Tonight: Mel and Janie Master return to Denver for a Mel's reunion

Mel and Janie Master have returned to their former stamping ground for a Mel's reunion.

It's been a long time coming, but they're baaack! Restaurateurs and long-wedded couple, Mel and Janie Master, whose original, groundbreaking Cherry Creek food temple, Mel's Bar and Grill, was one of the Mile High City's most revered restaurants until it shuttered in 2007, when the duo relocated to be closer to family on the East Coast, have jetted back to their former turf for a Mel's Reunion. "Janie and I have been talking about putting together a Mel's reunion ever since we closed the restaurant, and now, four years later, we're finally going to do it," says Mel, who's hosting the reunion at the Eggshell -- which happens to be housed in the former home of Mel's at 235 Fillmore Street.

Mel's kitchen has turned out some of the best chefs in the city -- Tyler Wiard, Goose Sorensen, Chad Clevenger, Matt Selby, Brandon Foster, and Frank Bonanno among them -- and tonight's dinner will strut the talents of Sorensen (Solera); Wiard, Cory Treadway and Aniedra Nichols (Elway's Cherry Creek); and Edgar Martinez (the kitchen manager of the Egg Shell and a thirteen-year Mel's veteran). They're cooking a multi-course feast, the proceeds of which will benefit Judi's House, a local nonprofit that assists grieving kids dealing with the death of a family member. "Janie and I hugely miss Mel's, the food, the staff and our wonderful patrons, so when Peggy, the owner of the Egg Shell, suggested her space and a charitable component, we jumped at the chance," says Mel," who, along with Janie, ran Mel's for more than a decade.

The dinner, which includes wines and several Mel's "classics" -- his vaunted roasted chicken and blue cheese wedge salad, among them -- is $60 per person, exclusive of tax and gratuity. "This is one way Janie and I can give something back to the Denver community that was so generous to us over the years," says Mel. Dinner reservations are being accepted from 6 to 8 pm.; to make yours, call 303 322-1601.

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