Every Restaurant Opening and Closing in October 2021

From bars to barbecue, there was a lot of action in the dining scene in October. We reported twenty openings for the month, including the expansion of several brands. Smok, which got its start at the Source in 2018, debuted a second outpost in Fort Collins, while Crush Pizza added a wing-focused venture on East Colfax. Another pizza eatery, Denver Pizza Company, added a location in Wheat Ridge.

Brand-new additions to the dining scene include the much-anticipated Apple Blossom from Paul and Aileen Reilly, the brother-sister duo behind Coperta and the now-closed Beast + Bottle. Its opening inside the Hyatt Centric Downtown Denver marks the Reillys’ return to the kind of seasonal, farm-to-table cooking that made Beast + Bottle one of the best restaurants in town for years.

Last month saw some shuffling of concepts, too, as Open moved out of American Bonded and took its sandwiches to Goosetown Tavern. Its former kitchen is now being used by T.S.R., which is serving up elevated street food in RiNo.

And though there’s only one new bar to report, TrashHawk Tavern is a welcome, low-key addition to South Broadway, with nary a craft cocktail in sight. Instead, this spot focuses on being a neighborhood go-to with a casual atmosphere where you can grab a beer or a simple drink like a double vodka soda.

We clocked eight closures in October. Two pizza joints, Cosmo’s and Pieology, shut down locations. Two Troy Guard concepts also said goodbye: Big Wave Taco, which lasted a year in Junction Food Hall, and TAG Burger Bar, which served the Congress Park neighborhood for over a decade. But Guard also reopened FNG in October; it has a refreshed menu and is one of several concepts that he hopes to focus on as part of his new growth plan for TAG Restaurant Group.

Here’s the complete list of restaurants and bars opening and closing this month:

Restaurants and bars opening this month:*

Apple Blossom, 1776 Champa Street
Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii, 2990 Speer Boulevard
Berkeley Alley Beer Company, 4342 Tennyson Street
Crush Wing + Tap, 5001 East Colfax Avenue
Denver Pizza Company, 5455 West 38th Avenue, Unit G, Wheat Ridge
Heaven Creamery, 2935 Larimer Street
I Heart Mac & Cheese, 1100 Sergeant Jon Stiles Drive, Unit #108, Highlands Ranch
Open, 3242 East Colfax Avenue
The Ponti, 100 West 14th Avenue Parkway
Poulette Bakeshop,19585 Hess Road,  Unit 107, Parker
Prost Brewing, 53 Centennial Boulevard, Highlands Ranch
Urban Village Grill, 8505 Park Meadows Center Drive, #2184A, Lone Tree
Smok, 327 East Foothills Parkway, Fort Collins
Sukoon, 2700 West Bowles Avenue, Littleton
TrashHawk Tavern, 1539 South Broadway
TSR, 2706 Larimer Street
Vaca Gordo BBQ, 3200 Pecos Street
Voghera Ristorante & Apericena, 3963 Tennyson Street
Wellness Sushi, 939 Bannock Street
Yeti’s Sweets and Arcade, 18068 West 92nd Lane, Arvada

Restaurants and bars reopening this month:*

FNG, 3940 West 32nd Avenue

Restaurants and bars closing this month:*

Big Wave Taco, 2000 South Colorado Boulevard
Broadway’s, 3978 South Broadway
Cosmo’s Pizza, 1325 Broadway, Boulder
De Steeg Brewing, 4342 Tennyson Street (now Berkeley Alley Beer Company)
Factotum Brewhouse, 3845 Lipan Street
Miner’s Tavern & Taphouse, Erie
Pieology Pizzeria, 12073 East Arapahoe Road #140, Centennial
TAG Burger Bar, 1222 Madison Street

*Or earlier and not previously reported.

Know of something we missed? Let us know, cafe@westword.com.