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FINE DINING
dining | CHIMNEY PARK
Chimney Park brings refined dining ‘without all the fuss’ to Windsor
BY EMILY WENGER
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.
Jason 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.
REPUTATION
The restaurant has regularly received awards through OpenTable, a website where customers and restaurant reviewers can vote for and post comments about restaurants. In 2015, the restaurant was named one of the best 100 in the U.S.,and in 2017 it was named number one for food in the state in September, in addition to several other high rankings in different categories.
It just happened to be that the building was for sale, but for now, most people know about the restaurant and associate it with Windsor. I feel like Windsor is a good destination to begin with but to have us here as a dining destination, I think it’s important for the town of Windsor, great place for us to do what we do. Almost 13 years. It’s great to be in such a small place with a well known
Chimney Park celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2017, around the same time it celebrated the completion of a facade improvement, which Shaeffer said included adding insulation as well as updating its appearance, while still honoring the history of Windsor’s Main Street.
When people leave his restaurant, Shaeffer said he hopes they remember it as a place that has always provided great food and great service, and as a place for people to share special moments and make memories.
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2404 W 17th Street
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