Colfax Favorite for Breakfast Burritos Is Struggling Amid Construction

The BRT construction project on Colfax Avenue has claimed several of the businesses that make Denver interesting. Middleman shut its doors last June, followed by Michelin-recommended Chinese joint Q House in September. Last weekend, Machete called it quits after a decade on the street.

Now, locals are nervous that La Abeja – a food-scene staple for over 25 years, known for its no-frills Mexican fare – could be the next restaurant to fall victim to the torn-up streets and sidewalks.

The East Colfax eatery first opened as a modest Mexican bakery before becoming the breakfast-and-lunch spot it is today. While ownership has changed hands over the years, the heart of the restaurant has remained the same. 

“I worked there when I was a teenager; that was my first job, my brother as well. Then, my dad started working there around 2018,” says Eva Murillo, whose parents now operate the restaurant. “My mom started working there around 2000, and she’s the one who created the whole food menu. All of the recipes are hers. None of them are written down, she just knows them.”

La Abeja has become especially beloved for its breakfast burritos, which start at $9.99. They come either filled or smothered in the restaurant’s signature green chile and stuffed with eggs, potatoes and your choice of chorizo, ham or bacon. Huevos rancheros and chilaquiles are available for breakfast, too, and the restaurant makes a damn good cup of coffee.

For lunch, tacos and smothered burritos dominate orders, while tortas stacked with refried beans, meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, salsa and pickled jalapeños remain something of a sleeper hit. Murillo’s personal favorite is the carnitas torta, and she recommends adding avocado. Regulars also swear by the weekend menudo. 

After working at La Abeja for years, Murillo’s parents officially purchased it from the original owners in March 2020, just days before the pandemic shut down indoor dining. “We didn’t know the pandemic was coming,” she recalls. “They put their savings together and bought the restaurant, and then everything shut down.”

After a difficult year and a half, business eventually stabilized — but BRT construction has reversed the restaurant’s recovery.

“People don’t know how to walk to get to us, or if we’re open,” Murillo shares. “There’s no parking, streets are closed, and customers are frustrated.”

The restaurant first started feeling the impact of construction last February, when sidewalks were intermittently closed and access to the restaurant became confusing for customers. Since August, the situation has worsened. At its peak, La Abeja was bringing in an average of $1,200 a day, with some days reaching up to $2,000. Today, it sometimes brings in as little as $50 a day, with $400 at the high end.

Murillo’s parents now work seven days a week, supported by a single part-time worker. They’ve cut back hours when business is especially slow and are experimenting with weekday specials in hopes of drawing in customers. Hiring additional staff or adding delivery services like DoorDash simply isn’t feasible right now.

Murillo says La Abeja did receive funding through Denver’s Business Impact Opportunity Fund, which offers grants to small businesses affected by construction, but the support only went so far. As for communication about when construction might ease, she says updates have been sparse.

“The Colfax Avenue people will come in and communicate with my parents…but beyond that, most of the communication happened at the very beginning when they explained how long it would take, what it was going to look like, and how each section would be phased. Since then, I don’t think we’ve really received any updates,” Murillo explains.

According to the East Colfax Bus Rapid Transit project team, “Construction in Segments 1 and 2 (from Broadway to Colorado) is expected to finish this fall.” The project team maintains a publicly available dashboard that is updated bi-weekly to track progress along the corridor.

Whether La Abeja will make it until then remains uncertain. As Denver continues to change, La Abeja stands as a reminder of what’s at stake: the family-owned, hole-in-the-wall gems that define the Mile High City.

“The food is amazing,” Murillo continues. “It can be a little scary to walk down Colfax, but I think people should experience this local, small, immigrant-owned business.”

La Abeja is located at 508 East Colfax Avenue and is open daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit laabejadenver.com.