Almost one year into construction on East Colfax Avenue, businesses on one of Denver’s busiest streets are beginning to feel how a major transit project’s toll is compounding.

At Shish Kabob Grill, a family-owned Mediterranean restaurant since 2004 and a Denver legacy business, the impacts started immediately when construction of the bus rapid transit service for East Colfax started in October.

Fewer customers came in and revenues dropped by 20% in the first few months, said Obeid Kaifo, the owner’s son.

Now, the construction has moved across the street to their doorstep.

“You can imagine as things get more intensive, more complex, it just went down and down and down and down,” Kaifo said.

Denver is building a center-running bus rapid transit (BRT) line on East Colfax Avenue, hoping to reduce travel time and create a reliable transit option for workers and residents in the area.

BRT has become a popular and cheaper alternative for cities nationwide to improving public transportation compared to building a new rail line. Long term, city and transit officials said the finished project will be a major economic boost for development and businesses in the area.

But some businesses like Shish Kabob Grill and Pete’s Kitchen worry the project will have the same consequences as the almost-finished construction on downtown’s famous 16th Street, which drove many businesses out and created high vacancies as it reopened to the public.

“That’s the same thing that’s going to happen here and it’s gonna be worse,” Kaifo said. “Because here, it’s more about locale. It’s more about the neighborhood. There, it’s a bit more commercialized.”

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Construction moves to another side of the road

The bus line that will be renamed as the Colfax Lynx BRT would replace Denver’s busiest bus routes: 15 and 15L.

The two East Colfax routes had an average 16,083 daily boardings in 2024, according to data from the Regional Transportation District, with the A line to Denver International Airport being the only comparable route in popularity.

The area is expected to see a 25% increase in travelers and population in the next 20 years, RTD said, and 67% growth in employment.

The BRT would span almost 10 miles going from the Colorado state Capitol, past City Park and will end in Aurora by Interstate 225.

It’s estimated to cost about $280 million to build, according to the city, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

Work has begun on the first three-out-of-five phases, Denver’s online tracker shows.

The first section between Broadway and Williams Street is more than 50% completed, meaning construction has shifted from the eastbound lanes to the westbound side.

Businesses on the north side of the street have watched as new shiny arches have popped up to mark the bus stops on the south side and celebrate a milestone of completion.

But now they’re watching as the construction — that has already deterred customers from visiting the area — moved up to their side.

“The south side is looking awesome. It’s really coming along,” said Denon Moore, the business support director of the East Colfax Business Improvement District. “But what everyone needs to do is brace for impact again — because what happened on the south side is about to happen on the north side.”

“It’s almost coming right back at you again,” she added.

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The city has taken an approach of working on several consecutive miles, instead of going block-by-block to save both time and money, Colfax BRT Program Director Jonathan Stewart told 9News.

“It would take eight months to do a block because we’re doing a lot of work underground of moving utilities out of the way,” Stewart said. ”We’re also doing a lot of concrete work that has to take time for the concrete to cure, and things like that.”

How hard businesses have been hit

The number of visitors that don’t work or live in the East Colfax district has been steadily falling year-over-year in 2023 and 2024 before the project began, according to cell phone data from Placer.ai.

But foot traffic fell pretty hard this summer — by more than 10% year-over-year in both June and July.

“On the heels of COVID, many of our businesses were regrouping and catching our breath, and starting to catch up financially.” Moore said. “And then, of course, this just impedes all of that progress and drops it off again.”

Parking has been a large concern for customers. But Moore said that, even if spots directly in front of a business isn’t open, there’s still many spaces on side streets. 

At the Velvet Banjo, which opened just as the BRT project began, bartender Samantha Berry said the customers who come in are used to the construction and have seen how 16th Street has impacted businesses.

But it can be off-putting for people from outside of town, she added.

“People just avoid the area, and so they don’t realize that something like this is here that we are open for business,” Berry said.

There’s also a fear that the project could take longer than promised.

“I’m hopeful that it’ll pass us sooner rather than later,” Berry said.

Another metric of the construction’s economic impact is the number of grants Denver has given to businesses.

Denver Economic Development & Opportunity has awarded nearly 50 grants to East Colfax businesses, totaling more than $630,000 through the Business Impact Opportunity Fund.

Due to the eligibility requirements to receive a one-time $7,500 or $15,000 grant, there are dozens of businesses including restaurants, tattoo artists and liquor stores that have had their revenues drop by 20% or more since construction began.

The city, which has allocated a total of about $2 million for East Colfax businesses, is opening a third round on Sept. 2.

The business district is also announcing the first recipients of micro-grants next week totaling between $500 to $1,500.

More than 70 businesses applied for technical assistance for help in marketing, cost management or other business services, said Shelby Morse, DEDO’s spokesperson.

“We recognize that grants alone are not the only support system,” Morse said.

And after 16th Street’s construction project, DEDO said communicating with businesses is one of the top priorities to lessen the impact.

“What we learned for business support during 16th Street is ensuring that businesses are aware early and often about the resources available,” Morse said. “So ways that we are trying to incorporate that into the Colfax BRT project is we are working with a lot of partners.”

But has the funding been enough to help?

Shish Kabob Grill was one of the recipients of the $15,000 BIO fund.

Kaifo said the city’s grant wasn’t enough to cover months of impact and the restaurant is still struggling after receiving the extra funds.

“It’s like trying to take out a wildfire with a bucket. It does nothing,” he said.
”It’s almost better for you not to throw a bucket and just run for your life.”

Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure met with several other cities with BRT projects to learn about how the construction could hurt businesses and what to do about it, said spokesperson Cyndi Karvaski.

“What we learned is that many considered this as the cost of doing business while others, that heavily subsidized business revenues during construction, found that it did not keep businesses open,” Karvaski said.

Instead, DOTI is working on helping businesses one-on-one sourcing finding parking alternatives for customers, limiting the time they’re in front of business doors and strategizing creative ways to get people to come to the area through the #WeBackTheFax campaign.

The city is also hosting “Chats on Colfax,” a monthly gathering for local business owners that includes subject matter experts on how to navigate the construction and direct face-to-face time with project managers.

And when one of the new 32 arches goes up, Denver plans to host block parties and is looking for businesses wanting the opportunity to be featured.

Maria Empanada hosted the most recent block party when the arch at Fillmore Street went up and the event attracted more than 150 people.

So far, the number of businesses that have closed within the East Colfax Business Improvement District has been nothing out of the norm — yet.

When the construction began in October 2024, the district spanning from Grant to Josephine Street had 153 businesses and 36 vacancies.

Several businesses have closed, such as the Family Dollar, Capitol Cigars, Colfax and Cream and Parkers Bar since construction began, citing issues such as corporate bankruptcy, leases expiring or legal issues. Only Colfax and Cream cited closing down because of the construction.

But the area also signed new leases to fill up empty spaces.

Le Clare’s Patisserie shut down its bakery business, but stayed open by pivoting to catering and events.

In July, the district said the area had 152 businesses and 37 vacancies.

While the change of businesses have been fairly standard compared to before the project, Moore said it doesn’t mean businesses aren’t struggling.

Going several months into the project, Moore said she worries the compounding effects of the construction will begin to show soon as businesses who have been on the brink but holding on are being pushed to make difficult decisions.

“And now, after this many months, it’s really going to start to hit hard,” Moore said.

Calling out for support

Pete’s Kitchen, a Greek diner that has been an institution on Colfax since 1988, turned to social media to stress how hurtful the project has been.

“The construction on Colfax has impacted us far more than we could have imagined. Please come support us during this time and shop local,” the restaurant’s Instagram post on Aug. 5 said. ”Colfax small businesses are hurting now, and it’s on us to lean on each other and support each other during these difficult times.”

Last month, Tommy’s Thai launched a GoFundMe, asking people for support during the construction.

“Recently, the BRT construction and the closure of Colfax have made it difficult for customers to reach us,” the fundraiser page said. “This has had a significant impact on our business, affecting our ability to cover operating costs and support our dedicated staff.”

So far, the restaurant raised $3,355 of its $15,000 goal.

In a guide on how to survive the construction, the city advised businesses to avoid being negative and complaining about construction that could drive customers away unless it was necessary.

But when the construction came right up to the restaurant’s doorstep, owner Alex Barakos said it was becoming more difficult not to say anything.

“I’ve recently refrained from saying anything crazy on social media in regards to it until it was really bad,” Barakos said. “The last four-to-six weeks, it got really bad.”

The sidewalk was torn up in front of the door and Race Street was closed down, making customers detour to get to the parking lot behind Pete’s Kitchen.

“It’s very difficult for our customers to find us, and at the same time, I think they’re just fatigued with the construction at this point where they don’t want to deal with it,” he said.

But the post has already helped by garnering more than 100,000 views and brought back lots of customers who saw it on their feeds, he said.

“It’s not just about Pete’s Kitchen, but I’m making noise about it to try to get somebody to help,” he said. “Because if I’m struggling, and I’ve been here so long, you just know that these smaller places are feeling it as well.”