Every Opening and Closing This Week: Three New Spots to Try

Openings tend to slow down around Thanksgiving, so it’s not a surprise that only three spots debuted this week. But each brings something different to the dining scene.

Following the recent additions of Berliner House at Avanti (which specializes in German-style döner kebabs) and Shawarma House from the owners of House of Bread, there’s now a third new option for spit-roasted meats.

Owner Mohamad Elsayad had planned to open Shiish Shawarma in the long-vacant space that was once home to Jammin’ Joes BBQ a year ago. Now, it’s finally started serving in the Whittier neighborhood, offering sandwiches, wraps and plates loaded with options like lamb kebab, beef shawarma and gyros. When we stopped by for lunch this week, neighbors walking by were excited to see the spot open at last, and the chicken shawarma we tried made for a saucy and satisfying meal for just over $10. Also a nice touch: the warm lentil and veggie soup that was served for free while we waited for our meal. The space is very small, with just two tables inside, so this one’s best for takeout.

Yet another addition to East Colfax Avenue debuted this week, when the restored La Vista Motel opened along with its on-site coffee shop and cocktail bar, El Piñon. The founder of Ephemeral Rotating Taproom, Weston Scott, is operating the space, which includes Grandma’s Basement, a lower-level room meant to evoke the feeling of hanging out in a ’60s-era rumpus room.

Rounding out the week’s openings is a highly anticipated cocktail bar, the Peach Crease Club. Husband-and-wife duo and bar pros Stuart Jensen and Alex Jump are behind the project, which opened next to Mission Ballroom on Friday, November 28. Fittingly, it’s outfitted with a vinyl sound system; the team promises that music will play a starring role at this upscale watering hole.

The only closures we reported this week: the two locations of Italian-born Neapolitan pizza chain Rosso Pomodoro. The brand is behind the pizza at the Eataly locations in North America, and the Denver outpost in Central Park was its first standalone brick-and-mortar when it debuted last year. Now, both that location and a second that opened in Greenwood Village have shuttered, marking the company’s exit from the state.

In other openings and closings news:

• Two new Italian joints are set to open in Wash Park next month.
• The former home of Breakfast King is vacant once again.
• There’s less than a month left to visit Call to Arms before the brewery shuts its doors on December 23 — and it’s currently decked out for its final Big Holiday Energy pop-up.

Here’s the complete list of restaurants and bars that opened and closed this week*:

Openings

El Piñon at La Vista Motel, 5500 East Colfax Avenue
The Peach Crease Club, 4180 Wynkoop Street
Shiish Shawarma, 2600 High Street

Closures

Rosso Pomodoro, 7505 East 29th Place and 8575 East Arapahoe Road

*Or earlier and not previously reported.

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