“People Are Mourning the Loss of a Very So-So Food Place Again”

Machete Tequila + Tacos was founded in Cherry Creek in 2011. A Union Station location was added in 2014, and a third outpost debuted at 3570 East Colfax two years later. But yesterday, the Machete on Colfax closed its doors. Blaming the Bus Rapid Transit project construction on East Colfax Avenue for a loss of business, the owners posted that they’d decided to “not move forward with a new lease,” and will instead focus on the two remaining Machete locations, as well as a stand at Red Rocks that it hopes to bring back this concert season.

On the same block as Machete, the former home of a Milkroll ice cream shop has been vacant since 2024. Nearby, the space that Q House left in September is also empty. But new businesses have also opened in the area, and the project continues to move east. On January 27, the Colfax BRT will host an arch-raising project at 7 Lenguas.

In the meantime, though, readers continue to debate the impact of the Colfax BRT project in their comments on the Westword Facebook post. Says Robert:

Seems like unwarranted editorializing. How do we know that it was BRT that killed this business, and not something else? For me, it was the lack of flavor compared to nearby places, and the price.

Agrees Ed:

Regardless of the BRT, the place wasn’t very good. They did zero to cultivate regulars.

Counters James:

Totally unnecessary project. Denver needs to work on cleaning up the homeless and not a dilapidated transit system that hardly anybody uses anymore.

Adds Graeme:

This project was supposed to be beneficial to the businesses. Instead, it’s just closing them.

Responds Paul:

Colfax is a dump. A mess. They really screwed over traffic and businesses.

Explains Terrance:

The Colfax BRT is a project ten years too late. When downtown was truly the regional employment hub, bus rapid transit might have made sense, but the work environment has changed. Home-to-work trips are the core of RTD’s Colfax ridership. Rather than the myopic focus on transportation, its planning should have included broader community development concerns. Similar to the issues that light rail brought to the Welton Street/Five Points corridor. 

At a minimum, recognizing that Colfax is a regional and neighborhood commercial corridor, with destination uses where parking is critical. Identifying opportunities, for user parking, particularly in the Broadway to Colorado Blvd. segment where off-street parking doesn’t exist was key. 

The idea that people will take RTD for a dinner date, take-out or convenience shopping (which constitute the majority of businesses along Colfax) was wrong-headed. Existing businesses are leaving and new ones will face the same challenges.

In 2025, with examples across the country of what to do and not to do, RTD and Denver’s planning department missed the mark.

Suggest Daniel:

Denver killing Denver.

And Kevin concludes:

Oh, oh, people are mourning the loss of a very so-so food place again.

Did you ever go to this Machete location? What did you think? What do you think of the Colfax construction in general? Post a comment or share your thoughts at editorial@westword.com.