The Fort (Morrison, Colorado)

The Fort is a historic restaurant in Morrison, Colorado. Construction of the structure started in 1961 and was inspired by Bent's Fort.

History
The adobe structure was built between 1961 and 1963 for Denver advertising executive Sam Arnold. A replica of Bent's Fort, the structure incorporates over 80,000 handmade adobe bricks and beams hewn with drawknives, foot adzes and hand planes. Originally planned as a living history museum that would also be a home for the Arnold family, the Arnolds pivoted to finishing the first floor as a restaurant to secure Small Business Administration funding to complete the interior of the building.

The 300-seat, Western-themed restaurant opened in the building's first floor on February 1, 1963. Arnold developed menu items based on ingredients available in Colorado at the time of Bent's Fort and promoted frontier cookery with the public television series Frying Pans West. After marrying for the second time, Arnold sold the restaurant in 1973. The restaurant was returned to him in foreclosure in 1986. The restaurant hosted President Bill Clinton’s state dinner for the 23rd G8 summit in 1997.

Following the death of his second wife in 1998, Arnold's daughter Holly Arnold Kinney returned to run the restaurant with him until his death in 2006. Kinney also founded the Tesoro Cultural Center, a nonprofit that sponsors an Indian Market and Powwow and other cultural events at the Fort.

Cuisine
The Fort's menu features local ingredients and regional game, particularly bison, elk, and quail. Recipes are inspired by a 3,000-volume rare and historic cookbook library amassed by Sam Arnold, with additions made through a semi-annual process that considers new ideas from the restaurant's kitchen staff.