The Dairy Block keeps growing, with new bars and restaurants welcoming customers to the refurbished section of LoDo between 18th and 19th, Wazee and Blake streets. This week's newcomer is Seven Grand, a whiskey bar that hopes to top 700 labels as it stocks its shelves in the coming months. The bar is run by 213 Hospitality, which operates more than twenty other saloons and eateries, mostly in Southern California.
Homegrown ice cream powerhouse Little Man is making its way north with the opening of Old Town Churn in Fort Collins this weekend. Like some of the company's other projects, the Churn is a kiosk with a theme; it's shaped like a giant, old-fashioned ice cream churn.
On Tennyson Street, where new apartment buildings are springing up faster than Donald Trump's hair on a windy day (with similarly unattractive results), the recently shuttered Kazan Ramen has become another Japanese eatery, Tenya Japanese Soul Food, which promises an izakaya-style experience with small plates and drinking food.
In RiNo, a rooftop fire has closed Kevin Morrison's Fish N Beer. Luckily nobody was injured, and first responders were able to quickly douse the blaze, but Morrison says the restaurant won't reopen until mid-December, in all likelihood. In the meantime, he hopes to keep the Fish N Beer name in people's minds with some pop-up events between now and the reopening, so keep an eye on the restaurant's Facebook page.
Here's our complete list of bar and restaurant openings and closings for the week of October 22 through October 28, plus links to our original coverage of recent and upcoming action.
Restaurant and Bars Opening This Week*
Bonchon (Korean fried chicken), 8340 Northfield Boulevard
Dos Luces Brewery, 1236 South Broadway
Dry Land Distillers, 471 Main Street, Longmont
Offbeat Unique Cuisine, 2233 South Monaco Parkway
Old Town Churn, 234 North College Avenue, Fort Collins
Seven Grand, 1855 Blake Street
Ishtar Grill (formerly Ali Baba Grill), 2060 South University Boulevard
Tenya Japanese Soul Food, 3901 Tennyson Street
Restaurants Temporarily Closing This Week*
Fish N Beer (fire), 3510 Larimer Street
Restaurants and Bars Closing This Week*
Bachir's Soul Food (possibly relocating in January), 10254 Ura Lane
Fat Jack's Super Subs, all locations
"Liberati Is Ready to Stun With Italian Restaurant and Brewery"
"White Fence Farm Will Close After 45 Years, 5 Million Chicken Dinners"
"Eighteen Years of Fat Jack's Has Come to an End"
"Campus Lounge Reopens Under New Ownership — Again"
*Or earlier, and not previously mentioned.
With the end of the year in sight, would-be restaurateurs are scurrying to finish other projects. Will 2018 top all other years for openings? And with the market getting so crowded, will we see a record number of closings?
On October 27, White Fence Farm revealed that it will serve its last chicken dinner on December 30, ending a 45-year run. An equally long-lived eatertainment spot, Old Spaghetti Factory, has already closed downtown, followed by the decades-old Paramount Cafe. November 11 will be the last day for Govnr's Park, and in December Marlowe's and Lala's will also issue last call.
Have you spotted any other openings or closings around town? Let us know in the comments or via email at [email protected].