Every Opening and Closing This Week: More Closures, Two Comebacks and Six New Spots

Despite the deep freeze moving in, there were a lot of hot topics in the food scene this past week.

Closures continued to add up as four more standalone spots said goodbye, including chef Alex Seidel's upscale neighborhood joint Fruition, which had a lively farewell dinner on January 12. There was no such gathering for the original YumCha, a casual dumpling joint created by ChoLon owner Lon Symensma. The YumCha closing came six months after the chef and restaurateur shuttered another downtown eatery, LeRoux, citing decreased foot traffic because of ongoing 16th Street Mall construction as a major factor in the decision. "YumCha and LeRoux were operating as one business with a shared kitchen," Symensma tells Westword, adding that right now, "we have no current plans for the space." In October, Symensma replaced the Central Park outpost of ChoLon with YumCha; that location remains open.

Downtown diners were also sad to find the doors locked at Melita's Greek Cafe & Market on Lincoln Street. "The only place we could find that has Kasseri cheese," one distraught fan shared with Westword. The eatery had operated as Leenah's (and Diana's before that) until 2009, when it was taken over by former DJ Adriana Aguilar and her mother, Maria Gibson. A sign on the door says, "Thank you for over thirty years of support! We hope to bring a new concept to this space soon."
Big changes are also happening at Avanti, which has temporarily closed its first floor for a remodel (Knockabout Burgers and Ama Modern Mexican on the second floor remain open). While Bowls by KO and Quero Arepas will return, Gorlami Pizza, 22 Provisions and Pho King Rapido will not, though the former two have teased comebacks in another form.

There are also big changes inside Johnson's Corner, the legendary truck stop off I-25 in Johnstown that was known for its cinnamon rolls. It will be replaced with Black Bear Diner, a California-born chain (and while the restaurant is closed for renovations, other services are available).

This week also brought the return of two favorites. More than a year after a plumbing issue forced it to close, Cart-Driver LoHi is open once again, serving wood-fired pizza, small plates, natural wine and more. In Englewood, one of our favorite red sauce joints, Gallo Supper Club, is back after a remodel of its own that took four months longer than originally expected when it announced the plans in July.

The six new spots that debuted this week include three watering holes. Arcade bar 1up added a Westminster location that owner Jourdan Adler says is the brand's crown jewel. Latchkey opened on Friday, January 17, in the former Denver Bicycle Cafe space in Uptown; it shares the building with Hearth, the bakery that opened its second location in the space in November.

The Culinary Creative Group continues to expand. On the heels of opening rooftop bar Sorry Gorgeous and Filipino restaurant Magna Kainan in the Novel RiNo building, it has added another bar in Cherry Creek. CCG already operates Forget Me Not and Ay Papi in the neighborhood; now, it also has Bar Amorina inside the Clayton Hotel & Members Club. The name means "little love" in Italian, and the cocktail bar is also serving bites such as crudo, salumi, pinsa (a variation on pizza) and pasta, though the highlight is the mozzarella bar.
Other additions to the scene this week include a location of Portland-based Bamboo Sushi in Congress Park; Leven Deli's Wash Park expansion dubbed Leven Supply; and the FIlipina-owned Coffee Sarap, which has moved into a brick-and-mortar after starting as a mobile coffee shop.

In other openings and closings news:

• Lucky Noodles's last day on East Colfax is January 24.
• Comal Heritage Food Incubator is set to shutter on February 14.
• South Federal dumpling favorite Lao Wang is closing February 15.

Here's the complete list of restaurants and bars that opened and closed this week*:

Openings

The 1up, 4750 West 120th Avenue, Westminster
Bar Amorina, 233 Clayton Street
Bamboo Sushi Congress Park, 1160 Madison Street
Coffee Sarap, 3460 Larimer Street
Latchkey Denver, 1308 East 17th Avenue
Leven Supply, 300 East Alameda Avenue

Reopening

Cart-Driver LoHi, 2239 West 30th Avenue
Gallo Supper Club, 3470 South Broadway, Englewood

Closures

Johnson's Corner Restaurant, 2842 Southeast Frontage Road, Johnstown
Melita's Greek Cafe & Market, 1035 Lincoln Street
YumCha, 1520 16th Street Mall
Fruition, 1313 East Sixth Avenue

Avanti remodel:

• 22 Provisions, closed permanently
• Bowls by KO, closed temporarily
• Gorlami Pizza, closed permanently
• Pho King Rapidos, closed permanently
• Quiero Arepas, closed temporarily

*Or earlier and not previously reported.

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