Restaurant Roll Call: Every Opening and Closing in July

During July, we reported ten closures — though some of those were swap-outs. The former Citizen Rail, for example, will reopen as Ajax Downtown on August 7, while Chez Roc and Cretans inside the Clayton Hotel in Cherry Creek are being transformed into Amorina and the Sterling Denver by the Culinary Creative Group.

The city's most recent closure could also prove to be a swap. Chef Lon Symensma opened LeRoux next door to his pan-Asian eatery ChoLon in December 2018. Three years later, he rebooted the concept as Bistro LeRoux — but now its doors are closed, with Symensma citing decreased foot traffic because of ongoing 16th Street Mall construction as a major factor in the decision.

Bistro LeRoux shared a kitchen with Symensma's third eatery on the block, YumCha. That spot remains open for now, but the chef/owner told the Denver Post that he’ll “either have to pivot and rebrand Bistro LeRoux or lose both concepts.”

Among the thirteen new spots that joined the scene in July are two more out-of-state brands: Two Hands (the Australian-inspired cafe, not the Korean corn dog joint) on Tennyson Street, and the Hampton Social, a coastal-inspired spot that debuted in the former Amato's Ale House in LoHi. As Denver continues to grow and the culinary scene garners more national attention, chains like these are bound to show interest in the market. We just hope they don't scoop up all the prime locations.
Some local operators opened new ventures in July, too, but many were expansions, such as Cozobi Fonda Fina, the second fine-dining Mexican concept from chef Johnny Curiel of Alma Fonda Fina; a second Eat Here inside Millers & Rossi; and third locations for both Brooklyn's Finest Pizza and Jaime's Mexican Restaurant.

The Frasca Hospitality Group, whose flagship fine-dining restaurant Frasca Food and Wine celebrates its twentieth anniversary on August 4, expanded as well, with the addition of Osteria Alberico in Englewood.

Brand-new additions to the Denver scene include chef Dana Rodriguez's Carne in RiNo; Le Clare’s Patisserie on East Colfax, which is baking sweet and savory eclairs; and the Dumpling Spot inside Edgewater Public Market.

The place where we're most eager to return, though, is Halo, the nineteenth-floor rooftop bar inside the new Kimpton Claret Hotel in the DTC, which is also home to Italian eatery Saverina. Its current menu includes Asian-inspired cocktails and bites like Dungeness crab fried rice and duck-liver mousse, which you can enjoy while also enjoying a stunning, unobstructed view of the Front Range.
Here's the complete list of restaurants and bars that opened and closed in July:*

Openings

Brooklyn's Finest Pizza, 176 South Broadway
Carne, 2601 Larimer Street
Cozobi Fonda Fina, 909 Walnut Street, Boulder
The Dumpling Spot at Edgewater Public Market, 5505 West 20th Avenue, Edgewater
Eat Here at Millers & Rossi, 3542 Walnut Street
The Hampton Social, 2501 16th Street
Jaime's Mexican Restaurant, 608 Garrison Street, Lakewood
Le Clare’s Patisserie, 2260 East Colfax Avenue
Osteria Alberico, 3455 South University Boulevard, Englewood
Saverina and Halo, 6985 East Chenango Avenue
Two Hands, 3985 Tennyson Street
Zoe Ma Ma (moved from former location), 919 Pearl Street, Boulder

Closures

Bistro LeRoux, 1510 16th Street Mall
Chez Roc and Cretans, 233 Clayton Street
China Wok, 4243 East 136th Avenue, Thornton
Citizen Rail (reopening as Ajax Downtown on August 7), 1899 16th Street
Cochino Taco, 5495 West 20th Avenue, Edgewater
Enzo’s End, 3424 East Colfax Avenue
Finkle & Garf, 5455 Spine Road, Boulder
Rossi's Italian Eatery, 5800 West 38th Avenue, Wheat Ridge
Table Public House, 2190 South Platte River Drive


*Or earlier and not previously reported.

Know of something we missed? Email [email protected].