There was a lot of beauty and joy in the restaurant world in 2024, and a lot of heartbreak, angst and headaches. In fact, the two sides of the plate seem to be a part of every discussion these days. So, while inflation and closings and the minimum wage took a toll, nixtamalized corn tortillas, soup dumplings, hand-rolled bagels and escargot wontons helped us see the light. Here are nine of the biggest Denver food trends from 2024.
Bagels
Bagels are back, big-time, and they’re better than before. Metro Denver gained a few new spots this year, including the chef-driven Odell’s Bagel, serving its hand-rolled bagels and sandwiches at 3200 Irving St. in West Highland; and Rich Spirit Bagels, from Bakery Four, which opened in Gold’s Marketplace in Wheat Ridge last spring. But there was also a big expansion by Call Your Mother, which now has three locations, plus two pop-ups and an upcoming spot in the Denver Central Market, while Moe’s Broadway Bagels and Leroy’s both planned new locations.
$20 sandwiches and $40 pizzas
Not to mention $25 pad thai and $15 breakfast burritos. This was the year that prices went from groan-worthy to truly jaw-dropping as the cost of doing business in the restaurant world shot upward as a result of increases to rent, the minimum wage, ingredients and more.
Minimum wage
Speaking of the high prices, the minimum wage increase in Denver to $18.29 per hour ($15.27 for tipped food and beverage industry employees) was probably the number one complaint for restauranteurs, many of whom said that it is putting them out of business. It will rise again on Jan. 1, 2025, to $18.81 per hour, and is bound to continue to be a hot-button issue.
Dumplings
Can you get too much of a great thing? We’re not complaining. The Denver dumpling explosion continued in 2024 as more than a dozen new spots opened in metro Denver, including Nana’s Dim Sum & Dumplings, Dillon’s Dumpling House and Hello Dumplin’. That followed a year that saw more than a dozen other dumpling-focused restaurants. More are planned for 2025.
Asian chefs ascending
Penelope Wong of Yuan Wonton, Ni Nguyen of Sắp Sửa, Long Nguyen of Pho King Rapidos, Kenneth Wan and Doris Yuen of MAKfam, Tommy Lee of Uncle and Hop Alley, and the Nguyen sisters, who run New Saigon Bakery, Bánh & Butter Bakery Café and Dân Dã, all lent their voices to the growing power and influence of Asian chefs and restauranteurs in Colorado, speaking out on everything from racism, authenticity and cultural appropriation to business issues, kitchen techniques and economic conditions. Look for that to continue and grow in 2025.
French food fun
French food got fun and a little flirty in 2024 as the mother cuisine, which had fallen out of favor just a few years ago, came roaring back. Gone are the stuffy surroundings you may remember from dinners of yore, however, as a new wave of restaurants — like Jacques, Noisette, La Forêt, Champagne Tiger and Cul-de-sac — has shaken things up with ambiance, attitude and menu selections. “Sleazy” escargot wontons, anyone?
Legacy restaurateurs
Are they in or out — Two of Denver’s best and longest-serving chefs, Alex Seidel and Jen Jasinski, took big steps back from the kitchen in 2024 by closing or selling restaurants or ownership, leading many to wonder if this was part of a trend — and if the restaurant world has become too difficult to navigate. It’s a discussion that will continue in 2025 as more restaurants close.
Upscale out-of-state restaurants
While life got more difficult for independent business owners in 2024, multi-restaurant, out-of-state restaurant operators continued to open new properties in metro Denver. They included: Church & Union, Le Colonial, Not a Damn Chance, Sushi by Scratch and Hampton Social. And there are more on the way, including Broadway 10 Bar & Chophouse.
Heritage foods like Nixtamalized corn
The pre-Columbian process of nixtamalization made a splash in Denver in 2024 as tortilla makers, chip producers and restaurants like Raquelitas, Xiquita and Alma Fonda Fina began using and publicizing the technique, in which dried corn kernels are soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution, breaking down the outer shell of the kernel, releasing more nutrients from the corn and making it more digestible and giving it more flavor. But other chefs are looking backward toward traditional ingredients and cooking styles to help explore their own heritage.