dining
| CHIMNEY PARK
Chimney Park brings refined dining ‘without all the fuss’ to Windsor BY EMILY WENGER
J
ason Shaeffer started Chimney Park Restaurant and Bar in Windsor because it happened to be a good, available location, but now the restaurant has become synonymous with the town that is proud of its small but tight-knit community. Though the establishment is closed to dine-in customers due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, it is offering online orders with curbside pickup for some items. When it does reopen, Shaeffer recommends calling first to make a reservation, as the restaurant offers a variety of dishes he hopes can warm the soul and bring people together.
MAKING CHOICES In July 2007, when Chimney Park opened, Shaeffer was mainly focused on the chance to be the head chef at a restaurant where he could make choices and grow. But, he said, all the chefs at Chimney Park have that opportunity, especially because one of its most popular menu items is solely based on the chef’s choice. After asking guests a few questions, the chef chooses what to prepare based on the weather and how they feel. In the fall in Colorado, when it could be 70 degrees one day and snowing the next, the ability to cook off-menu means they can prepare a light fish meal on the warm day, but something “hearty and soul-warming” when it snows, Shaeffer said.
COMFORTABLE FINE DINING While food is understandably a focus for the long-time chef, Shaeffer said he also hopes it’s a place people can come for happy hour, just to hang out at the bar or spend time with friends. “It’s kind of refined dining without all the fuss,” he said. “It’s fairly approachable for fine dining.” The atmosphere can be casually classy, it’s also a place Shaeffer said many will go for date nights, special occasions and the big holiday dinners the restaurant hosts each year. “It is what you make of it,” he said. Chimney Park, Windsor’s elegant yet cozy restaurant on Main Street brings out the best of the Christmas confections in this coupe filled with candy-coated goodies. 20 |
mywindsor | MAY 2020
ALEX MCINTYRE
