The week before Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times of year for bars and restaurants, so new places were scrambling to open to cash in on a little extra business this week. Punch Bowl Social's new Stapleton outpost has been a couple of years in the works, and the effort shows in the results. If you don't have a ticket to tonight's grand-opening party, you can still go and gawk (and grab some grub) after 9 p.m. tonight or tomorrow for brunch. For the rest of the week, PBS is only open for dinner and will be closed Thanksgiving day.
In Boulder, chef Hosea Rosenberg debuts his second restaurant, Santo, tonight in a mid-century-modern shopping center. This one's an homage to the chef's youth in Taos, New Mexico, with special love given to Hatch green chiles, piñon nuts, Chimayo red chiles and other ingredients of that corner of the Southwest.
And evidence that Denver hasn't completely shaken off its cowtown roots: The unveiling of the cavernous new Whole Foods Union Station attracted both the Mayor Michael Hancock and Governor John Hickenlooper, while everyone gawked and drooled over a big stack of cheese and a new mac-and-cheese bar. We may be easily impressed by cheese, but there's plenty more on offer for more sophisticated shoppers, too.
In closings, the Breckenridge-Wynkoop group has finally begun transitioning Breck on Blake at 2220 Blake Street into a second Cherry Cricket. The restaurant is now closed and expects to reopen in the spring with a design that pays homage to the original Cherry Cricket without completely copying it. Expect a big aquarium though, as well as the same great burgers.
Here's our complete list of bar and restaurant openings and closings for the week of November 13-19, 2017, plus links to our original coverage.
Restaurants and Bars Opening This Week:*
Ambli DTC, 6799 East Belleview Avenue
The Cereal Box, 5709 Olde Wadsworth Boulevard
Godfather's Pizza, 9567 East Iliff Avenue
Punch Bowl Social Stapleton, 3120 Uinta Street
Santo, 1265 Alpine Avenue, Boulder
Whole Foods Market Union Station, 1701 Wewatta Street
Restaurants and Bars Closing This Week:*
Breck on Blake (will reopen as Cherry Cricket next spring), 2220 Blake Street
C.B. & Potts, 555 Zang Street, Broomfield
*Or earlier, and not previously mentioned.
C.B. & Potts Closes in Broomfield; Building Owner Seeks Another Brewery
First Look: Whole Foods Union Station Unveils Massive New Market
Hosea Rosenberg's Santo Brings a Taste of New Mexico to Boulder
First Look: Punch Bowl Social Towers Over Stapleton
Did we miss anything? Let us know if you've spotted any new places or closures by sending an email to [email protected].