Act One Productions

A Look at One of the Platinum Sponsors of the Lavender Hill Cultural District Theatre Festival Champagne Tiger: Where Colfax and Denver Come to Celebrate
Community Comes First at Premiere Eatery

Learn more about Champagne Tiger:

www.champagnetiger.com

Tickets and more information about the Festival:

www.lavendertheatre.org

Learn more about the venue:

Althea Center

On the corner of Colfax and Pearl, in the landmark former Tom’s Diner space, Champagne Tiger has become something rare: a restaurant that feels as much like a neighborhood living room, drag cabaret, and French-American café. The 1960s Googie bones of the building are still there, but now they glitter with tiger print, mid-century glam, and the sound of laughter carrying out onto East Colfax – and joy well beyond the avenue.

A French-American Café With a Big Personality

Champagne Tiger is the vibrant brainchild of Chris Donato and Jeff Yeatman. Prior to its incarnation in its current brick and mortar space, the concept of Champagne Tiger was conceived through pop-up cabaret experiences. Located at 601 E. Colfax Avenue, “American diner meets French bistro” is more than a tag line; it’s how the room feels and how the menu eats.

Champagne Tiger is proudly q***r-owned, with spouses Donato and Yeatman living just blocks away and pouring that neighborhood love back into the space. The restaurant hosts Pasta & Piano every Wednesday, $5 martini lunches on Fridays, and what has quickly become a Denver institution: “Denver’s most luxurious” Sunday drag brunch, often sold out and buzzing with sequins, humor, and happy tears.

Donato has described Champagne Tiger as a place where hospitality is “silly, joyous and celebratory,” a safe and inclusive environment where people feel seen and can let their shoulders
drop. It’s no surprise the diner has been recognized as one of Denver’s most important new restaurants, the Colorado Restaurant Associations "Best Newcomer" 2025 and a vital q***r community gathering spot.

Chef Josh Hood, whose résumé includes Beckon and acclaimed East Coast seafood houses, builds menus that swing joyfully between high and low: caviar service that arrives in an ashtray; briny Wellfleet oysters from Cape Cod; a rich pistachio–gruyere mortadella melt; whole branzino; roasted chicken with crisped skin and Dijon; and brunch plates like skinny French omelets, quiche Lorraine, and poached-egg breakfast carbonara.

The drinks follow suit – grapefruit mimosas, martinis, Champagne on ice – crafted for everything from date night to a full-tilt celebration. Between the gleam of the bar, the tiger-striped carpet and the big windows overseeing Colfax, the room feels both retro and utterly of this moment.

Drag Brunch, Piano Nights, and a Queer-Owned Safe Haven

Champagne Tiger is proudly q***r-owned, with spouses Donato and Yeatman living just blocks away and pouring that neighborhood love back into the space. The restaurant hosts Pasta & Piano every Wednesday, Fried Chicken & Song on Thursdays, martini lunches on Fridays, and what has quickly become a Denver institution: “Denver’s most luxurious” Sunday drag brunch, often sold out and buzzing with sequins, humor, and happy tears.

Donato has described Champagne Tiger as a place where hospitality is “silly, joyous and celebratory,” a safe and inclusive environment where people feel seen and can let their shoulders drop. It’s no surprise the diner has been recognized as one of Denver’s most important new restaurants and a vital q***r community gathering spot.

Leadership Beyond the Dining Room

The leadership Champagne Tiger shows goes far beyond beautiful plates and flawless drag lineups. They lean into East Colfax and the emerging Lavender Hill area as a true neighborhood: participating in community tours and preservation work, lifting up the history of the Tom’s Diner building while writing its next chapter, and partnering with local organizations and nonprofits – from chef takeovers that support pay-what-you-can dining at SAME Café to engagement with civic and neighborhood groups.

They’ve also been highlighted citywide during Denver Restaurant Week and Pride programming as a place where q***r joy, excellent food, and a sense of welcome for everyone are non-negotiable values, not seasonal decorations.

As the Lavender Hill Cultural District Theatre Festival launches, Champagne Tiger is stepping forward once again – this time as a crucial cultural partner and early sponsor of the Pride program. Their support helps ensure that the Festival can bring bold, q***r-centered and allied theatre to the neighborhood, creating a continuum from the drag stage to the dramatic stage.

For theatre-goers, Champagne Tiger is perfectly placed: a pre-show martini and oysters on the garden patio before curtain, or a late dinner and debrief after a performance. For the Festival, their backing signals something deeper – that Lavender Hill is not just a name on a map, but a living district where restaurants, bars, various venues, and neighbors are knit together in shared purpose.

With Gratitude

On behalf of the Lavender Hill Cultural District Theatre Festival and the broader arts community, our thanks to Champagne Tiger:

• For creating a truly q***r-owned, open-armed space on Colfax.
• For proving that drag, fine food, and neighborhood hospitality belong together.
• For investing time, talent, and heart into the cultural life of Lavender Hill.

In a city that’s growing and changing fast, Champagne Tiger stands as a reminder of what makes Denver special: a place where you can raise a glass of Champagne, tuck into a plate of something both nostalgic and new, while knowing that you are part of a community that celebrates you right back.

🌸🧺 DIVINE IS COMING TO DENVER! 🧺🌸

Crass. Courageous. Completely unforgettable.

Step into the outrageous, hilarious, and surprisingly heartfelt world of Divine, the larger-than-life icon who shattered conventions and became a legend.

🎭 DIVINELY, ALONE: A PICNIC WITH DIVINE
Written by Mike Broemmel
Starring John-Christian “JC” Maheu as Divine
Directed by Greg West

Part cabaret, part confession, part theatrical celebration, this acclaimed new play invites audiences to spend an intimate evening with the Queen of Cult Cinema herself. Behind the outrageous costumes, razor-sharp wit, and legendary reputation was a dreamer who refused to let the world define who he could be.

✨ Bold. Funny. Moving. Fearless.

Join us at the Lavender Hill Cultural District Theatre Festival for a production that embodies everything the festival stands for—stories that challenge, inspire, and leave audiences talking long after the curtain falls.

📅 July 24 & 25, 2026
🕢 7:30 PM
📍 Althea Center for Engaged Spirituality
1400 Williams Street, Denver

Because some legends never die—they simply demand an encore.

Early bird tickets only available for a few more days:

https://theatrixdenver.wellattended.com/events/divinely-alone-a-picnic-with-divine-at-the-lavender-hill-cultural-district-theatre-festival

🌈🎭✨