Joe Vostrejs finally has an open secret.
His firm City Street Investors opens Secret Garden — a cafe selling coffee, lunch and evening cocktails — on Friday. It’s located in a 2,500-square-foot building at 1290 N. Williams St., right off a Cheesman Park walking path.
“We’re viewing ourselves as an amenity (to the park),” said Vostrejs.
Hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. A 12-ounce coffee costs $3, or $4 for a latte. A more expansive food menu is available after 11 a.m., with salads for $12 or $13 and sandwiches for $16 to $18.
In the evening, the vibe changes from cafe to cocktail lounge. Secret Garden has a full liquor license and sells charcuterie boards for $18, along with other spreads.
“It’s going to be dark and sexy at night,” Vostrejs said.
The investor and developer, whose firm is based next door in the Tears–McFarlane House, spent $500,000 building out the spot. The Secret Garden name comes from the cafe’s expansive patio, adorned with plants and flowers. The garden theme extends to the inside as well, which is painted forest green. But Vostrejs said he’s been measured with the design.
“I don’t want to turn this into a fern bar,” he said.
The concept is several years in the making. Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods, a neighborhood organization, has owned the 8,700-square-foot historic house and its smaller annex for decades. City Street took an ownership stake as part of a 2021 deal.
CHUN’s website said that the initial plan was to demolish the 1980s annex and replace it with a new structure for the cafe. However, rising construction costs throughout the long planning process made this path financially difficult.
“Approval by Denver’s Community Planning and Development office proved to be elusive,” CHUN’s website reads. “Partly due to the custom design of this building and its unique (and tight) location next to Cheesman Park, this project also suffered from delays in permit and site plan review and lack of attention by the City. Unfortunately, such experiences are not unique in Denver these days.”
City Street and CHUN instead decided to remodel the space, a less-expensive and time-consuming option. The decision to make it a cafe in the first place came from a focus group of the neighbors on what they’d like to see.
“This is really for the community,” Vostrejs said.
With the cafe open, City Street is turning to its next project: the Evans School in the Golden Triangle. Vostrejs still has some hurdles to clear with the city, but if the process goes smoothly, the plan is to open the first phase of the project — a beer garden and some smaller retail offerings — in early spring. After that, he’ll turn his attention to launching his Arvada beer garden, targeting a June opening date.
