Local News | Clubby Longmont restaurant, The Den on Eleventh, serves up nostalgia

Jun. 8—At The Den on Eleventh, brothers Taylor and Beau Raffensperger want to give Longmont a place that feels like home.

"We want people to really enjoy their time here," said Taylor Raffensperger. "Stay a while, enjoy yourself. That's the energy we want."

The Raffenspergers are the co-owners of the new restaurant at 1111 Francis St. They plan to celebrate with a grand opening on Monday from 3 to 9 p.m.

For the brothers, The Den on Eleventh is an opportunity to give their hometown a family-owned neighborhood restaurant. Stepping inside the restaurant is like entering a cozy dining room, and some of the art on the walls originally hung in the brothers' Lefthand Canyon family home.

"There's nothing like this, I would say, in Longmont, as far as a dining experience," said Beau Raffensperger. "I think we definitely have a niche restaurant concept here."

That's also why "the den" is in the name — the brothers' Lefthand Canyon home had its own den, which was a barn their dad converted into an office. From the restaurant's wood paneling to its low lighting, the dining experience is meant to feel sentimental and nostalgic.

"I think this place (has) a lot of reflections of our childhood," said Taylor Raffensperger. "It's a personal love for everything."

Another restaurant used to be at 1111 Francis St. — Longmont Public House. Over the last four months, the brothers have been hard at work with renovations, repainting the walls and moving their own furniture into the space.

Beau and Taylor Raffensperger's hands-on approach to building their restaurant extends to their roles as executive chef and beverage director, respectively.

A graduate of Escoffier Culinary School in Boulder, Beau Raffensperger has worked in restaurants throughout Boulder County, from the Pearl Street Mall to Chautauqua Park. At The Den on Eleventh, the menu will primarily feature New American cuisine with some French and Italian influences mixed in.

Two major menu items, Beau Raffensperger said, are steak and seafood. Locally-sourced meat will account for the steak, while the seafood will be flown in from the East Coast, including oysters from the Chesapeake Bay.

"It's definitely missing in the area — fresh seafood," Beau Raffensperger said. "There's a lot more diversity in Boulder, I would say. We kind of want to bring that to Longmont."

A seating area near the entrance to the Den on Eleventh is seen in Longmont on Thursday, June 6, 2024. The restaurant is scheduled to open on Monday, June 10. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)On Taylor Raffensperger's end as beverage director, he is bringing his passion for craft beer and cocktails to the table. Using local businesses like Spirit Hound Distillers, he said he is excited to serve both classic drinks and experiment with new combinations.

The brothers spent their childhood playing golf at the Sunset course and going to classes at Silver Creek High School. Old Town Longmont, they said, was their "old stomping grounds."

"This is our community, it's where we grew up," Taylor Raffensperger said. "Having the restaurant here in our old area and territory, it just feels right."

The brothers said The Den on Eleventh already feels like their home away from home.

"I think this place is going to, once we open the doors, sort of just evolve," Taylor Raffensperger said. "It's going to be cool to see how that goes, to see it kind of blossom and turn into its own thing."