Warm weather and mobile food have returned to Denver’s most central park.
Civic Center Eats kicked off its first lunch session of the year on Wednesday, with 11 trucks serving everything from grilled cheese to crepes in Civic Center Park.
It will be open most Wednesdays and Thursdays between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. for three stints — May 14 to June 26, July 9 to Aug. 28, and Sept. 10 to Oct. 16.
Here’s who’s pulling up:
- AFC Wings (chicken and catfish)
- Berliner Haus (European street food)
- Cazuelas (tacos and more)
- Cheese Love Grill (cheese, grilled and otherwise)
- DIRT on the Road (coffee)
- Fritay Haitian Cuisine (Haitian street food)
- Kary’s Creperie (crepes)
- Mile High Tikka Express (Indian street food)
- Ninja Ramen Mobile (ramen, gyoza and more)
- Peyote Mexican Food (tacos and more)
- Saucy Chops (hot barbecue)
- Super Smash Burgers CO (burgers)
- Sweet Action (ice cream)
- Uptown & Humboldt (burgers and gyros)
Marissa Forbes, development coordinator for the Civic Center Conservancy, said the event is about more than just food.
“We want to make sure everyone comes down here to have a good time. It’s not just eating, it’s community,” she said.
She said Civic Center Eats has always been about “activating” the park, keeping a regular drumbeat of residents marching through the area to demonstrate that the place is safe and welcoming.
While the event has been going on for about a decade, this mission became especially important after Denver Parks and Recreation closed Civic Center in 2021. The pandemic saw a rise in visible homelessness in the area; officials said they needed to clean out needles and a growing rodent population as a result.
Keeping the park active has remained relevant as downtown landlords have struggled to keep commercial and office spaces leased. Mayor Mike Johnston has been pushing companies to bring workers back to the city’s central corridor.
Forbes said Civic Center Eats is meant to offer an “oasis” for people who do commute to work — and maybe for people who work at home and still want to go outside for a little snack. She said they see between 1,000 and 1,500 visitors each week.
“It’s really important to make sure that we all work together and support each other on these initiatives,” she said, “so we definitely support the idea of people coming back downtown.”
