Mark Antonation
Audio By Carbonatix
The businesses along RiNo have put up with a traffic-crippling construction project on Brighton Boulevard for more than a year, and just when the end seems in sight, another closure puts up another roadblock for would-be visitors. RiNo is hot, but business owners also got hot when they learned the road would be closed entirely for the first weekend in May, when Kentucky Derby and Cinco de Mayo revelers are out on the town.
Responds Jason:
Shucks. There’s almost nowhere else in Denver to get a $16 salad. Oh, wait…there’s everywhere.
Adds Belteshazzar:
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Good- make way for affordable housing. Bye, hipster white eateries!
But then there’s this from Jay:
Just went to the Rino District the other day to have dinner. I don’t know what everyone’s complaining about; I thought it was fantastic. Beautiful new apartments, lots of hip restaurants and shops. Thirty years ago, it was skid row and pawn shops.
Marty doesn’t see it:
I pity the transplants who will have to find somewhere else to brunch this weekend.
And Ryan concludes with this:
Your ancestors were transplants when they took the land from real natives. There’s no such thing as a white Coloradan who isn’t a transplant.
Keep reading for more of our coverage of RiNo and the changes there.
Mark Antonation
“Brighton Boulevard Construction Endangers RiNo Restaurants” RiNo Art District
“Rino Rates on Lonely Planet’s List of Ten Hot ‘Hoods in U.S.”
Westword
In April, the city posted a notice that Brighton Boulevard would be closed entirely “as soon as April 26 to May 7” between 29th and 31st streets – right in front of such hot spots as Mister Tuna, Will Call and Izakaya Ronin, and cutting off access to the Source. The RiNo Art District stepped in to try to work out a compromise that wouldn’t prevent the project from being completed by the new target of mid-June.
According to RiNo Art District president Jamie Licko, the district did “successfully get the city to keep at least one lane of traffic open as the city works to finish up the 29-31st segment of Brighton. We are grateful the city found a compromise that didn’t ultimately delay delivery.” Which means if you’re out and about this sunny Sunday, you’ll be able to brunch in RiNo.
What do you think of the Brighton construction project? The changes in RiNo in general? Post a comment or email cafe@westword.com.