The Argentinian fast-casual restaurant Maria Empanada will open its next location in Congress Park, at 2730 E. Colfax Ave.
The restaurant will serve its standard mix of breakfast, lunch and dinner fare, both sweet and savory empanadas, seven types of traditional Argentinian cookies called alfajores, and also classy coffee drinks.
The storefront, the former home of the burger shop Little Beast, has been closed for three years. Maria Empanada has been leasing the building since 2022, according to J. Allen Adams, the chain’s director of operations.
The launch has been delayed for the past two years by slow permitting times caused by high demand from applicants to the city, he said. The new location will cost roughly $600,000 to launch.
“The location is still under construction right now and is gradually taking shape,” Adams said. “It will be opening in the middle of November, just before the holidays
Why did Maria Empanada choose Colfax?
Some businesses like Pete’s Greek Town Cafe — a couple blocks away from the new Maria Empanada — have been boarded up on Colfax for years, and Natural Grocers is set to close its Colfax location about 1.5 miles to the west over crime concerns. But many other storefronts have been thriving along that stretch.
“We believe that there are a lot of great things that are happening on Colfax,” Adams said.
This particular part of Colfax is near East High School, where students flood from the campus to nearby restaurants for lunch.
“We think it's a tremendous offering for the neighborhood, that it’s perfectly fit for kids that are on a short break for lunch to be able to come over and join us, or for people on their way home from work,” Adams said.
Empanadas, he said, are the perfect to-go food for students looking to grab a bite to enjoy in the classroom.
While some business owners have been concerned about the Colfax Bus Rapid Transit project that broke ground this week, Maria Empanada is cautiously optimistic most of its business will come from foot traffic.
“It’s a very walkable neighborhood,” Adams said. “That’s really going to be where the bread and butter of our business comes from.”
If you can’t wait for the Colfax location to open, there are three other Maria Empanadas to try: 1700 Platte St., 1298 S. Broadway Ave., and 2501 Dallas St. at Stanley Marketplace.
The chain has plans to open more restaurants throughout Denver, including one at Denver International Airport in April.
