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Blake Street has long been LoDo’s dining anchor. But in recent years, the scene has begun spreading out. It started about two years ago when Fogo de Chao opened on a then-lonely corner of Wynkoop and 15th streets, a stone’s throw from the Museum of Contemporary Art. Then, in February 2010, H BurgerCo. took up residence in the SugarCube, and, in April, Backcountry Provisions went in on Wazee Street. A few months later, both FreshCraft and ChoLon Modern Asian Bistro entered the scene. This past May, Marg’s Taco Bistro opened down the block from Fogo de Chao, and now the month-old TD’s All American Hot Dogs & Hamburgers is operating out of the old Marrakesh on Blake Street.
And that’s just the beginning.
What we’re witnessing is the manifestation of a build-it-and-they-will-come mantra: On Monday, Coohills opens, adding weight to LoDo’s northwest corner. A few blocks away on Wazee, New York restaurateur Charlie Palmer‘s District Meats will begin serving mid-month in Big Game’s former location. (Palmer’s Wazee Wood-Fired Pizza will follow a couple weeks later.)
The Kitchen plans to open on the corner of 16th and Wazee in the spring, and Lucky Pie Pizza & Tap House is going in across the street in half of the old Dixons’ space. Given all this growth, I can’t imagine that Organixx and 8 Rivers’ shuttered locations will remain empty for long.
With 5280‘s offices sitting right in the middle of this growing restaurant triangle, I have a unique vantage point—and I can’t wait to see (and taste) what’s next.
