This New Spot in Thornton Wants to Satisfy the Demand for Hot Pot Up North

On March 30, co-owners Amber Tran, Cameron Deng and Kam Chan cut the ribbon at the grand opening of their new restaurant, Hot Pot Spot at 13765 Grant Street in Thornton. The event signified more than just the physical opening of the building. In a city far removed from the clusters of Asian restaurants in Denver and Aurora, Hot Pot Spot serves as an introduction to the culture of these shared Chinese meals for those in the northern metro area.

"About 30 percent of our customers come in without knowing anything about hot pot," Tran notes. "I like to explain the history of hot pot to them, and how it is based on the idea of a family eating together from a communal pot, where you have one broth and you can pick and choose the ingredients that are cooked inside of it."

At Hot Pot Spot, guests are given their own individual pots and hot plates, but the value of connection through food remains the same. As Tran notes, "Individual pots allow people to pick out their own broths and choose what they want to eat, but you're still eating with your family. Everyone's included."

Just like the message behind the restaurant, Tran emphasizes that Hot Pot Spot is a family business. "Hot pot was just something that I always grew up eating with my family, and it was always a fun thing for us."
Although Tran grew up in America, her parents were both Chinese immigrants. Her mother, Chan, and father immigrated to the United States separately, but met through mutual friends. From 1992 to 2009, they opened and ran a Chinese-American restaurant in Nebraska called the Wonderful House.

Growing up in Nebraska meant that there were very few opportunities to find traditional Chinese fare or other Asian restaurants and stores. Tran recounts memories of making the three-hour drive from Nebraska to Colorado to go grocery shopping and buy produce beyond what they could find at their local stores.

Tran ended up going to college at the Art Institute of Colorado, where she studied interior design, opting to stay in the area to work as an interior designer after graduating. Her attraction towards Colorado was rooted in the fact that it was "far enough to explore, but close enough to drive home if [she] needed to."

Since they also had distant cousins and other family members already living in Colorado, it wasn't long before Tran's immediate family moved to the state as well. Their decision to open a hot pot restaurant was simultaneously spontaneous and inevitable.
Deng's mother, the owner of Hot Pot Spot's building, was originally planning on opening up a different type of restaurant. "We just kept saying, 'Oh, let's open up a hot pot place,' and eventually, we just kind of rolled with it," Tran recalls. "It wasn't a last-minute decision, but it was very impulsive."

Still, Tran and her family had long since recognized the demand for a hot pot place up north. "We used to travel 45 minutes just to get hot pot, and there's a big Asian community north of the Denver area, so we really felt like we were just fulfilling that need."

Her experience working as an interior designer has reflected in the overall look and layout of the restaurant. She describes the space as having a "sleek, modern, updated look that was more than the typical gray tiles and white walls." To stand out, Tran decided to target a younger demographic by incorporating more unique elements, like a moss wall and an art piece based on the Colorado mountains. Another element driving the design of the restaurant was the idea of a simple, uncluttered and clean space to enjoy the food to the fullest.
Tran is pleased to note that since it opened, the restaurant has done exceedingly well. "We've been busy since we opened. A full house at night and almost full house in the morning, too."

So far, the most popular broth has been its spicy option, which is made with a chicken broth base and a spice bomb made from roasted chiles and Sichuan peppers that are ground up and boiled in oil. Rest assured, though, Tran promises that this is the "kind of spice that you can definitely handle" — though it does have a kick to it. The beef bone, pork bone and chicken broths have also been well received.

Tran attributes Hot Pot Spot's commitment to the "freshness of our food and products" to the initial success of the restaurant. Everything is always "freshly replenished, all day, every day," she notes. Hot Pot Spot's goals are to uphold this value of fresh ingredients and share a love for hot pot with the community up north.

Hot Pot Spot is located at 13567 Grant Street in Thornton and is open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, follow it on Instagram @hotpotspot.co or visit its Facebook page.