Former Bikini Barista Shop on Colfax Opens as Lilac Coffee Express

A year and a half after Hot-Chick-A-Latte moved out of its longtime home at 4736 East Colfax Avenue, a new fast coffee option has finally moved in. Lilac Coffee Express served its first guests on March 31, operating with the motto "Everyone Deserves Good Coffee."

When the drive-thru with scantily clad staff closed in August 2022, Hot Chick barista-turned-owner Christina Stephens decided to keep the brand, but sold the building. West Coast chain Happyfastdelicious, which specializes in customizable drinks ordered from your phone, purchased the building as part of its plan to open six shops in the metro area in six months. After erecting a sign and painting the building its signature purple, it called it quits on the location, leaving just one outpost in Cherry Creek.

That's when Josiah Kim and his business partner, Evan Damato, decided to step in.

Although he's never worked in the industry, Kim is familiar with the local coffee scene. "Coffee's been a passion of mine ever since I was in high school — Huck, Corvus, you name it, I've probably tried it," he says. While in college, Kim started his own cleaning business, which he ran until he graduated and entered the corporate world as a data scientist. An entrepreneur at heart, he started to feel burned out. "That feeling is what took over," he says. "I started looking at different opportunities to create my own business."

Damato, on the other hand, has worked at three different coffee shops over the years. "He knows his way around what a successful coffee shop looks like and what a failing shop looks like," Kim notes. "He's the brains behind the workflow."

The duo wanted to focus on providing a quality cup in a short amount of time, so the design of the shop's interior is all about efficiency. They installed automatic milk steamers, as well as hot water, cold brew and milk dispensers.

Lilac is also focused on quality. "We're trying to beat the stigma of expensive specialty coffee," says Kim. Lilac will be serving one of Kim's favorites, Corvus. He believes you shouldn't have to travel to the suburbs and pay $6 for a good cup of coffee. "Ninety-eight percent of your coffee is the water, so we got the best filtered water you can get that goes directly into our machines," he explains. To combat Denver's hard water, they installed a reverse-osmosis water purification system.

The menu is simple, with breakfast burritos and baked goods coming soon in addition to the coffee. "I’m really all about the highest quality at the lowest price, and I really want to source some good specialty hot chocolate and good breakfast burritos," Kim notes.

In addition to the drive-thru, there is a walk-up window with outdoor seating, but "I think we might keep the walk-up closed for the first couple months, get our workflow down and then open it up once it gets warmer," comments Kim.

Although the building was already equipped as a coffee drive-thru, there have been some changes made, like painting over the yellow interior with several shades of purple. When temperatures dropped below zero in January, all of the pipes blew, which set the project back a few weeks. "There have definitely been some challenges," admits Kim, who has also faced delays with renovations and permitting for the space.

Now that Lilac Coffee Express has made its debut, its hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, visit lilaccoffee.com or follow it on Instagram @lilaccoffeeexpress.