Yet another one of Denver’s stalwart hospitality businesses has announced its closing. This one, however, is expected to be temporary.
As of Monday, Coffee at The Point, which has been serving up caffeine fixes to locals in Five Points since 2010, is closed “for a makeover, do-over, and remodel,” owner Ryan Cobbins announced on social media. The business is expected to reopen on Sept. 13.
In his note, Cobbins laid out several challenges Coffee at The Point has been facing – including inflation, the rising cost of labor, and staffing difficulties – that are all too familiar to folks in the hospitality industry. His biggest, though, is unique to the neighborhood.
“In the last year, there have been a compounding amount of events that have been taxing,” Cobbins wrote. “The most profound has been watching the decimation of my neighborhood with one person single-handling working to exit businesses, including this beloved friend that I idolized suing Coffee at The Point; and him sending legal papers to 7 other businesses and individuals in the Five Points neighborhood.”
Cobbins is talking about Matthew Burkett, CEO of The FlyFisher Group, which owns several buildings in Five Points. According to BusinessDenver, the company has worked with billionaire Denverite Robert Smith and spent at least $12 million since 2018 to buy real estate in a two-block stretch of Welton Street that included the beloved Welton Street Cafe. (The cafe has since moved to take-out only at 2258 California St. while building out a new permanent location.)
