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Skinny French omelets, buttery crusted quiche Lorraine, and poached-egg breakfast carbonara roll out in a steady stream from the kitchen while bartenders build balanced trays of grapefruit mimosas and espresso martinis. Cheering guests are laughing so hard, tears are rolling as freely as the dollar bills being (respectfully) slipped into the hands of the wildly entertaining performers. Vivacious and commanding emcee Felony Misdemeanor amplifies the dining room’s energy, introducing a parade of brilliantly bedazzled performers to the intentionally gaudy tiger-print carpet.
It’s Sunday drag brunch at Champagne Tiger, where the two seatings (10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.) are sold out. Giddy guests are sipping, clapping and singing along to over-the-top Cher and Celine renditions while stilettoed high kicks swipe the air in the ’70s-style lime green and Brady Bunch–orange dining room.
It’s a perfect potion of bougie and rowdy and exactly what owner Chris Donato envisioned when the old Tom’s Diner space at 601 East Colfax Avenue became available in 2023. “My husband and I live two blocks away,” he says. “We love Colfax. We love Uptown. This has become the queer neighborhood in Denver.”
No stranger to the service industry, Donato began his Colorado hospitality journey at Boulder’s prestigious St. Julien Hotel and Spa before joining Michelin-recognized Frasca Hospitality Group, mastering front-of-house positions and moving on to general manager at the original Pizzeria Locale. In 2021, Donato launched pop-up drag experiences under the umbrella event company Champagne Tiger, delivering vibrant sold-out shows to venues like Sunday Vinyl, Major Tom, and the Bindery.
“I wanted to do things that were a little silly, joyous, and celebratory,” Donato says. “Warm hospitality, great food, and cocktails can look more than one way. It doesn’t have to be perfection, tweezers, and right angles. It can be curves and authenticity.”
Six months into its brick-and-mortar era, Champagne Tiger has repeat guests who return for Wednesday’s Pasta & Piano performances, Thursday’s fried chicken and jazzy song nights, Friday’s martini lunch, second-Saturday’s Ladies, Gays, and Theys Brunch Extravaganza, and, of course, the legendary weekend drag brunch seatings.
The reimagined neighborhood diner is a come-as-you-are celebration, wrapped in queer performance art and approachable menu offerings with some head-swiveling surprises. Caviar service arrives in an ashtray, and tables are piled with Massachusetts’ Wellfleet oysters and champagne alongside chicken-fried steak and eggs. Chef Josh Hood (formerly of Beckon and Major Tom) recently put a locally cured Rosenberg’s lox tater-tot waffle on the menu that he describes as a “window into Chris’ creative mind.”
For Donato, creating a space and a menu that’s a little disarming and also comforting is the goal. “It’s a juxtaposition. High and low. Everything has a little wink to it,” he says. “There are a lot of great places to see drag shows in Denver—I want to make sure the food is just as memorable as the show.”
Chef Hood brings hints of his time in some of the South’s most distinguished kitchens—including Charleston’s 167 Raw and Atlanta’s renowned Kimball House and Bastone—to Champagne Tiger’s seasonally evolving menus. Standouts include a rich pistachio gruyere-mortadella melt on sourdough, whole branzino, and a bright and simple roasted chicken with dijon mustard just beneath carefully crisped skin. His popular white corn polenta—a buttery, balanced play on Southern stone ground grits—showcases deglazing lemon juice and salt, which counteract to initiate tug of war with your tongue.
As for the drag shows, Donato says the only creative direction he supplies is a request for a less sexually focused performance with more emphasis on magnified joy, positivity, and celebration. “Tears are the biggest compliment. People cry here all the time,” he says. “Seeing people feel seen and comfortable in a safe and inclusive space is the greatest reward.”
After drying our happy tears and emptying our mimosa flutes, we can gladly say we’ll return for a Champagne Tiger encore.
