{"id":1224,"date":"2026-06-04T15:35:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T15:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1224"},"modified":"2026-06-04T15:35:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T15:35:11","slug":"a-wood-fired-pizza-oven-keeps-on-burning-in-capitol-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1224","title":{"rendered":"A wood-fired pizza oven keeps on burning in Capitol Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
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A wood-fired, gas-assisted oven within walking distance of the State Capitol has roared with consistency for the past two years despite changing hands three times in that period.<\/p>\n

Read more Southbound E-470 closed for fatal crash after man jumps in front of truck in north Aurora<\/a><\/p>\n

Its newest handler, chef Justin Freeman, has no intention of slowing down that fire. His project, Monarch, has landed at the small kitchen space in the barroom at Urban Cowboy, a western-themed boutique hotel at 1665 N. Grant St..<\/p>\n

\u201cI never cooked at a wood-fired oven until I got here,\u201d Freeman said, rather unbelievably given the Denver-via-New York chef\u2019s lengthy experience since graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 2010. \u201cHonestly, after this, I\u2019ll never go back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monarch takes over what was last known as Little Johnny B\u2019s, the launching pad for Italian-American restaurant Johnny Bechamel\u2019s, and Roberta\u2019s Pizza before that. Like those two businesses, pizzas reign supreme, but the current enterprise has a far wider roster of dishes.<\/p>\n

Freeman\u2019s fortes are thin-crust pizzas made with whole wheat and vibrant veggie plates with coarse elements such as crunchy French radishes and tender Mokum carrots. It\u2019s also whatever other protein he orders and gets delivered to the hotel, whether that\u2019s clams from Washington state or beef raised in Colorado.<\/p>\n

Monarch\u2019s salads are translated from the vegan dishes he prepares as chef at Somebody People on South Broadway \u2014 they are both his cooking, after all, he said. The \u201clittle gem\u201d salad, $16, melds a green Freeman described as \u201ca milder version of romaine\u201d with a pistachio dressing. It hits like a fresher, tangier Caesar salad.<\/p>\n

What the downtown happy-hour crowd and conference clientele want the most is his margherita pizza, $21, with a crushed tomato sauce, basil and his own mozzarella recipe, he said.<\/p>\n

Pizzas and salads keep Freeman gliding from one end of the kitchen to the other, carefully monitoring the inside of a red Fierno Forni-brand oven that can reach up to 700 degrees F.<\/p>\n

Read more In Colorado attorney general\u2019s race, Jena Griswold\u2019s experience and prominence have made her a target<\/a><\/p>\n

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His business partner and Monarch\u2019s co-founder, Danny Matthews, stays busy mainly on the other side of the order counter. A barber by day, Matthews said he is generally chatty as he takes orders from customers and checks in on the tables on the terrace. He\u2019ll also dip into the kitchen to make desserts. (Right now, that\u2019s a French chocolate mousse.)<\/p>\n

The duo met when Freeman was working at The Greenwich, also in Denver. At the time, Matthews had stepped away from the restaurant industry and was focused on getting sober, he said. His barbershop clients included many of the chefs and cooks around town, including Freeman.<\/p>\n

When they talked about food and launching a concept, Matthews felt inspired to return. \u201cIt had to be with the right person,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He is now 10 years sober \u2014 with 10 tally marks tattooed on his neck to designate his journey. And he still cuts Freeman\u2019s hair.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think the biggest thing for me is, how do we build community?\u201d Freeman said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a mission similar to that of his partners at Somebody People, one that can make the relationship between restaurant and diner feel symbiotic.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox. <\/em><\/p>\n

Read more 5 summer music fests that offer the most bang for your buck<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chef Justin Freeman’s new pizza concept, Monarch, opens in Urban Cowboy Hotel in Denver’s Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-restaurants-food-and-drink","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nA wood-fired pizza oven keeps on burning in Capitol Hill - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1224\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A wood-fired pizza oven keeps on burning in Capitol Hill - 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