Welton Street Cafe Is Back With Catering, Pop-Ups and a Thanksgiving Food Drive

Welton Street Cafe, the storied Five Points restaurant, closed its original Welton Street location in March, with plans to open a new, larger space at 2883 Welton Street. This summer, it provided takeout and catering orders out of 2258 California Street, but that temporary space closed in September.

Now, though, it's back. A few weeks ago, the restaurant connected with the Church in the City at 1580 Gaylord Street; it's operating from that space as a catering operation with a few pop-ups planned.

Welton Street Cafe is also cooking about 2,000 meals this week for a Thanksgiving meal food drive organized by the North East Denver Holiday Philanthropy Coalition (NEDHPC) and funded by Robert F. Smith, a Denver native, investor and philanthropist. Each meal feeds a family of four and will be available for delivery or pickup at Park Hill Golf Course (4141 East 35th Avenue) on November 22 and 23 from noon to 6 p.m., and on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Delivery can also be requested by calling 720-671-9733.

Fathima Dickerson, spokesperson for the family-owned restaurant, says it is honored to cook the Thanksgiving meals. She explains that this gives the business the opportunity to remind the community that it is here. “What we’re trying to do during the buildout [of the new restaurant] is make sure we are visible and relevant in the community,” she says.
The new catering operation and pop-ups are part of that reminder, too. For the past month, Welton Street has been doing pop-ups at Spangalang Brewery and Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center on the weekends, and plans to schedule more after the Thanksgiving holiday. Dickerson says the frequency of pop-ups will depend on how busy the catering operation gets. Dates and times will be posted on the restaurant's Instagram and Facebook pages.

Welton Street Cafe’s catering menu is flexible. While it will make Welton Street Cafe favorites, customers can request anything they want for their event. “You want lasagna, we’ll make lasagna. We got a request for potato salad the other day; we made that,” notes Dickerson. “We don’t want our people to think we just left them.” Catering orders can be placed via email to [email protected].

The buildout of the cafe’s new space should be underway soon. Dickerson says she’s waiting on one more permit, which is expected before the end of the year. Construction of the larger restaurant, which will include a full bar and kitchen, should take a minimum of six months. “It has been tough,” she admits about not having a restaurant where she can see the usual customers.

Regulars have been sending emails and leaving voicemails, letting the family know that the eatery is missed. Dickerson notes that there are still funds that need to be raised for the full buildout. “We’re still climbing with securing the remainder,” she says, adding that the family is looking to private investors since traditional lending hasn’t been successful.

“We miss our community. I can’t wait till we have a full-service restaurant so we can party,” she concludes. “I am happy we have the opportunity to be around people during this season of thanks."