Shops, eateries disappear from strip of Colfax Avenue
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People line up at Steve's Snappin' Dogs on Oct. 12. Photo: Esteban L. Hernandez/Axios
Empty storefronts along a multi-block stretch on East Colfax just a few miles from downtown are starting to pile up.
The big picture: Over the past four months, three eateries and two retail shops along the corridor between Colorado Boulevard and Josephine Street permanently closed.
- The strip borders the Congress Park and City Park neighborhoods.
Why it matters: The exodus leaves Denver's iconic street with fewer local businesses, shedding an integral part of what gives neighborhoods their character.
State of play: Fox Run Cafe and Steve's Snappin' Dogs sunset this month, less than four months after nearby Enzo's End Pizzeria stopped serving their pies for good.
- Just down the street, local clothing retailers Coloradical and Preston & James recently called it quits. The businesses did not respond to a request for comment.
- Milkroll Creamery had a sign outside saying it was closed as well, but it's unclear whether that's permanent.
Context: New and old Denver storefronts are impacted due to a variety of factors.
- Enzo's had been a Colfax mainstay since 1996, while Steve's Snappin' Dogs gained a cult following after owner Steve Ballas converted a former gas station into a hot dog paradise in 2006.
- Ballas told CBS he's retiring after recovering from cancer, while Enzo's owner Charlie Calogero on Facebook posted he was taking "a long vacation."
- Fox Run Cafe and Milkroll depart after a handful of years on East Colfax.
What they're saying: "I'm just ready for something new," Lucien Reichert, who opened Fox Run Cafe in March 2020, told Westword last month.
- He said neither finances nor landlord issues contributed to his decision to close the popular daytime spot, whose last day will be Oct. 21.
The bottom line: Despite the closures, new and recently opened businesses show the area is far from turning into a ghost town.
- Mystical Blends Café opened in May near Milwaukee Street and Maria Empanada will open a new location down the street later this fall.
- Meanwhile, Ballas' restaurant was purchased to convert the space into a BBQ joint.
- Plus, fine dining options like Molotov Kitschen + Cocktails and Sap Sua have garnered national acclaim after opening last year.
Go deeper: Restaurants rebound in Denver post-pandemic, but struggles persist