Every Opening and Closing This Week: Five Additions to the Scene

Among the picks on our list of the Top 50 Restaurants in Denver right now is Insee Father Noodle House, which opened late last year at the edge of Highland and specializes in Thai street food. Now, there’s another Thai street-food spot downtown, off 16th and Blake streets: Le Do Thai just joined the scene, with a wide-ranging menu that spans papaya salad and larb to soups like the spicy Thai Volcano with shrimp, scallops, squid and mussels, as well as stir-fried dishes, noodles and more.

Mix’d Drink is now open off Zuni Street — and no, it’s not a bar serving mixed drinks. Instead, the “diverse drink and eatery is focused on being a modern, community-focused beverage bar offering smoothies, specialty teas, coffee, mocktails, frozen bowls, lattes, small bites and elevated comfort treats into one inclusive concept,” says owner Shamara Edwards. “At its core, Mix’d Drink is about mixing cultures, flavors and people. The menu features globally inspired beverages and treats, fruit-forward teas, wellness drinks, and alcohol-free mocktails designed to feel indulgent but approachable. The brand was built to be family-friendly, social and flexible, a place where kids, adults, non-drinkers and wellness-minded customers all feel welcome.”

This week’s other three additions are outside of Denver, and include a new ice cream shop from a pair of hospitality pros. Darlene’s Ice Cream is now open in Aurora; it’s owned by pastry chef Joy Williams-Clark, who was the operations chef for the Edible Beats restaurant group (Root Down, Linger, El Five, Vital Root), as well as her husband, Kyle Clark, former El Five chef. Its sixteen rotating flavors include options such as roasted strawberry jam, mango chili sorbet and salted pretzel, and it’s also serving novelty treats, sea salt chocolate chip cookies and build-your-own floats.

Arvada is home to a new location of the Milkshake Factory chain, while locally-owned City Buffet is finally open in Littleton after many delays, bringing an all-you-can-eat Asian option to the area.

There were only two closures to report this week: Village Inn, which was founded in Denver in 1958, closed outposts in Littleton and Greeley. It still operates eighteen locations in the state.

In other openings and closings news:

• Saturday, January 24, is the last day for Machete on Colfax, which is offering all-day happy hour starting at 4 p.m. for its last service.
• A new steakhouse is coming to the National Western Center from the owner of Corrida and Oak at Fourteenth in Boulder.
• Ephemeral Rotating Taproom is adding a second location.

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

Openings

City Buffet, 5066 South Wadsworth Boulevard, Littleton
Darlene’s Ice Cream, 3105 South Peoria Street, Aurora
Le Do Thai, 1550 Blake Street
MilkShake Factory, 5324 Wadsworth Boulevard, Arvada
Mix’d Drink, 3120 Zuni Street

Closures

Village Inn, 23 Centennial Boulevard, Littleton and 921 30th Avenue, Greeley

*Or earlier and not previously reported.

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