Cities that Sizzle

Nation's Restaurant News,  Jan, 2001  

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The demand has been high throughout metro Denver, which has experienced dramatic increases in foodservice business since the mid-1990s.

Metro Denver encompasses six counties and 58 municipalities and nearly 2.4 million people. The population is projected to grow by roughly another 2 million over the next 10 years.

A good economy, job growth, rising household incomes and population increases all have contributed to make metro Denver popular for restaurants. But the community still is adjusting to the restaurant industry's newfound appeal. Competition has stepped up for independents, and every operator struggles to fish workers out of the labor pool. Yet metro Denver's image as the place to be for restaurants still is expected to get stronger.

Not only is the population rising, but also the greatest growth is among those aged 35 to 54, the age group that typically has high average incomes and spending, according to the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce. Disposable income in metro Denver is higher than the national average.

The chamber reports that the median household effective disposable income is nearly $40,000, 12.3-percent higher than the national average. Thirty-seven percent of metro Denver households have a disposable income of more than $50,000.

Demographics like that have got the attention of leading restaurant operators who have been flocking here in greater numbers over the past three to four years.

The Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang's, Il Fornaio, Morton's of Chicago, Dave & Buster's, Gordon Biersch, Roy's, Cool River, Maggiano's Little Italy, Wolfgang Puck Cafe and House of Blues are just some of the national companies putting down stakes in the Mile High City and its surrounding suburbs.

"Five years ago, six years ago, you didn't see these names anywhere," says Pete Meersman, executive director of the Colorado Restaurant Association.

Hot spots for restaurants have included FlatIron's, which is in the corridor between Boulder and Denver, an area that has been home to several high-tech companies, such as Sun Microsystems, Level 3, Storage Technology, IBM and Lucent Technologies.

The Denver Tech Center to the southeast also has flourished since the late 1990s with the additions of Cool River, Morton's of Chicago, Il Fornaio and Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse.

Like FlatIron Crossing in Broomfield, Park Meadows mall to the south, in the town of Littleton, also spurred restaurant development when it opened in 1996. P.F.Chang's opened its first Colorado restaurant there. It also brought newcomers California Cafe Champps Americana and Z-Tejas.

"Demographically, the whole south part of the Denver market and the Denver Tech Center provide the incomes we look for and the lunch support," says Rick Federico, chief executive and president of P.F. Chang's. "We were clearly in our comfort zone."

Quick-serve and fast-casual restaurants also have flourished in metro Denver, driven largely by the area's demographics -- age groups, disposable income, and work and lifestyle.