On Tuesday, October 6, traffic on East Colfax between Leyden and Roslyn streets moves into the center lanes so crews can rebuild the north and south sides of the road. For anyone in Mayfair who shops, eats or picks up groceries along Colfax, the street address matters less this season than the cross street you turn onto. Bus rapid transit construction is working east through the neighborhood one intersection at a time. A given side street can be open one week and closed for a month the next.
The work began reaching Mayfair this summer. In the third quarter of 2026, it brought utility relocation, drainage work, sidewalk reconstruction and the start of the future Elm Street BRT station. By late September the work zone covered much of the corridor toward Monaco Parkway. The weeks between now and the holidays are when that zone settles in on the blocks residents use most.
The side streets, as of the October 1 update
Mayfair Neighbors keeps a running East Colfax BRT update page that boils city and RTD notices down to what affects residents. Its October 1 entry lays out the current cross-street picture.
| Cross street or segment | Status in the Oct. 1 update | Expected timing |
|---|---|---|
| Colfax, Leyden to Roslyn | Traffic shifts to center lanes; crews work the outside lanes | Begins Oct. 6 |
| Ivanhoe, north side | Closing | About four weeks |
| Kearney, north side | Closed | Another three to four weeks |
| Forest | Closed | Expected to reopen within two weeks |
| Hudson at Colfax | Closed for drainage, curb and sidewalk work | South side first, then the north side |
| Elm, Fairfax, Glencoe, Holly | Soil cells, curb ramps, sidewalk and utility work | Continuing east from Glencoe |
Counting from October 1, Forest should reopen around mid-month, while the Ivanhoe and Kearney north-side closures run into late October. Xcel is also relocating utilities underground along Colfax to prepare for the new streetscape. For the next two weeks, the association says to expect rotating side-street closures, pedestrian detours, temporary parking restrictions and construction equipment. It also says access to homes, businesses and parking "is expected to remain available whenever possible." The project's construction hotline is 720-336-0025.
Why the cross street is the real address
Merchants on the strip already give directions this way. Park Hill Treasures at 6035 E. Colfax warns visitors on its website that Kearney Street is closed when approaching from Colfax, and it links to a map of its parking lot. In other words, the shop's own directions start with a side street, then the store. The Colfax Mayfair Business Improvement District has given similar advice across the corridor. It suggests business lots and side streets as alternatives to street parking, and it asks merchants to post parking options on signs, on social media and on their websites.
The approach that works this fall is to check where a business parks and which side of Colfax its lot opens onto, then match that against the closure list above. A store's website or social feed usually has the newest detour note, often newer than any city notice.
Who is open on the block right now
The independent roster on Mayfair's stretch of Colfax is still deep. Here is what the most recent sources show:
- Marczyk Fine Foods, 5100 E. Colfax. The grocer's Colfax store hosted its final Burger Night of 2026 on Friday, August 28.
- Park Hill Treasures, 6035 E. Colfax. It lists hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
- Couscous Hice, 5325 E. Colfax. Fouad and Soumia's Moroccan restaurant, known for chicken pastilla and merguez sandwiches, was featured by the Denver Post in February 2026. Its site lists daily hours and online ordering.
- The Owl Saloon, 5026 E. Colfax. Its site lists daily opening hours.
- Chili Shack, 4990 E. Colfax. Hours and online ordering are on its site.
- Jett Sushi, 5007 E. Colfax. The BID directory lists it at this address, and online ordering is active.
- VIVA! Mexi-Coffee-Shop, 4900 E. Colfax. Elisa Garcia and Leonardo Munoz-Corona's café serves café lechero and guava cream cheese knots. It was on the BID's Fax Pass roster in February with a 10% deal. Call ahead to confirm current hours.
R&R Lounge is still listed in the BID directory at 4958 E. Colfax, but no recent dated source confirms its current hours. GreenHouse.shop, the online plant shop from Matthew and Candace Wickstrom of the City Floral family, offers Denver delivery and local pickup. The BID lists its flagship store at 1440 Kearney Street, which puts it on one of this month's affected cross streets.
The storefronts that changed hands this year
The roster above did not stand still while the work zone moved east. Several Mayfair addresses changed during the same months, each for its own reason.
Cafe Solene opened at 5001 E. Colfax. In July, Westword reported that owner Manuel Gonzalez had been open since mid-June with a mostly Mexican breakfast menu and planned to add Friday-through-Sunday dinner service. The cafe's site features smothered burritos, chilaquiles, omelets, French toast and mimosas.
Catfish King, Larry Washington's Southern-style barbecue spot, opened at 5454 E. Colfax in fall 2025. Westword reported in July 2026 that it was moving to 4100 E. Colfax, west of Colorado Boulevard. An RTD notice on August 28 still described the new location as opening soon. Fans of the catfish and Wolfie Sauce should look for it a few blocks west.
BOXBOX, the bento-style salad shop Tim and Laurie ran at 5038 E. Colfax, says on its website that it has closed its Colfax location while relocating elsewhere in Denver. It has not yet named the new address. Circular Lounge by Knotted Root, the '70s-style bar with arcade games and a pool hall at 5126 E. Colfax, was listed as temporarily closed in Westword's August 1 roundup. No published source has given a reason or a reopening date.
What the finished street looks like, two miles west
The best preview of Mayfair's eventual Colfax is the segment between Broadway and Colorado Boulevard. Bus-only lanes opened there on September 27. Denverite reported that 15 and 15L riders now board from raised center platforms, while drivers use the outer lanes and can turn left only at designated intersections. According to Mayfair Neighbors, the same rebuild brings new signals, crosswalks, street trees and improved sidewalks to the Mayfair blocks.
Sources differ slightly on when buses will run the full corridor. RTD said in June that service would start when construction wraps up at the end of 2027. Denverite's September 28 report says the full route is expected to launch by January 2028. Either way, Mayfair has roughly a year of rotating cross-street closures ahead. The current list will keep changing as each intersection reopens and new work zones open farther east.
The date on the calendar: Saturday, December 5
The BID's merchant promotions are designed for a season like this one. The We Back the Fax Pass is an opt-in deals program, and businesses can join on a rolling basis. Its online roster is updated regularly.
The BID's Sip & Stroll runs Saturday, December 5, from 2 to 6 p.m. It covers a dozen neighborhood shops and offers free wine and bites from local eateries, holiday gift bargains and prize drawings. According to the event page, here is how it works:
- Pick up a passport at Park Hill Treasures or Marczyk Fine Foods and register for prizes.
- Visit each participating merchant for a passport stamp, plus free wine samples at participating locations, mocktails and bites.
- Turn in the completed passport to be eligible for prizes.
The full list of participating shops has not been published yet. Both pickup points are on Colfax, so check the Mayfair Neighbors update the week before for which cross streets are open.
Construction changes how a street looks and moves for a while, and it can also change what buyers notice when a nearby home comes up for sale. If you live near the Colfax corridor and want a clear sense of where your home stands while the work is underway, Jan Nelsen can prepare a quiet, design-informed valuation that accounts for the street you know. Get Your Home Value.
