Businesses on renovated 16th Street hope summer kickoff event is recovery kickstarter

DENVER — This past weekend’s Summer Kickoff event was a welcome sight for the shops and restaurants on the now-rebranded 16th Street in downtown Denver.

The event meant music, vendors, and thousands of visitors.

On Wednesday, Denver7 followed up with the Downtown Denver Partnership about the turnout. We were told the event drew 40,000 visitors over the two days. That number does not mean 40,000 unique visitors, as some may have stopped by multiple times during the weekend.

Denver7 also asked for context for those numbers. DDP reports 2.4 million total visitors to the formerly-named 16th Street Mall in 2024. That is an average of roughly 6,500 visitors per day.

Denver

Denver celebrates renovated 16th Street with Summer Kickoff event

Claire Lavezzorio

Dunja Miljkovic works at Aloha Hat and Sole on 16th Street and lives nearby. She thinks the area is getting closer to the lively, walkable downtowns she grew up with in Serbia.

“Saturday was amazing. We had a really nice time,” she said. “I came here in August 2023… I can say it is much, much better [now]. I feel safer.”

Miljkovic said the store saw about double the sales compared to an average weekend.

Across the street, Henry’s Tavern is one of the businesses now approved to sell alcohol to-go for new designated outdoor drinking zones off of 16th Street. General manager Brian Rychee told Denver7 it’s gone smoothly so far.

“It was actually a pretty simple process,” he explained. “The city was pretty easy on it. It's not like something we asked for. They wanted it to happen because they want to bring more people down to 16th Street and have a little bit more fun.”

To do that, the city approved a $1.9 million contract to revitalize the downtown stretch, with $500,000 set aside for extra security measures and the rest earmarked for activations like the kickoff weekend, musical performances, and other ways to attract visitors. DDP told Denver7 the contract runs through the rest of this year.

The city is betting big on the next few months to change the public's perception and economic reality. Businesses know that won’t happen overnight, but they hope this summer brings more energy, visitors and dollars after a long, crippling construction period.

Miljkovic said she wants to see “more events for all generations, for kids, for us younger people, for older people. That would be very nice.”

“Word of mouth is going to be the biggest thing,” Rychee added.

A few blocks of 16th, between Broadway and Tremont, are still under construction but are expected to open sometime this fall.

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