Every Opening and Closing This Week: Ten New Spots to Try

After a busy November that brought a lot of closures, the first week of December continued to be action-packed.

Among the ten additions to the dining scene over the past few days are four pizzerias, including another outpost of Detroit-style chain Jet's in Arvada and Pizza Cucina, which is serving budget-friendly pies in the former Goomba's space on East Colfax.

Making a comeback is Mario's Speakeasy, the pizzeria that had been operating out of Pour House on Market Street until it closed in October. Now the pizzeria has taken over the space and promises a "full bar and the great pizza you have come to know and love," following a "stunning new remodel," according to its website. It's serving from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily.

Pizza fans in Cap Hill once again have easy access to slices with the debut of Tua Mama's/Mora's Pizza in the former Benny Blanco's space. Your Mom's House owner James Bedwell and chef Jonathan Mora have teamed up on the project, which includes Mora's vegan pies as well as traditional New York-style pizza on Tua Mama's menu.

Inside Your Mom's House, Sapphic speakeasy Pearl Divers made its debut. Owners Dom Garcia and Ashlee Cassity hope their spot will fill the hole left by the recent closure of Denver's last surviving lesbian bar, Blush & Blu, and be a more inclusive space.
Other additions include BBQ Daddy's inside Crazy Mountain Brewery; the second location of Perdida, located in Westminster under the same roof as another recent addition from the Gastamo Group, the fourth outpost of Homegrown Tap & Dough; Procession Coffee's new standalone brick-and-mortar; and Whit's End in the Whittier neighborhood, which is from the owners of Red Square Bistro.

Rounding out the openings is Goudy’s Deli & Market, which debuted between Starbucks and Olivia on South Downing Street and West Alameda Avenue, where it's serving a lineup of sandwiches.

Its opening comes as another local market with deli sandwiches says goodbye. This year, the owners of Spinnelli's opened their third market, on the Anschutz Campus in Aurora, but its run was short-lived. "Spinelli's wasn’t quite the right concept for this neighborhood, or maybe just five years too early," says co-owner Cecilia Jones. "We closed on November 28. Because our flagship is down, we can no longer float the store in Aurora while it grows. This is an issue we didn’t foresee as we took on the third location."

Table, the farm-to-table concept that opened in the Arvada location of New Image Brewery in September, has also called it quits. "I wanted to try something different with our food program in Olde Town," reads a post announcing the news on Instagram. "We needed to make a change in order to continue operating a kitchen in that space and I figured if we had to reinvent ourselves again, we might as well try to do something really special that aligned with our identity as a brewery. Unfortunately, the concept just hasn’t proven to be sustainable, so effective today, our kitchen in Olde Town is closed and our journey with Table has come to an end."

For now, the brewery is selling sandwiches produced by Little Arthur's.

The doors are currently locked and tax seizure notices from the city are posted at Wash Park Grille and Agave, both of which are owned by Jeff Estey. “I knew this was going to happen. Our margins, as thin as they are anyway, and then you get into a lawsuit with an estate — it just keeps draining money,” he told BusinessDen on December 6, adding that he was trying to find a way to reopen as soon as possible.

But don't look for the Big Red F restaurant group to return to the space at 1575 Boulder Street, where it opened Lola in 2006 and then another iteration of the Post Chicken & Beer in 2022. Saturday, December 7, marks the end of an era as the Post closes its doors and Big Red F leaves the building for good. No word yet on what might move into this space on the edge of LoHi.

And finally, Cherry Creek Food Hall — the property that had been Troy Guard's Grange Hall, which was purchased in 2022 by strip club owner RCI Holdings last year — has closed in the Denver Tech Center, taking with a brewery and eight vendors. RCI is still on track to open Bombshells, a restaurant in the old Oceanaire space downtown, in January.

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

Openings

BBQ Daddy's at Crazy Mountain Brewery, 1505 Ogden Street
Goudy’s Deli & Market, 1207 East Alameda Avenue
Jet’s Pizza, 8031 Wadsworth Boulevard, Arvada
Mario's Speakeasy Pizza, 1410 Market Street
Pearl Divers Tiki Bar, 608 East 13th Avenue
Perdida, 1257 West 120th Avenue, Westminster
Pizza Cucina, 2934 East Colfax Avenue
Procession Coffee, 1075 Park Avenue
Tua Mama's/Mora's Pizza, 616 East 13th Avenue
Whit's End, 1736 East 31st Avenue

Temporary Closures

Agave Taco Bar, 2217 East Mississippi Avenue
Wash Park Grille, 1096 South Gaylord Street

Closures

Cherry Creek Food Hall, 6575 East Arapahoe, Greenwood Village
The Post Chicken & Beer, 1575 Boulder Street
Spinelli's, 2100 Ursula Street, Aurora
Table at New Image Brewing, 5622 Yukon Street, Arvada

*Or earlier and not previously reported.

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