Rivers and Roads Reaches the End of the Line in Curtis Park

When Rivers and Roads Coffee opened its satellite location in Curtis Park three years ago, it seemed like the perfect place. "It's a sweet neighborhood," says Mike Keen, who founded and still operates the original location at 2539 Bruce Randolph Avenue with his wife, Des. "Great location, we loved the landlords, the residents of the surrounding area really supported us. Everything about it made sense to us."

Everything, that is, except the size of the location. "Our big question was always the scale of the place," says Keen. "For all that we need in terms of a gluten-free bakery, it's pretty small." Which is the main reason that the Rivers and Roads at 2960 Champa Street shuttered on April 12. But the construction chaos at Mestizo-Curtis Park during a long bout of renovation didn't help, particularly since it was followed by the surprise shutdown of the Curtis Park Pool.

"Our original location survived COVID pretty well," Keen says. "We were blessed to have our neighborhood really come out and show up in a big way for us." But adding a second spot definitely increased the pressure. "The reality is that even the reduced staff it takes to run a satellite location is significant," he notes. "We were hitting 70 percent labor costs, in an industry originally built on around 40 percent. It's bananas." 

Adding to the challenge was the fact that River and Roads is a gluten-free bakery, so base ingredients just cost more. "I could buy a fifty-pound bag of traditional flour for like $14 right now," he says. "A bag of our [gluten-free] flour is 25 pounds and costs $78. Half the size, more than five times the price. That ripples through the rest of our cost models, but it's worth it. There aren't a lot of gluten-free restaurants out there, so we feel compelled to care for that community."

According to Keen, he and his wife want to remain "heart-driven" in their business decisions; they just didn't see a way for the Champa Street location to remain viable while serving customers at the level they wanted and also paying staff what they deserve to be making.

"We all of a sudden had this confluence of things happen," says Keen. "Three of our managers made the decision that they couldn't afford to live in Denver anymore, and then a fourth employee came to the same conclusion, even with us being one of the better-paying restaurants in the area." At the same time, the location's license was up, and all those things seemed to indicate that it was time to make a change.

It also seemed like a good time to vacate that space so that someone else — a business that fit the square footage a little better — could move in. "Des and I always thought that an owner/operator could make a really good living in that location," Keen says. "So our good friend Mike Solis, who owns Cafe Tres, a third-generation Cuban bakery, is planning on taking over there."

Keen is effusive about the potential of Cafe Tres. "It's really a sweet thing on a lot of levels. It's Mike's move from farmers' markets to brick and mortar," he says.

Still, he admits that's the silver lining in a cloudy move. "You put heart and money and energy into opening and running a restaurant," he says. "Changes like this are a bittersweet thing."

Keen also has a warning for Denver, which he says is becoming an untenable place for restaurants to keep afloat, let alone to thrive. "We really have to be focused on what's happening all around us right now," says Keen. "The tariff fears...I know it's paused right now, but man, everything I sell starts out as something coming over on a boat. As a coffee roaster, my anxiety levels are significant right now."

He laughs grimly. "We're like—wow, we need to be ready for austerity," he says. "I hope I'm wrong. Maybe the next four years won't be the nightmare it looks like it's becoming, but right now, it feels that way."

But in the meantime, he's going to focus on the good. The original Rivers and Roads isn't going anywhere. Cafe Tres will be a great neighborhood addition. "And the Champa Street location was only five minutes from our place on Bruce Randolph," Keen says, "so we hope that our regulars don't really feel like they're losing their spot."

Rivers and Roads Coffee is open seven days a week at 2539 Bruce Randolph Avenue. For hours and information, see its website.