Chef Troy Guard is bringing his HashTAG brunch brand to Wheat Ridge, with a fourth location expected to open in October at The Lookout at Clear Creek Crossing.
HashTAG Wheat Ridge will join The Lookout at Clear Creek Crossing, a dining and entertainment district.
A Kiosk Ordering Model
HashTAG Wheat Ridge will use kiosk ordering: customers order, receive a number, and walk to a window to pick up food.
The shift toward kiosk ordering echoes a broader operational pivot across TAG Restaurant Group. Guard told the Denver Post in August 2025 that sales at three of the company's casual concepts had dipped 15% that year, coming off a year when business was down about 10%. He attributed the pressure to Denver's rising minimum wage for tipped workers and more cautious consumer spending. That same report noted Guard had already tested digital kiosks and QR code ordering at Big Wave Taco in Central Park to help stabilize margins amid rising labor costs.
HashTAG's Path From Central Park to a Fourth Location
Guard first launched HashTAG in Denver's Central Park neighborhood in summer 2017 before expanding to Highlands Ranch in November 2023 and downtown Denver in April 2025, according to Westword. The downtown location, which opened near Skyline Park, added an expanded menu, extended daily hours, and a year-round rooftop patio, per the same report. Over the years, HashTAG has become a Denver brunch staple, and the Wheat Ridge location is the brand's fourth.
Guard's culinary résumé stretches back to Hawaii, where he began working in kitchens at age 14 under chef Roy Yamaguchi, according to TAG Restaurant Group. He was later named one of the James Beard Foundation's “Great Regional Chefs of America” before launching his flagship restaurant, TAG, in Denver in 2009.
Inside The Lookout's Shared Dining District
The Lookout at Clear Creek Crossing includes a public park with mountain views, an amphitheater, and fire pits, along with patios and a central bar, per Mile High CRE. The district also carries a communal dining license that allows guests to move freely between concepts with a drink in hand. Beyond HashTAG, The Lookout hosts Prost Brewing and the Agora at Applewood.
Evergreen DevCo broke ground on the 4.76-acre, U-shaped development in March 2025, working with Norris Design and Frontline Design and Development, according to Norris Design. The firm's plans describe a central public park with an agriculture-themed playground, a community game lawn, fire pits, and a small amphitheater equipped for live music and movie screenings. Prost Brewing Co. was preparing to open a biergarten at The Lookout in August, with an enclosed patio and 40 taps, as reported by WhatNow.
Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital
The broader 110-acre Clear Creek Crossing development is anchored by Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital.
