Restaurant Roll Call: All the Openings and Closings for August 2017

August is typically a busy month for restaurateurs, and this year was no exception. More than twenty new eateries debuted, including second (or even third) locations of some of our favorites, such as Blue Pan Pizza, 5280 Burger Bar and Maria Empanada. Lavish hotel restaurants downtown also welcomed customers: Citizen Rail at the Kimpton Hotel Born, Urban Farmer at the Oxford, and the Lockwood inside the Crowne Plaza. But there was still room for new mom-and-pop operations serving international specialties, like pupusas at El Tazumal, Jamaican dishes at Healthful Juices and street tacos at Taqueria Pancho Villa.

There were relatively few closings, but that was after the month started off with a bang, with Stella’s on 16th shuttering amid accusations of employees left unpaid for hours worked. We’ll miss what was probably Denver’s best Greek restaurant, Axios Estiatorio, as well as Uoki Korean Restaurant and Blueprint Bar, which will soon be replaced by gay bar Pride and Swagger.

Here’s our complete list of all the bar and restaurant openings and closings for August 2017:

Restaurants and Bars Opening in August: *
5280 Burger Bar, 4301 Main Street, Westminster
Bar Louie, 7111 West Alaska Drive, Lakewood
Blue Pan Pizza Congress Park, 3509 East 12th Avenue
Candela Latin Kitchen, 1691 Central Street
Citizen Rail, 1899 16th Street
Crazy Mountain Tap Room, 660 South Colorado Boulevard
Cub’s Q Barbeque, 6955 South York Street
El Tazumal, 258 Santa Fe Drive
Emmerson, 1600 Pearl Street, Boulder
The Grist Laboratory, 9535 Park Meadows Drive, Lone Tree
Healthful Juices, 2736 Welton Street
Liza’s Cafe (inside the Saucy Noodle), 727 South University Boulevard
The Lockwood (inside the Crowne Plaza Denver Downtown Hotel), 1450 Glenarm Place
Lot 14 Bistro, 4001 Tejon Street
Mod Pizza, 6415 West 104th Avenue, Westminster
Maria Empanada (inside Stanley Marketplace), 2501 Dallas Street, Aurora
Newk’s Eatery, 7450 West 52nd Avenue, Arvada
The Old Spaghetti Factory, 9145 Sheridan Boulevard, Westminster
Palizo Italiano, 1472 South Pearl Street
Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, 18200 Cottonwood Drive, Parker
Taqueria Pancho Villa, 400 Federal Boulevard
Urban Farmer, 1659 Wazee Street
Wayward, 1610 Little Raven Street
Woods Boss Brewing, 2210 California Street

Restaurants and Bars Reopening in August:*
Big Choice Brewing (moved from Broomfield), 21 South First Avenue, Brighton
Bourbon Grill (moved from original location), 571 East Colfax Avenue
The Bronze Empire (remodel), 1591 South Colorado Boulevard.

Restaurants and Bars Temporarily Closing in August:*
The Way Back (moving to Tennyson Street), 4132 West 38th Avenue

Restaurants and Bars Closing in August:*
A-Town Pizza, 17060 East Quincy Avenue and 10600 East Iliff Avenue, Aurora
Axios Estiatorio, 3901 Tennyson Street
Blueprint Bar, 450 East 17th Avenue
Clyde, 112 East Eighth Avenue
Crave, 891 14th Street
El Taco Veloz, 400 Federal Boulevard
Latigo, 2229 Blake Street
Stella’s on 16th, 1600 Wazee Street
Thailicious, 2045 Sheridan Boulevard
Uoki Restaurant, 701 East Sixth Avenue

*Or earlier, and not previously mentioned.