry Creek

Departure Denver, the second place of “Top Chef” finalist Gregory Gourdet’s Portland-based restaurant, is closed Monday after two and a half years at the bottom of the Halcyon Hotel in Cherry Creek.

The Pan-Asian restaurant closed after Sage Hospitality’s sale of the Halcyon Hotel, according to a press release. Sage Restaurant Group, which owns the concept, is looking for a different place in Denver for the brand.

Departure’s second outpost opened in August of 2016 in 249 Columbine Street, with multiple dining and lounge areas, and a central bar that felt like a futuristic airport terminal. The offerings were ambitious to start — lunch, dinner, sushi and binchotan bars, weekend brunch, and then a snack menu served on the hotel’s rooftop.

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Finally Gourdet and executive chef Khamla Vongsakoun stopped serving on the roof, and they suspended lunch service prior to reintroducing it last fall. At that time, the restaurant’s space-age interior was redone, removing an airplane installation from the ceiling and dimming a counter-top glow.

The restaurant became famous for its annual Peking duck feast, offered around the holidays, and regular menu items like chili-glazed wings and bibimbap.

A note posted to Departure’s website Monday morning.

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