All the Restaurant and Bar Openings and Closings This Week

We like to see at least one restaurant with a really silly name open every month. Bang Up to the Elephant started off 2018 with some silliness in January, and Chubby Cattle took the prize in February, adding to a menagerie that also includes a Brutal Poodle and an Angry Chicken (not to mention a Greedy Hamster). And now there's Ginginbunbun Sammies on the Go, which opened this week at 4004 West 38th Avenue. Co-owner Benjamin Runde says the name is a reference to a fifty-day road trip through America's national parks that he recently took with his girlfriend. "She called me Gin and I called her Bun, and I started to use it on social media," he explains (you can follow their trip using #ginginbunbun). He opened the sandwich shop with Melanie Hardin and Stephanie Caldwell on March 7, next door to a Buddy Boy dispensary, and says he eventually wants to partner with dispensaries to offer a one-two combo throughout town, not unlike Pizza Hut and Taco Bell (only with more weed).

The menu covers an international array of grilled street sandwiches, stopping in Mumbai, Argentina, Korea, Cuba and the Caribbean, plus regional American specialties — all under $8. Sides, salads and soups follow a similar globe-trotting theme. There are a couple of stools inside, but Gingingbunbun is mostly a takeout operation, slinging sandwiches from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday. The name may be nonsensical, but the sandwiches are definitely serious.

Here's our complete list of restaurant openings and closings for the week of March 5 through March 11, 2018:

Restaurants and Bars Opening This Week*
Ginginbunbun Sandwiches, 4004 West 38th Avenue
Motomaki, 500 16th Street
Periodic Brewing, 2100 East 112th Avenue, Northglenn
Stoney's Uptown Joint, 1035 East 17th Avenue
Zeppelin Station, 3501 Wazee Street

Restaurants and Bars Closing This Week*
Element Kitchen & Cocktail, 1134 Broadway
Harpo's Sports Grill, 2860 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder

*Or earlier and not previously reported.

Keep reading for links to some of our earlier coverage.

"First Look: Zeppelin Station Launches New Food Hall on Monday"

"Woodgrain Bagels Fires Up Pizza and Chicken in New Lowry Location"

"Element Kitchen & Cocktail Goes Dark After Seven Months"

With the disappearance of Element, the Golden Triangle continues to get darker. Over the past few weeks, the area has lost Tony's Market and Charcoal, while the spaces that once housed Dazzle, Opal and DJ's remain dark.

Every week, we catalogue the openings and closings around the Denver dining scene. And at the end of the year, we serve up the roster of all the openings and closings over the past 365 days, documenting all the action in this increasingly dynamic restaurant scene.

Have you spotted any openings or closings that we missed? Have a hot tip? Post a comment, or let us know at [email protected].