Photo courtesy of Uchiko.
The midcentury modern building in Cherry Creek that once housed the Ginny Williams Gallery has been given new life as Uchiko, one of a family of restaurants under the Hai Hospitality umbrella.
“We fell in love with that building and its history as the Ginny Williams Gallery,” says Ellen Saathoff, Hai Hospitality’s design director. “It’s such a special midcentury modern building and had such a huge tie to the community that we wanted to respect that, but at the same time mark a new chapter in its life by transforming it into Uchiko.”
Ginny Williams, an art collector and philanthropist, celebrated and supported women and upcoming artists. Williams sponsored exhibits and events at her gallery before turning her attention to philanthropic work with the Denver Art Museum and New York’s Guggenheim, among others.
Uchi translates to home, or within, in Japanese. The term is fitting, as a hearth plays a central role at Uchiko, placed so diners can view preparations of the restaurant’s trademark fire-grilled menu items.
For Uchiko, Saathoff’s team retained elements of the original building, including the wood floors in the bar, a vaulted ceiling, and exposed steel columns and wood trusses, but expanded the footprint to include a kitchen, sushi bar, sunroom, and private dining room.
Rich walnut paneling is juxtaposed with rough-cut stone in a nod to the Denver landscape, and Douglas fir accents and leather-wrapped steel columns add to the vibe. Clerestory windows let in the abundant Colorado sunshine, and timber beams frame the new sunroom. In an homage to Williams’ legacy, artwork by local and women artists adorns the walls.
“The biggest point about this space was the labor of love of preserving a space versus just tearing it down and building something new,” Saathoff says. “I’m proud of the way it’s turned out and that we were able to preserve that building.”
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