Danny Newman usually buys a property and leaves it be. This time around, he\u2019s starting something new.<\/p>\n
The 42-year-old tech entrepreneur is known for preserving unique buildings and buying beloved Denver businesses, like 150-year-old My Brother\u2019s Bar and the\u00a0Mercury Cafe.<\/p>\n
But at 4200 W. Colfax Ave., in a former tire shop, he\u2019s launching a new concept: Full Tank Food Park.<\/p>\n
Newman — who also\u00a0owns the top of the downtown clocktower\u00a0\u2014 said the business on Colfax, which will open next week, is a mashup of a traditional neighborhood coffee shop and a food truck park. The coffee shop will operate in the 1,200-square-feet building, while the food trucks will park outside the 0.22-acre lot.<\/p>\n
Newman bought the site\u00a0in 2018 for $755,000, but it\u2019s sat untouched since. He originally planned to open \u201cColfax Country Club\u201d — not to be confused with the\u00a0public golf course in Iowa\u00a0\u2014 which would include table tennis, mini golf, a swimming pool and \u201cDenver\u2019s tiniest motel,\u201d with just one room.<\/p>\n
That plan wasn\u2019t approved until 2020, right when lockdowns started, so it was put on the back burner.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a little all over the place,\u201d Newman said. \u201cWe kind of paused on the Colfax Country Club, and when we came back out of things and wanted to amp that back up we got updated bids and quotes and construction prices increased.\u201d<\/p>\n
So instead, Newman said he pivoted to something that would have a similar vibe, but not require a full buildout.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still hope to have elements of that but from a cost and bandwidth perspective, we had to dial that back,\u201d Newman said. \u201cBut us dialing back a bit is still pretty crazy, so it will be a fun one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Full Tank, which Lily Walters will run, will have around six rotating food trucks. Newman said his long-term goal is to create a semi-permanent spot for Denver food trucks, like what\u2019s found in Portland or Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think what has been happening in the independent food truck scene in Denver has been awesome, but we\u2019re still behind what those other cities are doing,\u201d Newman said.<\/p>\n
He said the coffee shop and food trucks are just the first phase of the concept. He plans on adding games like table tennis, building an outdoor space similar to Improper City in RiNo and is working on getting a liquor license. And, he still hasn\u2019t scrapped the tiniest motel idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just want a fun, quirky space that keeps the Colfax weird vibe but feels really comfortable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n