5869 S. Alkire Street, Littleton
A husband-and-wife restaurant team from the Chicago area has returned to the industry in Colorado with the opening of Summit Steak Bar in Littleton.
George and Tammy previously operated multiple restaurants around Chicago before moving to Colorado to be closer to family. At the time, they thought their restaurant careers were behind them. That changed after settling in Conifer. George went on to summit all of Colorado’s 14ers, and the couple eventually realized they needed a little more excitement in their lives. When another restaurant began taking shape, the name Summit Steak Bar made perfect sense.
The couple came across the space at 5869 S. Alkire Street while looking for an opportunity relatively close to home. Littleton also made sense geographically. For residents in Conifer and other communities along the Highway 285 corridor, it is often one of the most convenient Front Range destinations for dining, shopping and services. The restaurant sits immediately beside Bevy’s Liquor World, which is an especially useful neighbor for a concept where the bar is nearly as important as the steak.
Inside, Summit has built much of the experience around its beef program. The restaurant includes an in-house butcher shop and aging room, with cuts handled and select beef aged on site. Its steak program includes USDA Prime, Certified Angus Beef and premium Wagyu selections. One of the more unusual offerings is Miyazaki Japanese A5 Wagyu with a BMS 12 marbling score, the highest end of the Japanese beef marbling scale. Summit serves it tableside on a hot stone with fresh wasabi, ponzu, flaky sea salt and Wagyu-tallow garlic fried rice.
During our visit, we also tried the Wagyu ribeye and filet along with garlic fried rice, mushrooms, crispy Brussels sprouts and huckleberry sauce. Starters included the Below Sea Level seafood dish and Wagyu tartare. The restaurant experience extends beyond the dining room. The team is also developing a 1920s New Orleans-inspired speakeasy, with custom leather and woodwork contributing to the overall design.
We attended Summit’s grand opening last week and came away very impressed. More importantly, it didn’t feel like a grand opening. The service, food and overall execution felt like the team had already been operating in the space for years.
Based on our first visit, we can easily see Summit becoming one of our favorite steakhouses in the Denver metro and replacing a few of the bigger-name steakhouses currently on our go-to list.
George and Tammy are not finished.
The team also leased the retail space on the opposite side of Bevy’s, where they plan to open an Italian pizzeria-style concept. The two restaurant leases total approximately 11,345 square feet, effectively placing Bevy’s between two concepts operated by the same restaurant group.
For George and Tammy, what began as a move to Colorado and an assumed retirement from the restaurant business has turned into a second chapter.