ChoLon Bistro is turning 16 next week, a milestone that alone would be worth celebrating given that roughly half of all restaurants fail before reaching their five-year anniversary. But founder Lon Symensma isn't just marking the occasion with cake. He's using it to raise money for cancer research and a rare disease that affects only about 30 people worldwide.
A Sweet 16 With a Purpose
The event, set for 6 p.m. on October 26 at ChoLon's original downtown Denver location at 1555 Blake Street, will benefit the Melanoma Research Foundation, colon cancer awareness efforts, and Sophie's Neighborhood, a nonprofit funding research into an ultra-rare genetic disorder. As reported by Westword, Symensma organized the party as an interactive gathering rather than a traditional seated dinner, with tickets and details available through OpenTable.
Symensma has his own stake in the melanoma cause. He has struggled with the disease for over a decade, according to the same report, and describes both himself and fellow Denver chef Tom Coohill as “chef unicorns” who outlived their diagnoses. That framing lines up with national data: the American Cancer Society's 2026 cancer statistics report found that five-year relative survival rates for metastatic melanoma have more than doubled, from 16% in the mid-1990s to 35% for diagnoses made between 2015 and 2021, according to the American Cancer Society.
From New York Kitchens to Denver's Culinary Map
Symensma's path to Denver began in Manhattan, where he served as executive chef at Buddakan and earned a two-star review from the New York Times. He moved west in 2010 to open ChoLon Modern Asian in LoDo, bringing with him a resume that included a silver medal at age 19 in the 1996 Culinary Olympics and training under chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, including a stint helping open Jean-Georges Shanghai, according to Cholon Restaurant Concepts. The bet paid off quickly: ChoLon Bistro was named a James Beard Foundation semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in America in 2011.
The restaurant group has since grown beyond its LoDo roots, with ChoLon locations in Sloan's Lake and at Denver International Airport. Hoodline has also covered dining at DIA, including ChoLon's airport location, in its DIA dining coverage.
A Chef Who Beat 4% Odds
Tom Coohill, who owns Coohills restaurant and bar, is one of the twelve chefs joining the Sweet 16 celebration. Coohills opened in 2011, a few months after ChoLon Bistro opened in 2010. Coohill was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer in September 2014 and was given just a 4% chance of survival, according to Westword's reporting. He has been cancer-free since 2022.
That survival stands out against grim national numbers. The American Cancer Society has also reported that regional-stage cancer carries a five-year relative survival rate of 37%, a dramatic jump from the 20% rate reported in the 1970s. Separately, American Cancer Society data published in 2026 notes that while overall colorectal cancer incidence has declined among older adults, diagnosis rates among adults under 50 have climbed by 1% to 2% annually since the mid-1990s.
A Family's Push for an Ultra-Rare Disease
The third cause tied to the event, Sophie's Neighborhood, grew out of a far more personal crisis. Boulder chef Hosea Rosenberg, who owns Blackbelly, Santo and Morso restaurants in Boulder and rose to national prominence after winning Season 5 of Bravo's Top Chef in 2009, has a daughter named Sophie who was diagnosed with Multicentric Carpotarsal Osteolysis syndrome, or MCTO. The disorder affects an estimated 30 people worldwide, per the article.
Hosea and his wife Lauren Rosenberg created Sophie's Neighborhood after their daughter's diagnosis, establishing it as a nonprofit that funds research toward curing the rare genetic condition. Lauren Rosenberg said Symensma wanted the Sweet 16 event to benefit causes that matter to him personally, tying the party's three beneficiaries directly back to the host's own health journey and his friendships within Denver's chef community.
Who's Cooking, and Why Symensma Says He's Changing
The guest list reads like a cross-section of Denver and Boulder's food scene. Alex Seidel, formerly of Fruition and Mercantile, Manny Barela of Riot BBQ and Chicken Riot, Erasmo Casiano of Xiquita Restaurante y Bar and Lucina, and Amanda Adams of Dear Emilia are all slated to take part, alongside Odell Brewing head brewer Marni Wahlquist and ChoLon's own head dim sum chef, Michelle Xiao. Also joining are Gregory Gourdet, a Top Chef finalist and former Departure chef, and Robert Danhi, a James Beard Award-winning food writer and culinary instructor.
For Symensma, the gathering marks something of a turning point beyond the restaurant's business milestone. He has said he wants to become more of an advocate and help create positive change, a sentiment that threads through an event built less around a tasting menu and more around turning sixteen years of survival — his own and his industry peers' — into something that funds research for the diseases that nearly ended their stories.
