Denver, CO

Are GLP-1 weight-loss drugs really rewriting Denver restaurant menus? | Opinion

Published

3 weeks ago

February 11, 2026

Are GLP-1 weight-loss drugs really rewriting Denver restaurant menus? | Opinion

Food, Honestly is a monthly column discussing how people actually eat right now – not through reviews or recipes, but through real talk about cost, convenience and everyday food decisions. We want you to participate in that discussion by telling us what matters to you. Email allysoneatsden@gmail.com to keep the conversation going.

GLP-1s, drugs designed to regulate blood sugar, weren’t supposed to disrupt how we eat. They were built for metabolic control, not cultural upheaval, but it’s their effect on appetite that’s been the plot twist.

David J. Phillip, Associated Press file

Drugs like Ozempic are changing the way we eat. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

Now, if you want to see how drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro have reshaped how we eat, don’t look to a scale or a lab report. Look at a restaurant menu.

It was actually back in 2005 that the first GLP-1 drug was approved to treat Type 2 diabetes, but unless you were directly affected, you probably didn’t hear about these sorts of drugs until the more potent Ozempic entered our cultural lexicon. Over the past couple of years, as millions of Americans began taking these GLP-1s — and as appetites have shrunk — restaurants started to notice.

Some of the changes? Downsized portions, cocktails losing their alcohol and protein pushing its way into everything from our morning coffee to ice cream cones. What began as a medical intervention is now rewriting the menu.

I’ll admit, I thought last August’s New York Times story about restaurants shrinking portion sizes in response to Ozempic was just clickbait. Mostly, it was my own ignorance. I thought of the drugs as something only celebrities and rich people were taking for vanity, and I didn’t understand how they actually work.

The reality is that 18% of Americans have taken a GLP-1 drug for one reason or another, and those numbers are expected to grow substantially this year as new pills hit the market and as prices come down. Essentially, these drugs mimic a naturally occurring hormone that regulates blood sugar, slows digestion and signals fullness to the brain, erasing hunger long before that “personal” pizza is finished.

The result is not just weight loss, but also a reset of appetite itself. GLP-1 medications normalize smaller appetites — and restaurants are starting to respond.

“Before, if you didn’t have these gargantuan portions [on your menu], you were frowned upon,” said Brent Berkowitz, COO of Denver-based Olive & Finch restaurants. “The trend is flipping around. Now it’s about quality and flavor over quantity.”

At Olive & Finch, that looks like adding smaller, protein-dense plates to the menu and shedding some of those empty calories. Protein is a key part to all of this, the VIP on the plate to make sure weight comes off without taking all your muscles with it.

“It’s monstrous, the emphasis on protein,” Berkowitz said. “I’ve been on GLPs. You don’t feel like eating. Eating becomes a chore, not something you enjoy. You might have had 30 bites before, now you have 13 bites. So it’s got to entice you.”

Nationally, the GLP-1 era has made its way to the corporate test kitchen, with many chains getting in on the small-portion, high-protein action. Olive Garden added a “lighter portion” section to its menu in December 2025. Subway introduced $3.99 Protein Pockets in January, and Shake Shack is channeling the Atkins days with bun-less burgers on its “Good Fit” menu.

While most restaurants have been discreet about naming GLP-1s directly, Smoothie King wasn’t shy about calling its menu what it is. They created a dedicated GLP-1 Support Menu back in 2024, full of high-protein, no-added-sugar smoothies designed specifically for Ozempic users.

Carrie Baird, partner and culinary director of Culinary Creative Group, gave a playful nod to weight-loss drugs on her most recent menu at Tap & Burger. (Photo by Colleen O’Toole for Fox and the Hen)

Carrie Baird, partner and culinary director of Culinary Creative Group, which runs restaurants like Tap & Burger, Mister Oso, Bar Dough and Fox and the Hen, gave a playful nod to the drugs on her most recent menu at Tap & Burger. The smaller-portion, higher-protein burgers are under a new section called Green Lean Protein. (GLP – get it?)

“I think the demand is there,” Baird said. “For me, writing menus, I want to make sure I’m making these things available to people who want to eat like that. I want to give them the options.”

Her next goal is to create sugar-free mocktails for her restaurants, as GLP-1s can make alcohol less appealing. So while the sober movement had already been picking up steam over the past decade, these meds might just give it a little extra fizz going forward.

Even after learning more about these drugs, their history and their implications, I’ll admit that my ignorance and stereotyping about who, exactly, is taking them persisted. (I blame ‘The Real Housewives.’) I asked Berkowitz — who has Olive & Finch locations in Cherry Creek, Uptown, Union Station and the Denver Performing Arts Complex, as well as Little Finch on 16th Street — if geography played a role in demand. Would Cherry Creekers, I hypothesized, be more likely to need an Ozempic-friendly menu because of their reputation for being, well, maybe a little more Housewife-y?

Berkowitz emphasized that demand for this type of eating is showing up at all of their locations, but it is strongest at the Cherry Creek and Arts Complex restaurants. Still, even in neighborhoods where image isn’t everything, the appetite shift is real.

These drugs may not have been designed to change how we eat, but here we are. Protein added to anything and everything, smoothies designed to play nice with your prescriptions and restaurants measuring portions by appetite, not tradition. Maybe GLP-1s have done what no menu ever could: They’re convincing insatiable Americans that less is more.

Allyson Reedy is a Denver-area freelance writer, cookbook author and novelist. She is also a former Denver Post food writer.

Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.

Source link

Click to comment

Denver, CO

Denver area events for March 5

Published

6 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

If you have an event taking place in the Denver area, email information to carlotta.olson@gazette.com at least two weeks in advance. All events are listed in the calendar on space availability. Thursday Camilla Vaitaitis Quartet — 6:30 p.m., Dazzle at Baur’s, 1080 14th St., Denver, go online for prices. Tickets: dazzledenver.com/#/events. Miguel — 7 p.m., Fillmore Auditorium, […]

Source link

Denver, CO

Report: Broncos expected to ‘make a splash’ at running back

Published

19 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Report: Broncos expected to ‘make a splash’ at running back

The Denver Broncos are in the market for a running back.

Just two days after NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Denver wants to have the running back position addressed before the draft, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported that the Broncos are “poised to make a splash” at running back during NFL free agency.

“Denver is the reason why the Jets used the franchise tag on Breece Hall rather than the transition tag, according to sources, making sure Denver wouldn’t get the opportunity to put together an offer the Jets would refuse to match,” Jones wrote for CBS Sports.

Jones said the Broncos would be an obvious potential landing spot for Kenneth Walker, and he noted that Travis Etienne could be a cheaper alternative. The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider also reported this week that Denver is expected to “closely examine” the RB market, and he name-dropped Walker, Etienne and Rico Dowdle.

The Broncos also have an in-house free agent at RB in J.K. Dobbins, who has expressed his desire to remain in Denver. The Broncos can begin negotiating with pending free agents from other clubs on March 9, but no deals can become official until the new league year begins on March 11. In-house free agents can be re-signed at any time.

Social: Follow Broncos Wire on Facebook and Twitter/X! Did you know: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.

Source link

Denver, CO

Grand Junction, Palisade reach Great Eight in Denver

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Grand Junction, Palisade reach Great Eight in Denver

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — The Class 5A Sweet 16 has arrived, and both Grand Junction and Palisade are still standing with trips to the Great Eight in Denver on the line.

At The Jungle, the No. 2 seed Grand Junction Tigers set the tone early against No. 18 Golden. Defense carried the Tigers from the opening tip as they held the Demons to nine first quarter points while scoring 16 of their own.

Grand Junction added eight points in the second quarter while Golden managed six, sending the Tigers into halftime with a nine point lead.

Golden responded in the third quarter, outscoring Grand Junction 16 to 11 to cut the deficit to five entering the fourth. The Tigers answered in the final period, attacking the rim and converting key shots to win the quarter 19 to 10. Grand Junction secured a 54 to 41 victory to protect its home court and advance to the Great Eight in Denver.

Top seeded Palisade also defended its home floor with a trip to Denver at stake. The Bulldogs opened with nine straight points to energize a packed gym, but Frederick settled in and closed the first quarter on a run to tie the game at nine.

Frederick continued to respond in the second quarter and took an eight point lead into halftime.

Palisade shifted momentum after the break. The Bulldogs tightened defensively, holding Frederick to 21 points in the second half while scoring 39 of their own. Palisade completed the comeback to advance to the Great Eight.

Colorado Mesa University Women Deliver Historic RMAC Tournament Win

In collegiate action, the top seeded Colorado Mesa University women’s basketball team defeated Colorado School of Mines 96 to 51 in the RMAC Tournament, marking the largest margin of victory in the tournament this century.

Olivia Reed-Thyne led the Mavericks with 34 points on 11 of 15 shooting, her third 30 point performance this season. Mason Rowland added 22 points and Hallie Clark contributed 10 as Colorado Mesa matched a program record with its 31st win. The Mavericks will host the semifinals Friday with a berth in the championship game at stake.

Colorado Mesa University Men Survive Overtime Thriller

The Colorado Mesa University men’s basketball team faced New Mexico Highlands University for the third time this season. The Mavericks scored 36 first half points and led by four at the break.

New Mexico Highlands shot 50 percent in the second half, received 21 bench points and outscored Colorado Mesa 43 to 39 to force a late push. With the season in the balance, Ty Allred hit a game tying 3 pointer to make it 75 and send the game to overtime. Allred scored seven points in the extra period as Colorado Mesa earned a 91 to 90 victory to advance to the next round.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WesternSlopeNow.com.

Source link