After competing on season 18 of Bravo’s “Top Chef,” Byron Gomez got plenty of offers from would-be financial partners to open a restaurant. But he wanted to do it on his own.

“Top Chef definitely changed my life, opportunity-wise, but it’s also what you do with those opportunities that matters,” Gomez said. “Many people have gone and done great, and many winners have taken home the money and that’s it. For me, it’s given me the confidence to say who I am as a person, as a chef and share the food I want to cook.”

On Nov. 2, the Costa Rica native opened his first concept, Pollo Tico, inside Avanti Boulder, the two-year-old food hall at 1401 Pearl St.

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