Denver, CO
Bus rapid transit boosted business for some cities; others lost beloved local shops. What will happen on Colfax?
Five months after Seattle completed its three-year construction project for a new bus rapid transit line along a main thoroughfare, neighbors are beginning to take stock.
Nearly 1.5 miles of dedicated bus-only travel lanes. At least 5,000 daily riders. About $144 million spent.
More than a dozen local businesses gone for good.
“We had more businesses close because of the BRT construction than close during the pandemic,” said Nat Stratton-Clarke, the president of the Madison Valley Merchants Association in Seattle, using the common shorthand for bus rapid transit.
Across the country, Cleveland is celebrating its BRT line’s impact on businesses. The nearly 7-mile HealthLine, completed in 2008, has been deemed one of the most successful transit projects in the country. It brought in billions of dollars in investment along the corridor and transformed a part of the city that was once withering away into a bustling business district.
“For us, it was a massive catalyst,” said Baiju Shah, the CEO of the city’s chamber of commerce.
In October, Denver began construction on its own BRT project. The bus lines, which are quickly becoming one of the most popular transit pursuits in the country, create train-like systems that promise fast, frequent and reliable transportation but aren’t nearly as expensive to build as rail.
Denver city officials hope the nearly 10-mile project, which will unfold mostly along East Colfax Avenue, will improve the city’s transit options for residents, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate a congested corridor. But neighboring businesses — some of which are already feeling the pain from smashed-up pavement, intensified traffic and fewer parking spots — are worried about enduring the construction long enough to see the promised benefits.
“It’s scary for sure,” said Mike John, part-owner of Satellite Bar on Colfax. “I’m concerned about the viability of the business in the long run. But I believe in the community and the project.”
As foot traffic diminishes and drivers struggle to navigate Colfax, tens of thousands of dollars in revenue have already evaporated for some businesses. Grants from the city will soon be available, but local owners fear the limited allowances won’t do much to save small shops with shoestring budgets.
“If you get those funds, that’s great,” said Frank Locantore, the executive director of the Colfax Ave Business Improvement District. “But you can only apply once. So if the construction goes on for more than a year, which is totally planned … you could not apply the following year, even if you are experiencing similar impacts.”
“The kind of Colfax that we all want”
The Colfax BRT, a project that will cost an estimated $280 million and take nearly three more years to build, won’t be exactly like the rapid bus lines in Cleveland or Seattle.
One thing contributing to Cleveland’s success is where the line begins and ends. The BRT there connects two massive job centers in the city: downtown and the University Circle neighborhood, where Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic are located along with parks, multiple museums and performing arts centers.
“I think the question really is, what is it connecting?” said Shah with the Greater Cleveland Partnership. “For us, it was really important because it connected two very active nodes of activity that didn’t have great connectivity.”
Denver’s project will connect downtown to I-225 in Aurora, near Children’s Hospital Colorado, the University of Colorado School of Medicine and other facilities on the Anschutz Medical Campus — a job center that’s comparatively compact.
The project will eliminate one lane of traffic in each direction between Broadway and Yosemite Street and replace them with two dedicated bus lanes in the center of the street. To keep the buses moving through intersections, drivers will be able to turn left off Colfax only at intersections with traffic signals. In that same stretch, about 300 of the 970 on-street parking spaces will be removed.
While the main portion of the project will run along East Colfax, the setup will be a little different downtown. From Civic Center Station to Denver Union Station, the buses will operate in the side-running transit lanes along 15th and 17th streets. And in Aurora, from Yosemite east to I-225, the buses will be side-running in mixed-flow traffic.
The BRT project is funded through several state and federal agencies, including $150 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation, $88 million from Denver and $14 million from the City of Aurora.
While Denver is managing the construction of the project in the city, the Regional Transportation District, metro Denver’s major transit agency, will run the buses. The line will be branded as the “Colfax Lynx.”
Improved bus stations — which will be similar to light rail stops, with up-to-date displays about arriving buses, security cameras, sheltered platforms and seating — will be installed about three to four blocks apart. Riders will be able to purchase tickets before boarding from the stations, which will be on lifted medians in the middle of Colfax.
With about 25,000 riders every weekday, the bus routes already serving East Colfax — the 15 and the limited-stop 15L — have the highest ridership of any RTD route, according to the city. The hope it that the new BRT line will reduce transit travel time along the corridor by up to 30 minutes and attract 33,000 daily riders by 2040.
Neighbors and advocates for the project see it as a chance to make Colfax feel more inviting for pedestrians — both residents and visitors.
“There’s this general idea of Colfax being gritty and unsafe and unwelcoming,” said Raych Durgin, a resident and volunteer with the advocacy group Greater Denver Transit who’s focused on the Colfax project. “The BRT project is part of constructing the kind of Colfax that we all want and that Colfax deserves. The BRT is going to make it feel like it’s more catered to people, to community, to the businesses — to everyone on Colfax.”
Durgin, a full-time transit rider, has sympathy for the businesses struggling because of the construction but hopes that, in the end, the finished project will benefit them.
That’s what happened in Cleveland, where business advocates didn’t see much negative impact to local shops simply because there weren’t many there to begin with, Shah recalls. Now, the corridor along the Healthline is booming with new businesses, he said.
Seattle, which lost at least 15 businesses along the BRT construction corridor by 2023, was up against a major roadblock in its efforts to support them. Under the Washington state constitution, the city couldn’t offer direct taxpayer-funded grants to businesses struggling because of the construction.
Denver already has a plan in place to do just that.
“Retaining the businesses along the corridor during construction is the key,” Stratton-Clarke said. “That wasn’t able to happen in Seattle.”
With Seattle’s BRT project still being new, Stratton-Clarke can’t yet tell if his own business, a still-operating vegetarian restaurant that opened 34 years ago, will ultimately benefit from the project. But even if it does, the city will be forever changed from the loss in businesses, he said.
“Small businesses are what make Seattle so unique and special,” he said. “Losing that large of a number of businesses really does have an effect.”
Stratton-Clarke suggests Denver learn from his city’s struggles by ensuring there’s a direct line of project communication between the city and businesses. In line with that advice, Denver business owners can call 720-336-0025 to be connected to the city’s “construction hotline.”
City provides a chance for grants
The city’s approach to helping businesses survive the construction has several prongs: grants, online resources like FAQs and suggestions to prepare, and staffers dedicated to answering their questions.
Denver has set aside more than $2 million in grant money for businesses impacted by the construction. Owners who can prove they lost revenue due to the project will be able to apply for the help, but only once.
If approved, businesses that typically bring in less than $100,000 in annual revenue will receive $7,500. Those who make more than $100,000 can receive $15,000. Among other requirements, businesses will have to demonstrate a 20% or greater revenue decline to be approved for a grant.
Businesses within 350 feet of the “roadway centerline” of the project will be able to apply beginning Tuesday, said Shelby Morse with the city’s Economic Development and Opportunity agency.
During the budget process last year, members of the City Council pressed the mayor’s office to add more funding, ultimately resulting in another $1.1 million for business grants.
“Is it enough? Ultimately, we’ll see whether or not it’s enough. But I think many of us are quite concerned that it is not,” said Locantore with the Colfax business district.
So far, the city is focusing construction on the west side of the Colfax corridor, along 18 blocks from Broadway to Williams Street. It will progress eastward to segments of that same size, with work happening on overlapping schedules for roughly a year and a half in each.
The other segments will be from Williams to Monroe Street, from Monroe to Niagara Street and from Niagara to Yosemite. The city estimates that construction along that final segment — along with some updates in the Yosemite-to-I-225 segment in Aurora — will be completed by the end of 2027.
Last week, construction took over Colfax between Broadway and Garfield Street, blocking off the center and south side of the street in some areas.
While city officials think there will be enough grant dollars to provide some relief for businesses through the first round of construction, they’re likely to need more next year as the project moves into new areas, Morse said.
So far, 14 businesses on Colfax have asked for help from “resource navigators” on the project, Morse said.
Satellite Bar will rely heavily on the grant it receives, John said — especially if construction forces the bar to shut its doors temporarily. Compared to the last three months of 2023, John saw a $40,000 decrease in revenue after construction began late last year, he said.
“There has been a significant drop in business,” he said.
A payoff for “everybody that makes it”
Chris Donato and his husband opened another business in the project’s path, Champagne Tiger, in August.
Donato knew construction was beginning soon, and he hoped the project would ultimately be a boon for the French-American diner’s business. But preparing also meant taking out a larger loan than they would have otherwise.
“If it doesn’t work out, we won’t have our house,” Donato said.
While Donato feels confident they have prepared for the decline in business, he’s also concerned the currently allocated grant dollars won’t be enough for many.
“So many independent restaurants don’t have money in the bank,” he said. “They have a couple weeks and if that runs out, who knows?”
Business owners along downtown’s 16th Street Mall, who were offered the same grant options, have had similar concerns during construction on that street overhaul, even as some see the vision for the project in the long term.
Derek Friedman, who owns two sports fans stores and a novelty sock store on the mall, said he never balked at the grant dollars offered. But they weren’t exactly meaningful, in his view.
“It wasn’t material to whether or not we lived or died,” he said.
Businesses in other parts of the city will be watching Colfax, which is the first of several street-level BRT corridors planned. Others, which also could adopt the Lynx branding, include projects along Federal and Colorado boulevards and another from Boulder to Longmont on Colorado 119. The state is also involved in those, since the roads are state highways.
The Colfax project has been in the works for roughly a decade. For Hilarie Portell, the executive director of the Colfax Mayfair Business Improvement District, it took some convincing for her to see the vision for it.
But now, she’s an ardent supporter.
“Nothing will change along Colfax without this level of improvement,” she said.
Even though businesses like Satellite Bar and Champagne Tiger are nervous about the construction, they still believe in the ultimate goal: an improved Colfax that is safer and easier to navigate.
While the BRT line is built, the city is also planning multiple other pedestrian improvements along the road, including more trees and better lighting.
“I’m happy the city is choosing to invest in it,” Champagne Tiger’s Donato said. “I hope there’s a big payoff at the end for everybody that makes it.”
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DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.
The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday,” the airport’s official X account wrote.
Neither the airport nor the airline has disclosed the pedestrian’s condition.
“We’re stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”
The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that and “individual was walking across the runway.”
The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now” before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”
Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.
“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”
Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal.
Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted.
There is much to love about the American South. It’s home to some of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet, boasts a rich musical history, offers spectacular natural wonders, and just so happens to be the birthplace of some of the most distinctive, storied, and utterly delicious food in the world. It’s so much more than fried chicken, pecan pie, and barbecue — Southern cooking blends together multicultural ingredients, tried-and-true techniques, and recipes passed down through generations, and transforms them into hearty, comforting, heavenly dishes that not only fill the belly, but touch the soul.
When I moved to New Orleans for college after growing up in Northern Minnesota, I became enamored with the tapestry of culture, history, identity, and tradition surrounding Cajun and Creole cuisine, a passion that blossomed into a love for Southern food as a whole. Since moving to Denver in 2018, Southern food has been one of the things I miss the most, and I’m not alone — former residents of Texas, Florida, and Virginia make up a large slice of the Colorado transplant pie, and everybody’s hungry for a taste of home.
Fortunately, there are some stellar down-home restaurants in the greater Denver area if you know where to look. When visions of jambalaya and sweet tea start dancing in your head, and Denver’s sky-high cost of living prohibits you from booking a plane ticket, turn to these eateries for Southern staples right here in the Mile High City.
Rougarou
Once upon a time, the Rougarou — a chupacabra-esque creature born of Louisiana’s sprawling, ethereal swamplands — was a ghost story used to spook children. Today, the mythical beast shares a name with one of Denver’s hottest new Southern restaurants: Rougarou is an upscale eatery helmed by Mary Allison Wright and McLain Hedges, the power couple behind the James Beard award-winning Yacht Club. Rougarou executes its “shapeshifting Southern” tagline through innovative, upscale takes on classic Southern cooking. It’s like eating at meemaw’s house with your “Top Chef”-obsessed cousin helping in the kitchen.
Think boiled peanuts dolled up with fermented collards, lime leaf, and chile; collard salad with sorghum mustard, apple, cheddar, and fried shallot; and Granddad’s chicken with herbs and white barbecue sauce. The pork shoulder entree is a champion: glazed in sorghum-tamarind sauce, finished with chow chow, and served on a bed of fluffy Missimati rice, it falls apart at the slightest touch.
The bar menu is a testament to the Wright-Hedges crew’s mixology prowess. It features avant-garde drinks, such as the pleasantly briny muffaletta martini (gin, fino sherry, olives, and benne seed), the fruity mai tai supreme (rum, curaçao, and madeira wine blend with lime juice and almonds), and the classic vieux tomate (tequila, vin jaune, bitter citrus, and sun-dried tomato).
lerougarou.com
2844 Welton St, Denver, CO 80205
Mama Jo’s Chicken, Biscuits, & BBQ
Mama Jo’s Chicken, Biscuits, & BBQ was inspired by a wedding in North Carolina with a glorious pig roast and BBQ reception banquet that Ben and Jodi Polson just couldn’t forget. That fond memory spurred the Polsons to build a pig roast spit in their backyard, which spiraled into hosting Southern food pop-ups under the name Mama Jo’s, launching a food truck in 2021, and finally, opening a brick-and-mortar location in 2025.
Wholesome family recipes made from scratch led Mama Jo’s to quickly become one of Denver’s best BBQ restaurants, with pulled pork, smoked sausages, and pork ribs (or jackfruit for the veggie gourmand) fit for a king — but the party doesn’t stop at barbecue. As the moniker promises, chicken and biscuits also play starring roles on the menu. The pièce de résistance is arguably the Nashville hot chicken sandwich, which won Westword’s best fried chicken biscuit on wheels award in 2024. The celebrated sammy involves breaded chicken fried in a special Nashville hot oil, slapped on a decadent, flaky biscuit, and dressed with creamy coleslaw, crunchy house-made pickles, and drizzled with Alabama white sauce.
Choose from sides like pimento mac and cheese, BBQ-loaded tot-chos, or zesty collard greens with bacon to round out the meal, and don’t forget to snag a banana pudding pie for dessert.
mamajobiscuits.com
(303) 333-7627
3525 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80206
Sassafras American Eatery
Sassafras American Eatery has been slinging some of the Mile High City’s best Southern food for nearly 15 years, a title cemented with a best Southern restaurant award from Westword in 2020. Primarily known for stellar breakfast and brunch, Sassafras’s sizable menu kicks off with tantalizing appetizers: beignets (classic or churro-style), fried green tomatoes, and deviled eggs with smoked tomato jam are the way to go. Brunch options range from a lighter fresh fruit, granola, and yogurt parfait to shrimp and grits with andouille sausage to vanilla berry Belgium waffles. Take your pick of four versions of eggs Benedict (the roasted toasted mushroom Benny is *chef’s kiss*). And the star of the “Sassafras Signatures” menu section has to be the chicken pimento biscuit, with house-made pimento cheese, pickles, poached eggs, duck fat country gravy, and barbecue sauce.
If you’re a brunch cocktail aficionado, this is the place to be. There’s a fantastic hodgepodge of innovative takes on mimosas, as well as an assortment of signature bloody marys crafted with Sassafras’ from-scratch mix.
Feeling more lunch-forward? A roast beef po’boy, red beans and rice, or one of seven mac and cheese options should hit the spot. Sassafras serves dinner Thursday through Saturday only — worth checking out for classics like Southern poutine, pork belly with cornbread stuffing, and chicken and andouille gumbo.
sassafrasamericaneatery.com
(303) 327-9061
3927 W 32nd Ave, Denver, CO 80212
Revival Denver Public House
Revival Denver Public House opened on buzzing 17th Street in 2021. It quickly became a neighborhood favorite with effortlessly cool, artsy vibes, frequent live music events, springtime crawfish boils, killer deals, and Colorado-driven takes on Southern cuisine. While not strictly a Southern restaurant, the influence of Southern cooking is undeniable on Revival’s bill of fare. Owner Dan Vizzard and his team infuse down-home classics with a teaspoon of Colorado pizzazz, resulting in mouthwatering dishes that feel comfortably familiar, yet sophisticated.
Buffalo gumbo is the perfect example. Louisiana gumbo that swaps out the traditional chicken or shrimp in favor of beer-braised bison, poblano peppers, and smoked sausage. Fried catfish and grits, red beans and rice, and sweet heat pickled shrimp are excellent, and we named the Flatliner sandwich (fried chicken thigh, sharp American cheese, bacon jam, fried pickles, and “Revival sauce”) one of the best restaurant dishes we ate in 2023.
Now, Revival is one of the pricier options on this list. But you can find deals such on wings and oysters (opt for the chorizo butter) on Mondays, burgers on Wednesdays, and happy hour specials, like the famous Old Fashioned for $5 as of this writing, every day but Sunday.
revival-denver.com
(720) 524-7867
630 E 17th Ave, Denver, CO 80203
Lucile’s Creole Cafe
A restaurant that’s been in business for over 45 years is doing something right. Lucile’s Creole Cafe was established in Boulder in 1980 and now boasts seven restaurants around Colorado, including two in Denver proper (one on South Logan, the other on East Evans). Lucile’s first head chef trained at NOLA’s Commander’s Palace (which is worth visiting), and each location manages to capture the sights, sounds, and flavors of New Orleans. Mardi gras beads, masks, and gator heads line the walls, Zydeco and jazz music float through the dining rooms, and the menu is ripe with Creole and Cajun cuisine.
Set the vibe with a café au lait or chicory coffee, or dive into the deep end with mimosas, Bloody Marys, and Sazeracs. Lucile’s beignets are some of the best in town, fried fresh to order, and replete with Cafe du Monde-level powdered sugar quantities. Eggs Pontchartrain puts a Colorado spin on a NOLA classic by swapping out traditional fried oysters for fresh mountain trout. Appease both your sweet and savory tooth with pain perdu, NOLA-style French toast topped with hot sausage, egg, praline syrup, and fresh fruit.
Eggs New Orleans (eggs Benedict with fried eggplant in place of the typical Canadian bacon) is a stellar veggie offering, and if you’re in more of a lunch mood, the andouille po’boy and Zydeco salad are top-tier.
luciles.com
Multiple locations
NOLA Voodoo Tavern
Southern hospitality is a phrase for a reason. Southerners are some of the friendliest, most welcoming folks around, and that’s exactly what New Orleans-born-and-raised Henry Batiste strove to accomplish when opening NOLA Voodoo Tavern in Denver’s historic Cole neighborhood in 2015. Cajun and Creole bar food (made with recipes passed down from Batiste’s mother and grandmother) is the name of the game. Despite a rather rough exterior, the inside of the Tavern — decked out in New Orleans Saints gear, Abita flags, and wall art depicting the Crescent City — exudes warmth, comfort, and family.
NOLA Voodoo Tavern’s appetizer game is strong. Cajun cheese fries topped with crawfish etouffee are perfect for sharing, while adventurous eaters can try crispy alligator bites or chicken gizzards fried to perfection. Additionally, the sampler trio includes smaller portions of red beans and rice, crawfish etouffee, and Batiste’s mother Vivian’s stupendous gumbo.
The muffaletta is divine, as well. It has ham, salami, and provolone in melty layers offset by a zesty scratch-made olive salad mix on a toasted bun, along with crawfish Monica, which pays homage to New Orleans’s prolific Italian population. Crack open an Abita beer (or go for the Hurricane), nosh on a surf and turf po’boy with a bag of Zapps, and laissez les bons temps rouler.
noladenver.com
(720) 389-9544
2222 Bruce Randolph Ave, Denver, CO 80205
Bourbon Grill
Bourbon Grill has been satisfying the taste buds and wallets of savvy Denverites since 2002. Bourbon Grill began as a quick-service restaurant with a walk-up window (and often a line around the corner) before graduating to its current brick-and-mortar location on East Colfax in 2017. It doesn’t look like much, but what this Colfax haunt lacks in aesthetics, it more than makes up for in flavor and affordability. Chef and owner Lien Vo keeps the menu simple.
Customers may order blackened, barbecue, or Vo’s signature bourbon chicken over a bed of rice, or as a combo with two sides for a slightly higher price. It’s a spectacular deal when the mammoth portion sizes are taken into consideration, as Bourbon Grill offers serious bang for your buck. The bourbon chicken has an outrageously juicy texture, gorgeous char, and beautifully balanced sweet and smoky flavor that’ll blow your mind. Timeless soul food sides like mac and cheese, mixed veggies, and sauteed Cajun potatoes transform a simple chicken and rice meal into a decadent Southern feast.
Additionally, Vo honors her Vietnamese heritage with sides of spicy noodles and egg rolls. It’s not necessarily the place to impress out-of-towners or conduct a business meeting, but Bourbon Grill is a fantastic spot for authentic Southern food in Denver without breaking the bank.
bourbongrilltogo.com
(303) 355-3821
571 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80203
NoNo’s Cafe
Nestled in the Denver suburb of Littleton is NoNo’s Cafe. This little restaurant serves up big, bold, Cajun and Creole flavors guaranteed to have you crying “YesYes.” Louisiana natives Brian and Sonda Brewster moved to Colorado and opened up NoNo’s in 1996, settling on NoNo — a Louisiana colloquialism meaning grandfather — as a nod to the beloved family patriarch (who was the source of many of the recipes that grace NoNo’s menu).
The owners keep things fresh with a features menu that changes every few weeks, highlighting specials like blackened crab-stuffed quesadillas, mango chicken on coconut rice pilaf, and chicken pot pie. The signature menu is substantial and showcases a mix of New Orleans-forward cuisine and cozy comfort foods. Cajun egg rolls, stuffed with Tasso ham, chicken, cabbage, and rice, are perfectly fried and served with Cajun island dressing. You can grab a cup of shrimp bisque to accompany a crispy chicken salad or hot sausage po’boy.
Dishes like Monica-smothered catfish, crab meat au gratin, and BBQ shrimp are an excellent way to hit the spot after a day of hiking. Not in the mood for soul food? NoNo’s has you covered with a wide selection of pasta, burgers, and sides; plus, the Big Easy breakfast burrito is grab-and-go perfection. NoNo’s is also a prime pick for springtime crawfish boils – slots fill up quickly, so be sure to make a reservation.
nonoscafe.com
(303) 738-8330
3005 W County Line Rd, Littleton, CO 80129
Nola Jane Restaurant & Bar
Whether you’re specifically on the hunt for Southern fare or simply looking for a satiating bite around downtown Denver’s Market Street, Nola Jane is the place to be on a Friday night. Nola Jane took over the space formerly occupied by Pour House in 2021, and despite its relatively new status, the restaurant was quick to win over Mile High City diners.
Considered one of Denver’s best-loved Southern hotspots, it was crowned as Westword’s Best Southern/Soul Restaurant in 2021, 2022, and 2023, in addition to accolades for its awesome rooftop and patio. Plus, since Denver isn’t the best place to be if you’re a late night diner, the fact that Nola Jane’s kitchen stays open until midnight on Sundays through Thursdays and 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays is a major selling point. After all, a Abita Purple Haze draft, jalapeño hush puppies, and blackened gator tacos are heavenly after a late Nuggets game.
The debris po’boy — a gargantuan sandwich dripping with melt-in-your-mouth beef simmered in its own juices and homemade gravy — is to die for. The chicken and andouille jambalaya is perfectly balanced, and the eggplant Creole plate is a real treat (pro tip: sub dirty rice for the standard white rice). The space is small and tends to fill up quickly after 10 p.m., especially on weekends. But with Hurricanes and spicy margs on tap, the party never stops at Nola Jane.
nolajanedenver.com
(720) 592-1942
1435 Market St, Denver, CO 80202
Welton Street Cafe
Welton Street Cafe owners Floyd and Mona Dickerson immigrated to the United States from the U.S. Virgin Islands in the 1970s and operated multiple restaurants in the Five Points area before opening Welton Street Cafe in 1999. The original Welton Street Cafe was forced to shutter in 2022, but mercifully, reopened in a larger space just down the street in 2024. The restaurant is flourishing, and the community can’t get enough of the Black-owned family business’s country cooking with Caribbean flair.
Perhaps most notable on the menu is the miscellany of pates, a Caribbean dish you need to try consisting of meat and other fillings in a fried dough pocket. The jerk chicken entree served with cornbread will live in your head rent-free for months. There’s a wide range of burger and sandwich options (the catfish sammy is a classic), and enough sides to craft an entire meal, including Black-eyed peas, mac and cheese, sweet potato fries, and more. A daily rotating Kool-Aid is sure to be a hit for kids and anyone who prefers non-alcoholic beverages, though Welton Street Cafe’s bar menu also includes plenty of beer, wine, and classic cocktails.
weltonstreetcafe.com
(303) 296-6602
2883 Welton St, Denver, CO 80205
Four Friends Kitchen
Four Friends Kitchen came to be when (you guessed it) four friends and neighbors — Genefer and Tim Thornton, and Kurt and Sarah Pletcher — realized Stapleton was sorely lacking in kid-friendly early-morning eateries. The two families joined forces to build Four Friends Kitchen from the ground up, and have been serving delectable contemporary Southern breakfast, lunch, and weekend brunch to the community since 2015.
Open from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every single day, Four Friends is ideal for the early bird. The kid-friendly promise is maintained, too, by keeping plenty of vintage Etch-a-Sketches and coloring books on hand, as well as an amazing “Little Britches” (kids) menu. For adult patrons, small plates include quintessential country offerings like fried green tomatoes, Creole bread pudding, and beignets with creme anglaise and wild berry preserves. Overnight grits bowls are a standout; gluten-free heirloom grits are cooked overnight for silky-smooth texture, then loaded up with toppings like succulent Gulf shrimp, succotash, spinach, and cheese for a hearty, well-rounded breakfast bowl that explodes with flavor.
On the lunch side, grilled chicken cornbread salad is fantastic for a lighter option, while the Smokey Mountain BLT lends the classic sandwich a Lowcountry touch with crispy fried green tomatoes, smoked cheddar pimento cheese, maple bacon, and a Serrano buttermilk aioli. For solid, dependable Southern food in a family-friendly environment, Four Friends is a hidden gem in the burbs.
fourfriendskitchen.com
(303) 388-8299
2893 Roslyn St, Denver, CO 80238
Methodology
Despite a sizable population of Southern transplants, there aren’t a whole lot of Southern restaurants in Denver. The 11 on this list represent what I believe are the best Southern and soul food restaurants in the city. To make the list, restaurants had to have a Southern and/or soul food focus, justify the price tag (higher stakes for higher-priced restaurants), maintain consistent quality, and — of course — be delicious.
As for the taste factor, I’ve personally visited most of these eateries (I was a regular customer at Revival Denver Public House and Bourbon Grill when I lived in the Uptown neighborhood) and can vouch for the tastiness of the food. The three I have not visited in person — Mama Jo’s Chicken, Biscuits, & BBQ, NoNo’s Cafe, and Four Friends Kitchen — were included based on positive reviews and repeated word-of-mouth recommendations on foodie-dedicated Facebook groups and Reddit threads. Lastly, I wanted to include something for everyone, so this list encompasses a broad spectrum in terms of price points, ambience, and actual cuisine.
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