El Delicioso
Audio By Carbonatix
The first week of February brought eight openings, including a big change for the Las Delicias location in Parker, which has served the community since the 1980s.
Las Delicias is a local chain that was started by Robert and Norma Torres at 439 East 19th Avenue in 1976; that spot is still open today as Las Delicias Uptown. More spots opened over the decades; today, in addition to the flagship, the company operates Las Delicious North at 7610 Conifer Road and a Glendale outpost at 4301 East Kentucky Avenue (which got its start decades ago as The Riveria). As of February 5, though, the longtime Parker location has a new name, owner and updated menu.
When the previous owners decided to retire, they opted to pass the business to Juan “John” Andrade, who began working at Las Delicias over three decades ago, when he was just eighteen. It’s now named El Delicioso; Andrade, who’s moving to an employee-owned model, has retained many of the staff members, including longtime manager Jesus “Chuy.” While the Las Delicious customer favorites will remain on the menu, there is also a new selection of Tex-Mex dishes inspired by Andrade’s family recipes; some gradual interior and operational improvements will roll over over the coming months.
Entirely new this week is the Gallery, a bar and tearoom serving art-inspired cocktails at the Foolproof Art Gallery in RiNo.
Convivio Cafe
All of the other openings this week are expansions of existing brands, including a trio of coffee shops. Lavender Coffee Boutique, which debuted its flagship location on South Pearl Street in 2023, added a second full-service coffee shop on East Hampden Avenue. Our 2023 Best New Coffee Shop winner, the Guatemalan-inspired Convivio Café, now has a second location inside the Alliance Center downtown. And Frank & Roze, which opened its original location at the 9+Co development off Colorado Boulevard in 2019, has expanded to Uptown, taking over the former D Bar space.
National chain Crispý Cones has opened its first Colorado location in Centennial. It specializes in gourmet soft-serve ice cream served in dough cones that are grilled rotisserie-style — a popular sweet treat in European countries, including the Czech Republic. Dave’s Hot Chicken also debuted a new location in Aurora, its eleventh in the state.
Rounding out the openings is a second location of Manna Bakery in Centennial. This local business got its start in Littleton in 1982 and has been at 6905 South Broadway since 2012.
There’s only one closure besides the Parker Las Delicious to report this week: Goldspot Brewing Company became the latest brewery to close its doors. Owner Kelissa Hieber still dreams of opening a new brewery in the mountains and will be hosting Goldspot pop-ups at Brewability in Englewood on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Mondays from 3 to 9 p.m. starting on February 8.
In other openings and closings news:
- Moxie Bread Co. has a new cafe inside Cheese Importers in Longmont.
- Uchi sister concept Uchiko is finally opening in Cherry Creek on February 17 after first announcing the project in 2022.
- A Hong Kong-inspired pizzeria will debut in Lakewood this month.
- Ma’s Kitchen on Colfax is expanding into the former Okinawa space next door.
- The owners of Glo Noodle House are opening a sushi spot in Boulder.
Courtesy Dave’s Hot Chicken
Here’s the complete list of restaurants and bars that opened and closed this week*:
Openings
Convivio Cafe in the Alliance Center, 1536 Wynkoop Street
Crispy Cones, 20269 East Smoky Hill Road, Centennial
Dave’s Hot Chicken, 1223 South Iola Street, Aurora
El Delicioso, 19553 Main Street, Parker
Frank & Roze Uptown, 494 East 19th Avenue
The Gallery and Bar, 3246 Larimer Street
Lavender Coffee Boutique, 1400 East Hampden Avenue
Manna Bakery University, 7424 South University Boulevard, Centennial
Closures
Goldspot Brewing Company, 4970 Lowell Boulevard
Las Delicious, 19553 Main Street, Parker (replaced by El Delicioso)
*Or earlier and not previously reported.
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