Chivis Tacos Food Truck Opening Colfax Brick-and-Mortar

Chris Heredia still isn't convinced he wants a brick-and-mortar taco place, "but we're in it now," he jokes. "I'm still not fully ready to do it, but when are you?"

Heredia has been running his food truck, Chivis Tacos, for twelve years, offering what he calls "good, homestyle Mexican dishes" to the late-night bar crowd downtown. But now, he's getting ready to open a permanent location at 2101 East Colfax Avenue, which he expects to debut by June. The location was formerly a check-cashing business, so the dining room and kitchen are being built from scratch.

He currently operates two trucks that can typically be found from 8:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights in front of Club Vinyl at 1082 Broadway and Temple Nightclub at 1136 Broadway. "I was one of the first, if not the first, to do the nightclub/bar scene," Heredia notes. Over the years, Chivis has developed a loyal following — albeit a drunken one, he admits, adding that the truck is often recognized at festivals by people who have visited after the bar. "I think we're the most known, unknown food truck."
Chivis has been a family business from the start. Heredia moved to Denver from California when he was 22 years old and quickly noticed that the late-night food scene was lacking. After he and his dad, Sergio Heredia, bought their first food truck, he and his mom, Silvia Torres, raised money to launch the business by selling homemade burritos at one of the early 420 festivals. His brother and sister, Brian and Jessica Heredia, are now cooks on the food trucks — and soon, they'll be working at the new restaurant.

"We're not out to reinvent the wheel," Heredia says of the menu for his new eatery. "We're just here to make it good." Along with food truck staples like tacos and burritos, the restaurant will serve an expanded selection of sides and other Mexican dishes inspired by his parent's home state in Mexico, Michoacán.

Some highlights, Heredia says, are tacos de papa which are made with a thick layer of mashed potatoes between the tortilla and filling; and carnitas chilaquiles with tomatillo sauce. The restaurant will open without a bar, but it may add beer and margaritas in the future. To start, "we're just gonna focus on fresh Mexican food," he notes.

Heredia intends to keep the restaurant open as late as the trucks operate. He's planning to start serving at 9 a.m. daily and stay open until 10 p.m. on weekdays and until 4 a.m. on weekends. "Denver needs a real Mexican restaurant late at night," he concludes, and he intends to deliver just that.