Danny Newman doesn’t like to let a good thing go to waste. When the local entrepreneur purchased a large lot with a former tire shop five years ago, he had plans to open Denver’s tiniest motel with one room and a swimming pool.
But when the pandemic hit, construction prices nearly doubled, so he decided to scrap the idea for what he called Colfax Country Club altogether. Newman couldn’t watch the 0.22-acre lot sit empty, though. “It was too much of an ordeal for a fun, silly motel concept,” he said. “But it was more financially frustrating to have it just sitting there.”
Inspired by food truck parks in Austin and Portland, Newman decided instead to create Full Tank Food Park at 4200 W. Colfax Ave. this month. “The only thing that worked in that space while we figured out what to do with it was food trucks,” he said.
There is enough room for seven food trucks to rent a space in the lot. Newman hopes to have three permanent vendors and four rotating ones at all times. “We want to make sure there’s a variety with no overlap of offerings,” he said.
KrazyCoconut Thai Street Food is parked in a permanent space, and Uptown & Humboldt is serving gyros there Wednesday through Sunday. Other food trucks that have rolled through, include Turkish Chef on Wheels, Fritay Haitian Cuisine, What’s Happening Catering and Pint’s Peak Ice Cream.
Moonflower Coffee, a former mobile coffee cart, has claimed a permanent home inside the old tire shop on the lot, which has been transformed into a lounge with cozy couches, tables and bathrooms for the food truck park.
Newman has also applied for a liquor license and is in the process of converting a 40-foot bus into a bar for the lot. He hopes to make it Christmas-themed with an inflatable igloo out front for the holidays; he’ll host other family-friendly events there throughout the year.
There are outdoor picnic tables for guests to enjoy their food, and dogs are welcome. In the winter, guests can head inside the lounge to keep warm, or there will be canvas drapes for the sides of the overhang out front and heaters.
Newman is known for buying and preserving historic properties in town, including the top of the downtown Denver Clocktower, 150-year-old My Brother’s Bar and, most recently, the Mercury Cafe. Full Tank Food Park is his attempt to bring something new to the Sloan’s Lake neighborhood. “There aren’t enough local options over here,” he said.
“We want to make West Colfax cool again, while also giving local businesses a place to jumpstart their following.”
