Denver, CO
Colorado is proposing major changes to autism therapy — and families are worried
Sabrina Ortengren had almost no hope when she and her husband Jay sat down with an autism therapy provider in Evergreen in 2022.
All of the specialized schools in their home state of Virginia had deemed their son Ethan’s needs too severe to manage. The family had made the three-day journey west based on reports that autism services in Colorado would be better, but in the upheaval of a move, Ethan had gotten worse and thrown his father into a wall.
After a week in Children’s Hospital Colorado, he was doing better, but she couldn’t imagine anyone would want to work with a 14-year-old with the build of a lineman and a history of aggression.
“We were telling them every awful thing we could think of, so they’d know upfront,” she said.
Rebecca Urbano Powell, who owns Seven Dimensions Behavioral Health, could tell Ethan was going to be a challenging student, but she was confident he could make progress with applied behavior analysis, a therapy focused on breaking down tasks and using repetition to help people with autism learn to function more independently. The technicians working with him had to wear pads at times during the first year to limit injuries when he lashed out, but then, something began to shift.
Ethan began learning to express himself through a combination of short spoken phrases and pointing to icons on a tablet. He developed enough self-regulation that his parents felt safe taking him to restaurants and stores, confident that he wouldn’t bolt into traffic or hurt someone. He started to develop passions, such as building with Legos, riding over “bumpity bump” mountain passes and listening to 1980s hair bands, Jay Ortengren said.
His therapy “changed how our family is able to live,” Sabrina Ortengren said. “It gave him a life, and us with him.”
But the Ortengrens worry that Ethan and others like him in Colorado may not be able to get applied behavior analysis — known as ABA therapy — as easily in the future. The state agency that funds Medicaid is asking lawmakers to lower the rate paid to providers to help balance the budget and to allow more chances to review payments. The department is also seeking a new requirement that behavioral technicians doing most of the front-line therapy get certified, following a federal audit that flagged most bills for the service as questionable.
Kim Bimestefer, executive director of the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, said the state has to make changes if Medicaid is going to continue paying for ABA therapy. Colorado’s payments to providers quintupled in six years, reaching $287 million in the fiscal year that ended in June.
Practices owned by private-equity firms that were “exploiting” the lack of standards for autism care accounted for a significant share of that increase, she said.
“Ultimately, evidence-based guidelines and best-practices assessments — which exist in most every other area of care — would enable Medicaid programs and commercial carriers to drive the right care, at the right price, in the right setting, for the right patient outcome for autistic children, thereby curbing the current outrageous, profit-driven provider behaviors,” Bimestefer said in a statement.
Colorado is facing a budget deficit as high as $1.5 billion, making Medicaid cuts almost inevitable, because the program accounts for about one-third of the state’s spending. In the current year, the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing’s budget, the vast majority of which goes to Medicaid, reached $18 billion, including about $10 billion in federal funds.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General found Colorado may have overpaid ABA providers by about $78 million in 2022 and 2023, based on a sample of claims it reviewed. The OIG report recommended the state repay almost $43 million to the federal government, though Colorado is contesting the way it calculated that number.
Two sides pointing fingers
The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing and therapy providers have dramatically different takes on the OIG’s findings.
Colorado officials say autism therapy providers, especially those owned by private-equity investors, saw an opportunity to make money in a new field without much federal guidance. Providers say the state failed to provide clear guidance about how they should document their work and is punishing them for its mistakes.
The OIG focuses on whether payments followed Medicaid’s rules and can’t determine if anyone attempted to defraud the program, said assistant regional inspector general Kim Kennedy.
In about one-third of the sample of bills the OIG examined, enough evidence existed to conclude the state shouldn’t have paid because the bills didn’t have the right documentation, the provider didn’t have the necessary credentials, or the child didn’t have a relevant diagnosis recorded. In the remainder, the documentation was too poor to say one way or the other.
Without sufficient records, states have no way of knowing whether providers just didn’t document the high-quality sessions they offered, or if Medicaid has paid for little more than babysitting, Kennedy said.
“You could not tell what’s a good provider, a bad provider or a fraudulent provider from the documentation,” she said. “It’s not just a payment issue. It’s a quality of care issue.”
The OIG found similar problems in Maine, Wisconsin and Indiana, and is working on audits of three additional states, which haven’t been publicly identified. Medicaid has only consistently covered ABA therapy since about 2015, and states may still be learning how to make sure providers are following rules and giving necessary care, Kennedy said.
Urbano Powell, who is president of the Colorado Association for Behavior Analysis, said the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing has itself to blame for the findings, because it didn’t provide clear information about how to document sessions with clients, told providers to use the wrong billing codes for services, and continued to pay claims now flagged as problematic.
The state is sending a message with the cuts that it doesn’t value people with developmental disabilities, she said.
“Budgets are important, but I think humans are more important,” Urbano Powell said.
Bimestefer countered that some providers have pushed families toward more hours than necessary to maximize their payments. Those providers also billed for time that clearly wasn’t eligible, such as when children took play breaks or naps, she said.
All medical specialties have rules for filling out their notes, and ABA providers shouldn’t need the state to tell them that copying and pasting the same summary for each session, as the inspectors found in some cases, wasn’t good enough, Bimestefer said.
“The industry has to evolve,” she said. “In the meantime, we have to hold bad actors accountable.”
Nationwide, Medicaid payments for autism behavioral therapies increased from about $660 million in 2019 to $2.2 billion in 2023, and the number of companies offering the services roughly doubled.
In some cases, states reimbursed providers hundreds of dollars for an hour of therapy, even though the workers providing it had little education beyond high school, according to The Wall Street Journal. The average rate was $61. Indiana was particularly prone to high spending because it reimbursed providers 40% of whatever they billed, rather than setting an hourly rate for therapy.
Certification and reviewing payments
Two of Colorado’s proposals, increasing payment reviews and requiring behavior technicians to get certified, appear targeted at problems the OIG report found. The state pays board-certified behavior analysts to assess children, develop care plans and supervise the technicians doing much of the hands-on work with clients.
Currently, Colorado doesn’t require specific credentials for behavior technicians.
In December, the department asked the state Medical Services Board to pass an emergency rule requiring the roughly 2,000 technicians without credentials to complete a certification. About 6,600 technicians had already completed the process, which includes about 40 hours of coursework, on-the-job training and a test. The board ultimately didn’t pass the rule, but the department plans to try again this year.
The credentialing is one part of a rule to create regulations specific to ABA, said Adela Flores-Brennan, Medicaid director at the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. Right now, providers operate under the rules for services to screen and treat young children, she said.
“It’s mostly about who can provide the services, what services can be billed,” she said of the proposed regulations.
Most providers support requiring technicians to get certified, but they need a grace period so that new hires can complete their training while they work, said Will Martin, a board-certified behavior analyst at Soar Autism Services, which has 15 locations in the Denver area and one in Colorado Springs.
The certification requirement would have little impact on the state’s budget. Legislative staff estimated that increasing reviews before and after payments to ABA providers go out could save about $10 million in the coming fiscal year, though.
Unlike prior authorization, which happens before the patient gets a service, pre-payment review occurs after the service but before reimbursement, while post-payment review could force providers to pay Medicaid back. Pre-payment reviews would likely be the bigger problem, because they could mean providers wait as long as six months for reimbursement on services they already provided, Martin said.
Medicaid currently does pre-reviews of payments for non-emergency medical transportation because of fraud in that field, and the pauses for review are typically less than three months, Flores-Brennan said. Post-payment review takes longer because the state has to dive into medical records, she said.
Legislative staff also said the state general fund could save about $2.7 million in the coming year by lowering Medicaid’s rate from 100% of the average paid by comparable states to 95%. The state would pay about 47 cents less for time spent assessing a child and $8.49 less for ABA therapy delivered in a group.
Colorado had raised that rate in 2023 because nine providers had left the state, and lawmakers were worried about access, Martin said. Lowering it risks creating the same problem again, he said.
‘Fearful for what’s going ot happen’
Urbano Powell said she already had to stop taking new clients covered by Medicaid because the $80 per hour rate doesn’t cover her costs, especially since she can’t bill for time supervising technicians or working with parents, which takes up about half of her day.
School districts pay for the therapy that full-time clients such as Ethan receive during classroom hours, but Medicaid or private insurance pays for any services outside that time, she said.
“I can barely support myself and my husband at this point,” she said. “I really am fearful for what’s going to happen to our Medicaid families in Colorado.”
When Colorado raised its rates in 2023, the group of comparable states included Nebraska, despite the department’s request to exclude it as an outlier, Bimestefer said. Nebraska has since lowered its rates, and states are adjusting after overpaying for a time, she said.
The number of providers increased steadily from 88 in fiscal year 2017 to 373 in fiscal year 2024, and pushing providers to stop prescribing more hours than necessary will free up sessions for additional children, Bimestefer said.
“We’ll be fine,” she said.
While a few providers probably are overprescribing therapy or providing less care than they bill for, the majority are trying to help kids reach their potential based on their best clinical judgment, Martin said. The state should focus on auditing outlier providers, such as those giving every client 40 hours of therapy each week, rather than reviewing payments for everyone or cutting rates, he said.
“A rate cut is something that is like a sledgehammer,” he said.
The state also needs to weigh cutting costs now against saving money in the future by allowing children to function more independently when they grow up, Martin said. More-intensive therapy before children turn 5 increases the odds they won’t need as much support as adults, though obviously not everyone will be able to hold a job and live on their own, he said.
“Their investment in children early in their developmental window would literally pay dividends over time,” he said.
While Ethan, who is now 18, probably will need some support throughout his life, he has far exceeded their initial goals of learning to pay attention for five minutes and not harming himself or others, Sabrina Ortengren said.
Jeffco Public Schools will continue to pay for his therapy until he turns 21, and Urbano Powell has started talking to his parents about gradually introducing skills he could use in a supported work environment.
That seemed impossible four years ago, when they moved to Colorado in a last-ditch effort to keep him out of an institution, she said.
“We’re, probably for the first time, excited to see where his future goes,” she said.
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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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