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Big changes are afoot in Cherry Creek. Crews have begun demolishing several of the shopping center’s freestanding buildings on the west side to make way for a sprawling mixed-use neighborhood, Cherry Creek West. Locals were forced to say goodbye to Elway’s, an upscale steak house that operated in one of the now-demolished spaces for more than 20 years. And developers say the first building of this new project likely won’t be completed until 2029. In other words, Cherry Creek will be filled with a cacophony of construction for the foreseeable future.
But even amid the dust and noise, a seasoned Denver chef and restaurateur is banking on the long-term allure of the ritzy retail zone. Sean Huggard’s Ash & Agave, a Mexican Riviera–themed cantina and grill, is now open inside the mall—and he thinks it’s worth navigating the maze of orange cones to get there.
“I’m leaning into the mall location; people here want their margaritas and guacamole,” Huggard says. “Retail is doing great here. Sales are up [at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center] 20 percent year over year. People don’t want to buy a $10,000 purse online.”
Ash & Agave took over the former home of California Pizza Kitchen, which closed in July 2025 after a quarter century in business, but the space is almost unrecognizable. Graceful concrete curves hug spacious booths, while red clay tile, wood floors, and live agave in built-in planters soften the aesthetic. Stacks of split oak along one wall and the faint aroma of smoke hint at the wood-burning grill in the kitchen.
Huggard owns the Shucking Good Hospitality Company, which also operates two locations of Blue Island Oyster Bar & Seafood (one just a few blocks away and the other in Lone Tree) and Oliver’s Italian in the Denver Tech Center. Ash & Agave’s menu, overseen by executive chef Cesar Lugado and Shucking Good culinary director Jeff Armstrong, shows some of the same range and creativity found at Huggard’s other ventures.
Starters include savory churro bites topped with spicy tuna, a pair of ceviches (lobster and sea bass), and octopus tostadas. Slightly larger shareables run from al pastor skewers—a clever way to capture the essence of the grill without building an entire vertical spit of marinated pork—to sweet corn fritters topped with ancho chile honey and cotija cheese that walk the line between funnel cakes and french fries. “This is one that I think we’ll see at nearly every table,” Huggard says.
Like Blue Island, oysters are a thing here too, sourced from cool, deep Pacific Ocean waters off the Baja coast. “There’s a ton of aquaculture down there. This is a high-salinity oyster,” which makes them great for pairing with margs, Huggard says.
Traditional Mexican ingredients and preparations punctuate the taco menu, from xnipek (a tangy condiment made with purple onion and habanero) on skirt steak to salsa macha, salsa guajillo, and chiltepin chiles on several other tacos (all made on local Raquelitas tortillas). Meaty entrées include rotisserie chicken, short rib barbacoa, and carnitas served with down-to-earth frijoles charros and rice. For the Elway’s-size hole in your heart, Ash & Agave carries on the steak tradition with a filet mignon served with chimichurri and a plate of thick-cut frites fried in tallow and finished with demiglace sauce.
Huggard is banking on the wide appeal of the neighborhood but knows that he’ll have to seduce more than shoppers. “Cherry Creek gets a ton of tourists from Mexico City,” he says. A deep list of agave spirits available in flights and cocktails will help entice customers, as will a full lunch menu (not a guarantee in our post-pandemic economy), free chips and salsa (all but extinct elsewhere in town), and a happy hour that offers $7 margaritas and eight food specials for $10 or less. 3000 E. First Ave., Denver (Cherry Creek)
