Denver Area Added 36 Restaurants and Bars in October, Report Finds
Closures included the 16-year-old Park & Co. on 17th Avenue and RiNo's The Greenwich, while Maggiano's is only remodeling.
By Madison Darwish ·
The Denver area added 36 restaurants and bars during October, a count that includes three reopenings, according to an inventory compiled by Westword. Excluding those reopenings, the month still averaged more than one new venue daily.
The final week of October alone brought five separate concepts under one roof at Eats on the Platte, 2500 W. 10th Ave. The Sun Valley food hall hosted Wings Social Co, opened by Fetien Gebre-Michael and Yoseph Assefa, the owners of Konjo Ethiopian, alongside Jama Miami Cuban, from the team behind Cuba Cuba Cafe & Bar.
Other openings included the Black Box Cafe, 5901 W. 25th Ave. in Edgewater, which expanded from its stall at Edgewater Public Market into the former Suzette space to offer sit-down dining with coffee, ice cream, chocolates and sandwiches. In RiNo, Andrea Frizzi opened Risica at 3463 Walnut St. inside the Edit at River North building, serving pizzas, portafolgios and prosciutto. Vegan Van left its commissary kitchen for a storefront at 1490 E. Colfax Ave., a stretch where bus rapid transit construction is affecting walk-ins. Chef Troy Guard also opened HashTAG at 3625 Crossing Drive in Wheat Ridge.
Closures tracked 14 venues across the metro. In Golden, restaurateur Brandon Bortles shut Nosu Ramen at 700 12th St. and Abejas at 807 13th St. within weeks of each other. The L at 46 Broadway closed after a pandemic-delayed opening that never established a steady pace, and Tupelo Honey at 1650 Wewatta St. departed after just shy of 10 years near Union Station.
Park & Co., which had operated for 16 years at 439 E. 17th Ave., closed after installing a new general manager earlier in the year and refreshing menu items in the months that followed; Gastamo Group continues to run Park Burger locations and other concepts. The Greenwich at 3258 Larimer St. cycled through an eclectic New American format, then Italian pastas, then pizza, along with a chef change and a change in ownership, before closing.
Three venues are listed as temporarily closed. Maggiano's Little Italy at 500 16th St. posted a sign reading "Closed until further notice," and the company said the closure is a short remodeling job with a reopening expected in the coming weeks. Hip Hop Ice Cream at 4430 W. 29th Ave. and Run for the Roses at 1801 Blake St. are also on the temporarily closed list.
Source: Westword
