Former Petroleum Engineer Set to Bring Fort Collins Dumpling Spot to the 16th Street Mall in May

Chopstickers, a casual Chinese noodle and dumplings eatery at 1335 West Elizabeth Street in Fort Collins, was met with surprising internet fame two years ago when a TikTok featuring its soup dumplings went viral, garnering over two million views. "We had customers from Wyoming come to our location just to eat the soup dumplings," says co-owner Zhijian Liu. "A lot of people were surprised to see that there was authentic Chinese food here in Fort Collins."

Now, Liu and his wife, Mengjiao Li, are preparing to open a location in Denver this May. They'd been searching for a place for over a year, and ended up signing the lease for a spot at 1617 California Street, just off the16th Street Mall, in February.

Both Chinese immigrants, Liu and Li moved to Colorado around ten years ago to obtain their graduate degrees. Li went to the University of Colorado Denver for her masters' in accounting, while Liu attended the Colorado School of Mines for his Ph.D. in petroleum engineering. "I moved from oil to grease," Liu jokes.

Although it was a major career shift for both of them, the pair opened the original Chopstickers after Liu had a revelation while shopping at Costco. Having grown up poor in a small village in northern China, his weekly allowance in middle school was only $1 a week. "I always craved dumplings, because that was a luxury for me. When I came to the U.S., there was a huge line for the potsticker samples at Costco, so I saw an opportunity."
To gain experience in the restaurant industry, Liu worked as an engineer during the day and as a dishwasher and line cook at night. While it was tiring, Liu says that he'd always dreamed about opening his own restaurant, so he persevered. The work paid off. Liu and Li eventually opened the Fort Collins Chopstickers in April 2021, right next to the main campus of Colorado State University.

The restaurant name is a mashup of "chopsticks" and "potstickers." Liu wanted people who were craving potstickers to "have Chopstickers pop up in their mind." The menu, however, includes much more, from other types of dumplings to noodles, rice bowls and bao buns.

While the most famous dish is the soup dumplings, other highlights include the pork potstickers and water fried bao, which are bao buns with a crispy golden brown bottom and a pork, shrimp chive or vegan filling. Another customer favorite has been the spicy dan dan noodles that come topped with ground pork, bok choy, pickles and corn. Guests can also sip on a can of Wanglaoji, one of the most popular herbal beverages in China.
Everything served at the restaurant is made from scratch, including the noodles and dumplings. Liu's mother folds each of the dumplings by hand in the back of the restaurant, with each batch made fresh every single day. Even the white peppercorns are slowly toasted and freshly ground. Liu estimates that "a person who wanted to try making these dumplings at home would need at least six to eight hours."

Despite the amount of work and diligence that Liu and Li pour into their food, they still remain committed to one key value: affordability. "Because of the rising food and labor costs, Asian food has become very expensive, even more so because it requires a lot of skills to cook Asian cuisine. We want to keep our food both affordable and high-quality," Liu says.

The upcoming Denver location will have the same menu as Fort Collins, but with one major change: Liu and Li are in the process of applying for a liquor license so that the restaurant will be able to serve beer on tap. The design will include traditional decorations, including Chinese paintings on the walls and lanterns that will replace the lights from the previous tenant.
Their latest spot in Denver might be the beginning of a new chapter for Chopstickers, but for Liu and Li, it is also their return home. "We have a lot of friends in the area because this is where we both received our graduate degrees. When my wife was a student, she dreamed about finding a job in Denver, and now we're opening a business here," Liu says.

As of now, the grand opening of Chopstickers in Denver is tentatively scheduled for May 18, though there may be a soft-opening period if everything is ready before then.