The dining scene in Denver’s already-bustling Union Station neighborhood is poised to get even busier in 2017. It’s well known that in April, Tavernetta, the much-anticipated Italian tavern from the Frasca Food and Wine crew, will open near the train platform. And now we know that, Stella’s, a new restaurant, bar, and marketplace coming to the Triangle Building (16th and Wewatta streets) will open in January.

The owners, Brian and Dawn “Stella” Cohen, come to Denver from Chicago but they traveled throughout California to study the business model of the market-cafe hybrid. They feel such a multipurpose concept (sit-down, grab-and-go) is under-represented downtown. “We knew Stella’s had to happen right here and now,” Brian says. “With a flourishing population of young professionals working and living downtown and the volume of mixed use development and future projected growth, we were inspired by this location, and the timing.”

Once open, Stella’s will serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. Get ready for items like flights of French fries; a Southern garden salad with collards, sweet potato, candied bacon, and scallion; and a Chicago beef sandwich with roasted rib-eye, caramelized onion jus, and house-made pepper giardiniera.

Bonus: The 75-seat restaurant will boast a patio big enough to seat 100.

1550 Wewatta St., stellason16th.com

Amanda M. Faison
Amanda M. Faison
Freelance writer Amanda M. Faison spent 20 years at 5280 Magazine, 12 of those as Food Editor.