The Ten Biggest Denver Food Stories of 2022

After nearly two years of pressured closures, diminished capability and altering guidelines, eating places and bars loved twelve full months of operations with out pandemic-related laws in 2022. But it surely’s been removed from enterprise as regular within the hospitality trade over the previous yr. Whereas challenges akin to staffing shortages and supply-chain points proceed to place strain on the trade, Denver’s eating scene simply retains rising.

Amid all of the nonstop openings and new traits rising, some sizzling matters bubbled over. Listed here are the ten largest native meals tales of 2022:

The Pink Palace
Final yr, the controversy over Casa Bonita’s future led to probably the most Colorado method doable: South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone introduced that they had been the brand new house owners of this iconic spot. However that finish was only the start of the saga. This yr, each tidbit of details about the Pink Palace was wolfed up as these hungry for nostalgia waited for information about when it would reopen. On December 22, we acquired that information: Could 2023. Parker and Stone are pouring a fortune into updating the house and getting all the pieces as much as code. Within the meantime, lots of its workers members have remained on the payroll while working at various nonprofits around town. 5 months from now, we’ll lastly get to see greater than Casa Bonita’s new Pepto-pink paint job. Till then, that is certain to stay a buzzy matter.

Rising Costs
The challenges of working a restaurant throughout a pandemic (and overlaying the losses that resulted) paired with inflation added as much as greater costs at your favourite eating places this yr. It is tougher and tougher to search out lunch offers for underneath $15, and $20+ for a burger and fries is fairly typical lately. Sure, eating out is dearer than ever, main many to marvel what the impact can be if individuals determine to tighten their budgets within the new yr. The Colorado Restaurant Association recently offered up the Burrito Effect, a graphic that breaks down the ways in which inflation is reducing into restaurant profitability utilizing a nationwide fast-food chain as a case examine: With the intention to make its 2019 margin immediately, the restaurant must elevate its value from $13.50 to $22.65 for a burrito. That is not a price ticket anybody’s pleased to chew into, however sticker shock could be the brand new norm if you’re eating out.

Classics Closing
Loads of previous favorites shuttered when COVID got here alongside, and there was a rash of latest losses this yr as rising costs and staffing shortages took their toll. The closures began in January, when, with out warning, the Breakfast King went darkish after 47 years in enterprise. Then Denver misplaced the Irish Comfortable, Nick’s Cafe, Annie’s Cafe, Bonnie Brae Tavern, the Saucy Noodle and extra. “I do not even acknowledge this metropolis anymore,” is a sentiment that was echoed again and again because the bulletins got here, and it is true: Denver is altering quickly. However there are some beacons of hope, too, like Tom’s Diner. As an alternative of being torn down, it morphed into Tom’s Starlight, a cocktail lounge and eatery that boasts a swanky out of doors house that we won’t wait to drink on this summer time.

Excessive-Finish Additions
At a time when there’s fear of a recession and established eating places are struggling, 2022 nonetheless noticed a variety of new fine-dining choices be a part of the scene. From smaller eateries like Noisette, a romantic spot serving French fare, to movie star chef Ludo Lefebreve’s Chez Maggy and seafood lovers’ paradise Water Grill, extra high-end spots with excessive value factors have moved into the Mile Excessive. Though Denver remains to be a spot the place gown codes are just about nonexistent and many individuals would reasonably sit in a 24/7 Mexican drive-thru line than guide a reservation for an eatery serving $33 fish and chips, these high-end spots are drawing loads of hungry locals and guests alike.

Eating within the ’Burbs
One often-heard grievance in regards to the metro eating scene is that the one choices within the suburbs are chains. But when this yr is any indication, that is altering, and shortly. With inexpensive actual property onerous to return by in Denver correct, many independently owned ventures are choosing areas outdoors town. Mama Lolita’s is now serving elevated Mexican in Broomfield, and Stone Cellar Bistro in Arvada landed on our listing of the ten best restaurants to open in 2022, as did Carrera’s Tacos in Greenwood Village. When La Rola Colombian determined to search for everlasting digs, it opted for Littleton; subsequent yr, Wheat Ridge would be the web site of two of the most anticipated openings of 2023: Wealthy Spirits, a bagel store offshoot of the favored Bakery 4, and GetRight’s, a bakery and plant store combo that started as a pandemic startup. 

New Chains Transferring Into Colorado
As a lot as we love regionally owned eateries, the eating scene does see a number of chain motion…and response. The proliferation of out-of-state ideas coming to Colorado was one of many largest meals tales of 2021, and that pattern continued this yr. Huge fast-food names like Whataburger and El Pollo Loco each returned to the state after lengthy absences. Smaller chains made their debut as effectively, together with the charcuterie-focused Graze Craze in Centennial; Crisp & Inexperienced, which has three Denver space areas open and almost twenty extra within the works; and New York-born Van Leeuwen ice cream, which now has scoop retailers in Denver and Boulder. Anticipate much more regional chains in 2023, like PrimoHoagies and Rooster Salad Chick.

KFC
Final yr marked the height of Nashville sizzling hen’s reputation in Denver, however in 2022, a brand new hen pattern dominated the roost. “KFC stands for ‘Korean fried hen’ now,” Alex Lee told Westword earlier this year. Lee owns two of the bb.q Rooster areas which have debuted within the state up to now, simply one of many new choices serving this crunchy, saucy, typically spicy tackle fried hen. Many, like bb.q Rooster and Bonchon, are chains with areas worldwide, whereas others, like Mono Mono, are regionally grown. Every of them does KFC slightly in another way, and one of the crucial scrumptious elements of the previous yr was consuming our method by as many as doable. On observe to pattern subsequent yr: bubble tea and Korean sizzling canine.

Vegan Meals for All
The rise in plant-based meals choices is nothing new, however in 2022, vegan consuming went mainstream. In January, two new bars with vegan-focused meals menus opened: the Crypt, which has a punk-rock edge and attracts a number of trade regulars; and Fellow Traveler, an eatery on South Broadway in Englewood that does not lean on its vegan standing. These spots are merely cool locations to hang around that simply occur to be (largely) meat-free. The crew behind Anyone Individuals opened a brand new addition as effectively, the all-vegan Everyday Pizza. Close to the College of Denver, Next Level Burger brought its vegan take on fast food to the neighborhood, whereas Birdcall, which has a location subsequent door, put the meat-free alternative Meati on its menu. It is simpler than ever to eat vegan within the Mile Excessive lately, whether or not you go for a meat-free weight loss program on a regular basis or just wish to incorporate extra plant-based meals into your meals.

The TikTok Impact
There is not any method round it: Social media is a vital software for a lot of eating places, and influencers are a strong a part of selling locations to eat and drink. This yr, it was TikTok that had the most important impression. Brief movies exhibiting cheese pulls and colourful cocktails from accounts like @denverfoodscene and @thedenverfoodie garner a whole lot of 1000’s of views, immediately driving a rush of latest prospects to the locations being featured. For Domo, the beloved Japanese eatery that had a viral second of its personal in 2021, the unexpected attention ultimately led to its demise. However generally, harnessing the facility of TikTok turned a approach to enhance enterprise at a time when the market is saturated with selections and discovering the finances for advertising and marketing is sort of not possible. There is a main draw back to this, although: The thrill not often lasts, as followers simply transfer on to the subsequent place as soon as one other piece of content material catches on.