On Saturday, October 10, a writer for GoldenToday set out for a downtown block party. She drove the lot across 12th Street, then Arapahoe Street, Washington Avenue and 11th Street. She never found a space, and she went home.
The party she missed was in a parking lot, and it was about that same lot. Golden's Downtown Development Authority had set up in the roughly 35 spaces between the Astor House and Miners Alley Playhouse. The DDA wants to know whether the town would rather have that ground as a public plaza.
A few restaurants closed this fall and a few shops opened. Those were the visible changes. The bigger question for downtown Golden is still open, and it comes down to 35 parking spaces. The DDA's online survey is open through Saturday, October 31, two days from now.
Three Blocks, One Busy October
Most of this fall's downtown news happened within a few minutes' walk of that lot, and much of it landed in the same ten days.
| Address | What changed | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1106 Washington Ave. | Call Your Mother opened a Golden location | July 2026 |
| 700 12th St. | Nosu Ramen closed after six years | Reported October 3 |
| 1106 Washington Ave., Suite 102 | Stay Golden Mercantile held its grand opening | October 10 |
| Lot beside 1100 Miners Alley | DDA block party to test the plaza idea | October 10 |
| 807 13th St. | Abejas closed after more than 11 years | Reported October 10 |
Saturday, October 10, held a lot. Stay Golden Mercantile ran a free grand opening from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. with face painting, hair tinsel, games and raffle prizes. A short walk away, the DDA was holding its block party. That same morning, Westword reported that Abejas would not reopen.
Two Kitchens, One Owner, One Week
Brandon Bortles owned both Abejas and Nosu Ramen, and both closed within about a week of each other. Westword reported Nosu's closing on October 3. In a statement to the paper, Bortles said that "a combination of rising operating costs, changing economic conditions and financial pressures made continuing operations and signing a lease extension unsustainable." Nosu opened in February 2020.
Abejas first closed "temporarily" for what Bortles called "extended building-related issues." A few days later it announced the closure was permanent. When it opened in 2015, Westword named it one of the best new restaurants of the year. Its closing statement, as Westword quoted it, said "the restaurant industry has changed considerably over the past few years."
No new tenant has been reported for either 700 12th St. or 807 13th St. For now, those are two dark storefronts in the blocks closest to the lot the DDA wants to change.
The Spaces That Filled
The 1100 block of Washington Avenue went the other way. Call Your Mother opened at 1106 Washington Ave. in July, according to Westword's July openings roundup. Stay Golden Mercantile then opened in Suite 102 of the same address.
Some of downtown's established kitchens are run as a group. Westword's August profile of chef John Wilson describes him leading four of Dean and Aimee Valdez's five Golden restaurants: Old Capitol Grill & Smokehouse, the Miners Saloon gastropub, the Alchemy cocktail bar and the Italian spot Bella Colibri. The fifth is The Brick Room sports bar. In one story from that profile, the smoker for Old Capitol Grill's brisket, which needs 14 hours, broke down at 2 a.m. Wilson fed it pellets by hand through the night.
When a storefront goes dark, it can take a while to fill. A public plaza would be a different kind of draw. It wouldn't depend on a single lease being signed.
What the DDA Is Actually Proposing
The Golden Transcript puts the lot in front of the Miners Alley Performing Arts Center. It sits between that building, Foothills Art Center's Astor House campus and the 1100 block of Miners Alley. Today it holds 35 public parking spaces. According to the Transcript, a plaza there could host events, artist showcases and holiday markets, an idea local officials have talked about for a long time.
DDA chair Jeff Merenkov and board member Brad Miller told the Transcript that nothing is set in stone. They said the board wants to "take the temperature" on whether people support a plaza at all, and whether this is the right spot for one. Miller explained why the board likes this location:
"We feel like this spot is tailor-made for a plaza."
He pointed to how close the lot is to downtown, and to its neighbors. It sits between two major arts centers and next to historic sites like Miners Alley and the former City Hall site.
The DDA is a city board whose members are appointed. Most of them live, work or own property downtown, and it has its own revenue, including a downtown-specific property tax. The board meets on the third Monday of each month at City Hall. Those meetings are open to the public and streamed on the City of Golden website.
So far, no plan has been published for replacing the 35 spaces. The GoldenToday writer who circled four streets on October 10 shows what's at stake on a busy Saturday. The survey asks whether you like the idea of turning the lot into a plaza, and what features you would want.
The Neighbors Are Booked Through December
The case for a plaza on this lot rests on the venues around it, and Miners Alley's calendar is full from now through the end of the year. Its current schedule lists:
- Cavemen vs. Zombies, performances through November 7
- Good Night, Oscar, final performances through November 8
- It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, November 24 to 29 and December 2 to 27
- The Story of the Nutcracker, November 28 and December 2 to 26
- Who's Holiday!, an adults-only holiday comedy, December 1 to 23
Performances fall on scattered dates within those ranges, not every night. In a typical December week, though, at least one show is likely running next to the lot.
Foothills Art Center runs its exhibition space in the Astor House campus at 1133 Arapahoe Street. Admission is free, and it's open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Its site lists a Holiday Art Market for November 19 through December 29, a season when the Transcript's "holiday markets" idea fits naturally. Check Foothills' own calendar for the final dates and hours before you go.
December Already Shows the Demand
Downtown Golden's two biggest holiday nights already pack Washington Avenue. According to Visit Golden, the Candlelight Walk is Friday, December 4. It starts at 15th Street and Washington Avenue at 6:30 p.m., and the holiday lights are expected to switch on at about 7:20 p.m.
The Holiday Parade follows on Saturday, December 12, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. along Washington Avenue.
The holiday lights go up in early December and stay until a few weeks after New Year's. The main displays are scheduled to come down January 29 or 30.
For now, those crowds gather on Washington Avenue itself. The lot behind it stays a lot, and drivers are still circling for its 35 spaces. Whether that changes depends partly on the survey answers the DDA has in hand when it closes on October 31.
If you're weighing what changes like a new plaza could mean for a downtown Golden home, whether you own one now or are thinking about one, Sold With Kathryn is glad to talk it through over coffee. We keep up with these decisions block by block and can help you see where they fit in your plans. Get your home valuation or schedule a consultation whenever you're ready.
