February's restaurant and bar openings were nothing if not entertaining. Kicking things off was Chubby Cattle, a Chinese hot-pot restaurant blending traditional food with a high-tech ordering and delivery system. Cold ingredients come by on a refrigerated conveyor belt, an electric train brings other dishes, and customers tap out their orders on touch-pad menus. Later in the month, Stem Ciders unveiled its spacious new farmhouse eatery and cider-brewing facility, combining wood-fired cooking with Spanish and Portuguese menu influences — all on a Lafayette hilltop that will soon be planted with an apple orchard and vegetable gardens. Also adding something a little different was Julep, which delves deep into Southern culinary history to offer pork-and-oyster sausage, grits topped with deviled snails and a killer fried bologna sandwich stuffed with housemade meat.
Closings were few and far between in February, though the loss of the Wazee Supper Club in LoDo marked the end of a slow decline for an old favorite that had served pizza and beer for more than forty years. A new French restaurant called Morin will soon arise in its place, ushering in a new era at the corner of 15th and Wazee Streets.
Here's our complete list of openings and closings for February 2018:
Restaurants and Bars That Opened in February*
Acreage, 1380 Horizon Avenue, Lafayette
Archetype Distillery, 119 South Broadway
Bertha's Baja Bistro, 900 Jersey Street
Bubba's 33, 2270 South Parker Road, Aurora
Chubby Cattle, 2 Broadway
CREAM Belmar, 7357 West Alaska Drive, Lakewood
Eeny Meeny Sushi Roll, 3650 South Wadsworth Boulevard, Lakewood
Fractured Prune Doughnuts, 9696A East Arapahoe Road, Greenwood Village
Haykin Family Cider, 12001 East 33rd Avenue, Aurora
Huckleberry Roasters, 1800 Wazee Street
Julep, 3258 Larimer Street
Koshari Time, 1155 South Havana Street, Aurora
Mr. Hao Grill, 10021 East Hampden Avenue
Smiling Moose Rocky Mountain Deli, 2110 South University Boulevard
TeaLee's TeaHouse and Bookstore, 611 22nd Street
Tony Roma's, 1480 Arapahoe Street
Woodgrain Bagels, 7559 East Academy Boulevard
Zoës Kitchen, 1515 Park Central Drive, Highlands Ranch
Restaurants and Bars That Moved or Reopened in February*
Quijote's (reopened after temporary closing), 1043 Broadway
The Way Back (from West 38th Avenue), 3963 Tennyson Street
Restaurants and Bars That Closed in February*
Wash Park Sports Alley, 266B South Downing Street
Wazee Lounge & Supper Club, 1610 15th Street
White Fence Farm, 1025 East Ninth Avenue
*Or earlier, and not previously reported.
Have you spotted any openings or closings that weren't on our list? Send us an email at [email protected].