The chef, baker and Harley lover behind Biker Jim’s Gourmet Hot Dogs will reintroduce himself to the Denver masses early next month as the newest vendor at Avanti Food & Beverage.
Bikers & Bakers is taking over a stall on the first floor of the food hall, 3200 N. Pecos St.. It’s the name “Biker” Jim Pittenger has used since last year, after a business deal gone bad tanked his original location by Coors Field and ended the company’s ties to local sports stadiums and grocery stores.
“I don’t really want to open up another brick and mortar right away,” Pittenger said Monday. “This is sort of the best of both worlds for me.”
But don’t call it a comeback. Pittenger has stayed quietly busy, running Bikers & Bakers as a pop-up inside of Denver Milk Market downtown. He also grilled his signature hot dogs at farmers’ markets and catered private events. In addition to sausage, he experimented with desserts like triple chocolate mousse and mojito cakes.
But when a space became available at Avanti, he jumped at it. (He’ll take the place of Eloise, a bistro that had just opened in March. A spokesperson for Avanti said its owner is revising the concept and hopes to reopen next year.)
“I am not just a wiener-based economy anymore,” Pittenger said. “We’re doing brunches on weekends, and I’ll be dropping some really cool desserts.”
History favors the wieners, however, especially varieties such as elk jalapeño cheddar. Those will be at Avanti, too, along with chicken karaage and chicharrones.
“We’ve always hoped to have Biker Jim’s under our roof,” Avanti’s director of operations, Travis Christ, said in a statement. “Jim’s food has always embodied the creative, independent spirit of Denver dining, and we couldn’t be more excited to give him a platform for his next chapter.
The fallout between Pittenger and former partner Andrew Soulakis, who took over Biker Jim’s after the coronavirus pandemic sank the restaurant business, led him to question whether he could continue to use the “Biker Jim” name.
After soliciting with a trademark attorney, he said, he found “there’s no reason why I couldn’t or shouldn’t use the Biker Jim’s name.” The nickname, however, remains informal.
Still, he’s eyeing a return to stadiums, striking up talks with food service provider Aramark, he said.
The Bikers & Bakers logo, a version of which Pittenger shared Monday, is stylized like a USDA certification stamp. Below the title is a cheeky tagline: “U.S. INSPECTED BRAND.”