Restaurant Roll Call: Every Opening and Closing in September 2022

The dining scene saw a lot of action last month, with over thirty spots opening in September. But while there are plenty of new reasons to be excited about eating and drinking in Denver these days, big losses keep coming, too.

One closure proves that sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. After months of uncertainty, we confirmed that Japanese eatery Domo is done, a fate sparked by a viral TikTok video last year that drew huge crowds to the small restaurant and its gorgeous garden space. Overworked and understaffed, owner Gaku Homma ultimately decided to close Domo and focus on other ventures, including traveling to support the projects being run by his nonprofit, the Aikido Humanitarian Active Network.

Local 46 closed on the last day of September; it had known that its days on Tennyson were numbered since a new owner had purchased its building with plans for redevelopment. But Black Project Brewery on South Broadway unexpectedly announced its closure, too, with owner James Howat citing a decrease in foot traffic as one of the factors that led to the decision.

The Pueblo-themed bar Fuel & Iron, which opened just five months ago, wasn’t drawing crowds to its downtown location, either. The space’s previous tenant, Brass Tacks, had shuttered last year in large part because of decreased traffic during the pandemic, and it didn’t pick up under a new identity. Now the Victorian storefront is slated to reopen as Honor Farm, a new concept from the team behind the Electric Cure and Hell or High Water, the tiki bar it’s been running on the mezzanine of the Blake Street building. Honor Farm will lean into the space’s haunted reputation, which may be what it needs to bring in more business.

Another new spot betting on downtown is Pirate Alley Boucherie, which opened in the Ice House building near Union Station. But as has been the trend all year, many of the other openings were in the suburbs, including two new Thai spots, La Mai Thai Kitchen in Edgewater and Mountain Thai Kitchen in Broomfield.

Things continue to shift at local food halls, too, incIuding a big shuffle at Zeppelin Station, with five new concepts debuting following the exit of Paul Qui’s FAM Hospitality Group.

The September openings also included a slew of bakeries: Hearth, the Botanical Bakery of Denver, La Belle French Bakery, Scandanavian-inspired Süti & Co. in Boulder and the bakery half of French eatery Noisette all debuted, giving Denver diners plenty of excuses to stock up on pastries and other treats this fall.

In other openings-and-closings news:

• Tom’s Diner on Colfax is now back as Tom’s Starlight, a 1970s Palm Springs-inspired cocktail lounge and restaurant.
• Bistro Vendôme will move out of Larimer Square and into Park Hill this winter.
• There’s a new Sunday-only tasting menu concept called Margot operating out of the Coperta space.

Here’s the complete list of restaurants and bars that opened and closed in September:

Restaurants and bars that opened in September:*

Alvarados Mexican Fast Food, 4901 South Broadway
The Botanical Bakery of Denver, 2880 South Broadway, Englewood
Botellón Spanish Tapas & Wine, 2124 Larimer Street
Bowls by KO at Avanti, 3200 Pecos Street
Derecho, 2817 East Third Avenue
The Deck, 931 East 11th Avenue
DIRT Coffee, 1785 Quebec Street
Gyros King, 3501 Wazee Street
Hearth, 2500 Lawrence Street
Kini’s, 233 Clayton Street
La Belle French Bakery, 8547 East Arapahoe Road, Greenwood Village
La Mai Thai Kitchen, 2001 Sheridan Boulevard, Edgewater
La Rola Colombian Kitchen, 5350 South Santa Fe Drive, Littleton
The Mansion on Colfax, 1509 Marion Street
Mattie’s Soul Food, 1490 Eudora Street
MobCraft Dee Tacko, 2403 Champa Street
Mono Mono, 9719 West Coal Mine Avenue, Littleton
Mountain Thai Kitchen, 1000 Depot Hill Road, Broomfield
Pesto Italian Cuisine, 3501 Wazee Street
Pirate Alley Boucherie, 1801 Wynkoop Street
Prodigy Coffeehouse, 4500 Broadway
Purisima, 3501 Wazee Street
Reel Cajun Seafood Restaurant, 3820 River Point Parkway, Sheridan
Rock N Lobster Roll, 3501 Wazee Street
Soi Kowboi, 3501 Wazee Street
Spice Room Neighborhood Indian Bistro, 3100 East Colfax Avenue
Süti & Co.,2031 16th Street, Boulder
Tacos Selene, 1001 Santa Fe Drive
Teriyaki Madness, 1525 Park Central Drive, Highlands Ranch
Tom’s Starlight, 601 East Colfax Avenue
Van Leeuwen, 1459 Larimer Street

Restaurants and bars that closed in September:*

Bender’s Brat Haus, 700 South Buckley Road, Aurora
Black Project Spontaneous and Wild Ales, 1290 South Broadway
Domo, 1365 Osage Street
Fuel & Iron, 1526 Blake Street
Kinga’s Lounge, 1509 Marion Street
La Sandia, 8340 Northfield Boulevard
Local 46, 4586 Tennyson Street
Mono Mono, 3014 East Colfax Avenue
Old West Pancake House, 3600 Park Avenue West
The Preservery, 3040 Blake Street

*Or earlier and not previously reported.

Know of something we missed? Email cafe@westword.com.