A lifetime of travel, a love of gathering around the table and a mother who saw the beauty everywhere she went are coming together in Barbara, a new restaurant from Denver chef and restaurateur Troy Guard.
The restaurant is planned for 1900 Lawrence in downtown Denver, with an opening targeted for fall 2027. Barbara will be part of Guard’s TAG Restaurant Group and will take inspiration from his mother, a former flight attendant whose career took her around the world.
The concept will center on globally inspired food and the experiences that come with traveling, while bringing Guard’s focus on bold flavors and modern hospitality to the menu.
“When people ask why I’m doing this restaurant, the answer is my mom,” said Guard, owner and executive chef of TAG Restaurant Group. “Barbara welcomed everyone to her table, she noticed beauty everywhere she went, she collected stories instead of souvenirs.”
Guard’s own career has taken him to destinations including Hawaii, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York, experiences that have influenced the way he approaches food and hospitality.
“I spent my career traveling, from Hawaii to Hong Kong to Singapore to New York, and every stop taught me something about how food brings people together,” Guard said. “Barbara is where all of that comes home.”
The restaurant will be located inside 1900 Lawrence, a new 30-story Class A office tower in downtown Denver. Developed by Riverside Investment & Development and designed by Goettsch Partners, the building includes nearly 720,000 square feet of office space, along with amenities including private terraces, a fitness center and approximately 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.
Barbara adds another project to Guard’s growing list of Denver restaurants.
TAG Restaurant Group is behind several local concepts, including Guard and Grace, its downtown steakhouse, and HashTAG. The group opened its third and largest HashTAG location in downtown Denver in 2025 and is planning another location in Wheat Ridge this fall.
Guard is also preparing to open G&G Surf Club in the Denver Tech Center later this fall, adding another concept to the restaurant group’s growing portfolio.
While Barbara is still more than a year from opening, the restaurant already has a story behind its name and concept. The menu, design and additional details will be revealed as the project moves closer to its fall 2027 debut.
