All it took was some purposeful scribbles on the big, black panel outside of the former restaurant space in the Stanley Marketplace and you could hear it. The buzz. “Molino Chido” is an intriguing enough name. I mean, what does it mean, anyway? (You’ll see) But when word got out that the new taqueria was going to take over the former Comida space, and who the two popular chefs were behind it, local media pounced, and with good reason. Listen to my conversation with Tommy Lee and Michael Diaz de Leon for the In Good Taste Denver Podcast. It was recorded in early September, a couple of months before the restaurant is slated to open.
The friends behind Molino Chido are well-established in the Colorado restaurant world. Get this for their professional pedigrees:
Tommy Lee (born and bred in Denver like the IGTD Team!) opened the ramen eatery Uncle in the LoHi neighborhood in 2012, with two more in the Wash Park neighborhood and at the Denver International Airport. He opened Hop Alley next, a modern Chinese eatery for which Lee was named a 2020 James Beared semifinalist for Best Chef: Mountain Region. The restaurant has been on the Michelin’s Bib Gourmand list since it launched in Colorado. It’s also a James Beard seminfinalist for having an Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program this year.
Michael Diaz de Leon was born in El Paso but raised in Denver. He won the San Pellegrino Starchefs Game Changer Award in 2022 and was a finalist for James Beard’s Best Chef: Mountain Region in 2023. Not long after that, he got Bruto restaurant its inaugural Michelin star as executive chef plus a Michelin Green Star for sustainability.
The two met during the pandemic and got to know each other personally and professionally and, when the opportunity came from Stanley Marketplace to partner up and open a place together, Lee and Diaz de Leon jumped at it. Lee will be responsible for more of the administrative side of things while Diaz de Leon will be focused on the food and drink.
Feeling good about what Molino Chido is going to be like? Yup, we are too.
The name, Molino Chido, it turns out, roughly translates to “cool mill.” The “mill” part refers to both the windowed “molino room” where guests will be able to see tortillas being made. It also refers to the importance Diaz de Leon and Lee put on the quality of the tortillas which will be use house-milled and nixtamalized non-GMO maize, sourced from Ute tribe farm Bow & Arrow Brand, that is then transformed into the masa they will use.
The “chido” part refers to just being cool – a cool place to hang, a cool place to grab a bite and some drinks. Just cool, baby, cool.
The menu will offer up a variety of tacos, both standard, like you’d find in a family-owned taqueria in Mexico City (their inspiration), and some more unique. A condiment bar with various salsas and toppings will be available so guests can customize their own.
In addition to tacos, there will be large-format plates like a whole fish, burrito and maybe, just maybe, a big grilled meat offering.
There’ll also be a full bar with a wide variety of offerings but especially some creative margaritas.
In this In Good Taste Podcast, you’ll hear Lee and Diaz de Leon talk about:
- The decor and restaurant vibe that comes directly from Mexico (watch for the colorful tiles and logo’d tabletops).
- Just how their relationship evolved from meeting through a mutual chef-friend to deciding to go into business together.
- Transformations in their ideas of what to offer and how to present it – some of that even while they were talking in the podcast.
- What an ideal day looks like to them at Molino Chido.
- And a lot more.
To learn more about Molino Chido, follow them on their Instagram, @Molino_Chido.
Click on the graphic above to listen to the podcast. It’s also available, as are all of the In Good Taste Denver Podcasts, on iTunes, Spotify, iHeart Radio, YouTube, Amazon, Overcast and wherever else you like to listen to your favorite podcasts.
-By Courtney Drake-McDonough, Publisher & Managing Editor of the In Good Taste Denver blog and Host of the In Good Taste Denver Podcast
The In Good Taste Denver Podcast is available on iTunes, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio and wherever you like to listen.
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