All the Restaurant and Bar Openings and Closings This Week

Here's our complete list of restaurant and bar openings for the week of August 13, 2018.

August 18, 2018

The burnt-end sandwich at Smok, which opens Saturday, August 18. Mark Antonation

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Where there's smoke, there's fire — and the Source Hotel will be quemando when two wood-burning eateries, Safta and Smok, open this weekend. Safta is the project of New Orleans chef/restaurateur Alon Shaya, who specializes in modern Israeli cuisine, while Smok will serve oak-tinged barbecue from chef Bill Espiricueta, who honed his smoke-and-fire skills at Acorn and Oak. In addition to the two restaurants, there's the Woods, the rooftop beer bar and barrel-aging space with chef Brandon Biederman at the helm and New Belgium in charge of the brews.

In closings, Littleton said goodbye to Merle's on Wednesday but will soon welcome a second location of Adelitas Cocina y Cantina, which will take the ten-year-old eatery's place. Here's our complete list of restaurant and bar openings and closings for the week of August 13 through August 19, 2018, along with links to recent and upcoming opening stories.

Restaurants Opening This Week*
Bosphorus, 3493 South Downing Street
Safta, 3330 Brighton Boulevard
Smok, 3330 Brighton Boulevard

Restaurants Closing This Week*
Delhi Darbar, 100 East 20th Avenue
Merle's of Littleton, 2609 West Main Street, Littleton
Randall's, 2217 Welton Street

*Or earlier, and not previously reported.

Puerto Rico 5280 will open at the end of summer on Federal Boulevard.

Mark Antonation

"El Coqui D'Aqui Owners Will Open Big New Puerto Rican Restaurant"

click to enlarge

Smok will rise at the Source Hotel on August 18.

Mark Antonation

"Smok Barbecue Debuts This Weekend in the Source Hotel"

click to enlarge

Chef Daniel Asher is bringing his skills to Ash'Kara this fall.

Linnea Covington

"With Ash'Kara, Juan Padro Is on Schedule for Five New 2018 Restaurants"

In addition to tracking restaurant openings and closings, we bring the latest in booze news, including brewery briefs, spirits stuff and cider house happenings. This week, Ursula Brewing ditched one of its beer names over a cease-and-desist order, while Comrade Brewing got to keep its Superpower in a similar case.

If cider is the apple of your eye, you might want to read up on St. Vrain Cidery and then head up to Longmont for some sipping.

Are there any openings or closings we missed? Let us know in the comments or send an email to [email protected].

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.

Mark Antonation is the former Westword Food & Drink Editor. In 2018, he was named Outstanding Media Professional by the Colorado Restaurant Association; he's now with the Colorado Restaurant Foundation.

Contact: Mark Antonation

Follow:

Instagram: @mantonation