The Fort is one of those culinary icons that all Denver locals know about. With a long and illustrious history, The Fort is a much beloved home for traditional southwestern and early American fare. Situated amongst the Red Rocks of Morrison, Colorado (just west of Denver), The Fort was founded by Sam Arnold, an advertising executive, and is a replica of the 1833 Bent's Fort which was Colorado's first fur trading post.
Initially, The Fort was intended to be a private country home for the Arnold family. Sam and his wife Elizabeth "Bay" were very interested in Colorado history and "Bay" had read a book on Bent's Fort, an adobe fort on the plains.
The Arnolds purchased the property that The Fort stands on in 1959. They hired a top Santa Fe architect to design their new adobe home. A contractor familiar with adobe construction was hired from Taos, New Mexico and construction began.
Built in the traditional fashion of mud and straw bricks, the cost of constructing The Fort went over budget, and the bank financing the project suggested that the Arnolds use the building for a business in order to re-coup costs.
The lower level of The Fort was redesigned to house a restaurant, and the upper level remained living quarters for the Arnold family. All of the furniture, doors and gates in The Fort were hand crafted by a Taos artist in the style from 1833. In February of 1963, The Fort restaurant was open for business. Sam and Bay researched diaries, cookbooks from the Old West and recipes from the native Indian Tribes in order to serve authentic western cuisine. The Fort is known nationwide for its game menu including bison, quail, elk, rocky mountain oysters and more.
The same year The Fort opened, a black bear cub named "Sissy” was adopted by Sam Arnold and Sissy Bear lived at The Fort for 19 years, dying of old age.
It is not uncommon for dignitarys and celebrity's alike to dine at The Fort. In fact, when President Clinton hosted the Summit of the Eight in 1997, The Fort was the site of the state dinner with all eight heads of state present.
Sam Arnold passed away in 2006. A few of his numerous accomplishments were:
- a graduate of Yale University
- a radio announcer and newspaper reporter
- produced and hosted national television shows such as "Food for Thought", "Fryingpans West TV","Feast of Life" and "Eating Up the West".
- he was a founding member of the Colorado Chapter of the American Institute of Wine & Food.
- he studied with James Beard
- entertained Julia Child
- was featured in The New York Times, Americana, Newsday, People, Sunset, "The Today Show," ABC and NBC News, CNN, TNN, "Discovery," and "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee."
- in May of 2004, Arnold was presented with an honorary Doctor of Business Administration in Food Service Management from Johnson & Wales University
Sam's daughter, Holly Arnold Kinney, now runs the legendary Fort restaurant.
The Fort is now offering a Special Offer to you!
You can now enjoy a 3 course dinner for $35.00!
The First Course - The Fort’s dinner salad or soup and fresh baked breads
Entrée – Two bone-in pork chops grilled to perfection served
with mole verde, Dixon red chile, Fort potatoes and chef's vegetable.
Dessert – The Fort's Famous Negrita
A blend of dark chocolate whipped with Myer's rum served in a chocolate tulip cup.
The ideal choice for the chocolate connoisseur.
Top it all off with a complimentary glass of CK Mondavi!
Please remember that this does not include tax and gratuity
This offer expires September 30th, 2011. To make your reservations go to www.thefort.com or call 303-697-4771. Certain restrictions apply.
KB Homes has been moving dirt for a while now and just last week the trailer was delivered for this new home community in Morrison Colorado.
