Every Opening and Closing This Week: Semiprecious Starts Pouring, Noodle Express on a Break

Noodle Express has had a tough few years. It debuted in the Belcaro Shopping Center in February 2020 – perhaps the worst month in recent history to open a restaurant, since the COVID pandemic soon put the kibosh on indoor dining.

But the eatery pulled through, and by early 2022, it had gained a loyal fan base thanks to an unexpected selection of Sichuan specialties like dan dan noodles and fried green beans. But then Noodle Express announced that it had to shutter on February 24, 2022; its landlord was not going to extend its lease because the 6.4 acre shopping center was set to be redeveloped.

At the last minute, though, the restaurant was able to renegotiate the lease.

Two years after that scare, signs in the dining room warned that the renewed lease was up at the end of August 2024 and “the landlord has not offered any kind of extensions yet.” But once again, Noodle Express was able to stay open on a month-to-month basis.

So when fans heard that the doors were locked this week, they feared the worst. But as it turns out – according to a sign posted on those doors – the owners are simply on vacation until June 14. Still, the Belcaro Shopping Center project won’t hold off forever…so eat here while you can.

Gone for good is Pancho Poncho, the Mexican joint that the owners of Carboy Winery opened last June in the former home of Logan Street Restaurant. Pancho Poncho wasn’t any more successful, though, and after a quick turnaround, the space is now Après at Govnr’s Park, named in honor of Govnr’s Park, the fern-bar-turned-sports-bar that occupied this location for four decades before the owners sold to the Carboy crew in 2018.

Après wasn’t the week’s only opening. Mendocino Farms turned Denver into a true cowtown, with a parade of longhorns in Cherry Creek to mark the debut of the California chain. Also out of California, an L.A. bar team opened Semiprecious in Sunnyside on May 9. And Mister Oso for in the swim with another spot in Boulder.

Aviano Coffee also opened a Boulder location next door to Mister Oso. And Prodigy Coffee took on another location, too, moving into the former Purple Door Cafe at 1640 Sherman Street.

And yes, metro Denver got another In-N-Out, this one in Brighton.

In other openings and closings news:

• The Papa Friets food truck rolls into Denver from Chicago.
• Whiskey Wednesdays have returned to Arvada’s Bluegrass Lounges.
• Want some smelling salts with that shot? Head to Skyline Pub by Sloan’s Lake.

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

Openings

Après at Govnr’s Park, 400 East Seventh Avenue
Aviano Coffee, 1253 Pleasant Street, Boulder
La Loma, 9355 Crown Crest Boulevard, Parker
Mendocino Farms, 320 Fillmore Street
Mister Oso, 1253 Pleasant Street, Boulder
Prodigy Coffee, 1640 Sherman Street
Semiprecious, 2839 West 44th Avenue

Temporary Closure

Noodle Express, 703 South Colorado Boulevard

Closures

Pancho Poncho, 400 East Seventh Avenue

*Or earlier, and not reported in a previous list.

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