It finally opened on Monday, in the Drive building across from Fuel, but like the name -- which changed from Pit Stop to Refuel -- and the opening date (pushed back again and again), the menu also morphed along the way.
Some of those menu changes were intentional; others were not. See also: - Refuel is up and running in Rino, with Boxcar Coffee in the passenger seat - Chef and Tell: Bob Blair of Fuel Cafe - Bob Blair opening a fast-casual joint in Taxi
If you stopped in this week looking for a breakfast burrito to pair with a cup of craft java from Refuel's neighbor, BoxCar Coffee Roasters, you would've found the place closed until lunch. "They're not letting us cook like we'd intended," Blair explained after I dropped by this morning. Turns out that when it came for a final inspection of the spot, the Denver Fire Department vetoed his 36-inch griddle.
Fortunately, the department has no problem with his panini press, so Refuel can make sandwiches. In fact, Blair says he's moved all the sandwiches off of Fuel's menu and over to Refuel so that Fuel can "step up the lunch entrees," and focus on a menu there that's "more reflective of the food served at dinnertime."
Blair's looking at other possibilities for Refuel's breakfast fare -- maybe panini-pressed breakfast quesadillas, or eggs scrambled at Fuel, then stuffed into burritos and pressed at Refuel. He hopes to start opening at 8 a.m. by the end of the month. But for now, morning hours and options are limited; you'll have to fuel up with coffee and a croissant or an oatmeal cream pie supplied by Fuel.
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