Restaurant Roll Call: Every Opening and Closing in June

Summer has arrived, and with it, the pace of restaurant closures seems to have slowed down — for now, at least. In June, we reported just four businesses that shuttered, two of which are rebranding. Logan Street Restaurant was closed for less than a week before reopening as Mexican concept Pancho Poncho. And Citizen Rail is being swapped for Ajax Downtown, an offshoot of the original in Aspen; it's slated to debut in August.

Even Enzo's End may make a comeback. Owner Charlie Puma is ready for retirement from the business he ran for nearly three decades but is still searching for someone to buy the brand. One concept that will not be coming back: Harvey Park Grille, which lasted just four months in the former Rosemary Cafe space.

The 21 openings we reported last month were dominated by comebacks and expansions.

Jessie's Smokin' NOLA made its return in Parker after shutting down operations at Max Taps in Centennial last October; Dozens is back in a new downtown location two years after a fire closed its longtime location nearby; Beau Jo's once again has a Denver outpost after closing the last one in 2017. And more than four years after it shuttered for the pandemic, Vine Street welcomed guests back inside once again for burgers, beers and wings.

Other local favorites such as Babe's Tea Room, Cerebral Brewing, Huckleberry Roasters, Queen City and Illegal Pete's added locations last month.

But June also saw some exciting new additions, including Rosso Pomodoro. The Italian-born chain may be familiar to anyone who has visited an Eataly location, but now it's brought its Neapolitan pizza expertise to Denver with its first standalone outpost in the U.S.

There's also a new globally inspired steakhouse, Carne, from chef Dana Rodriguez, and a new affordable lunch option downtown complete with a salad bar, J&T’s Family Kitchen.

Here's the complete list of restaurants and bars that opened and closed in June:*

Openings

Babe's Tea Room, 1027 Washington Avenue, Golden
Beau Jo's,  2110 South University Boulevard
Carne, 2601 Larimer Street
Cerebral Brewing, 9990 East Colfax Avenue, Aurora
Dillon’s Dumpling House, 3571 South Tower Road, Aurora
Downhill Brewing, 9672 East Arapahoe Road, Greenwood Village
Dozens, 323 14th Street
Embers Lodge Bar and The Fortunate Prospector at Gaylord Rockies, 6700 North Gaylord Rockies Boulevard, Aurora
Green Bus Cafe, 1426 East 22nd Avenue
Huckleberry Roasters, 1406 Larimer Street
Illegal Pete's, 657 South Broadway, Boulder
Jessie's Smokin' NOLA, 11061 South Parker Road, Parker
J&T’s Family Kitchen, 1560 Broadway
Paris Banh Mi Cafe Bakery, 475 Sable Boulevard, Aurora
Pancho Poncho, 400 East Seventh Avenue
Peko Peko at Avanti Boulder, 1401 Pearl Street, Boulder
Queen City Lakeside, 4999 West 44th Avenue
Rosso Pomodoro, 7505 East 29th Place
Vine Street Pub & Brewery, 1700 Vine Street
Vinnameals, 1500 West Littleton Boulevard, Littleton
Wanderment Brewing, 800 East 64th Avenue

Closures

Citizen Rail (reopening as Ajax Downtown in August), 1899 16th Street Mall
Enzo's End, 3424 East Colfax Avenue
Harvey Park Grille, 2133 South Sheridan Boulevard
Logan Street Restaurant (replaced by Pancho Poncho), 400 East Seventh Avenue

*Or earlier and not previously reported.

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