Seven Restaurateurs Wanted One Space on Evans Avenue. A Tennyson Street Pitmaster Got It.

Before the owner of 1737 E. Evans Ave. picked a tenant, they drove across town to Tennyson Street and had lunch at Post Oak BBQ. The building's broker, Solomon Stark of NAI Shames Makovsky, told the Denver Post that this lunch settled it. "We were looking for who was going to be the best operator and the owner went over and had lunch at Post Oak and decided these guys are the ones who will be the most successful here," Stark said.

That's how a landlord acts when they have options. The rest of Post Oak's arrival story backs that up. This spring, a 3,000-square-foot restaurant space just west of the University of Denver campus drew offers from seven restaurateurs within a couple of weeks. The winner was a barbecue operator from northwest Denver who had already looked at Arvada and South Broadway. Neighbors in the University neighborhood may think of East Evans as the strip they use every week. In 2026, operators from elsewhere in the city have been competing to get onto it.

Seven Letters of Intent in a Couple of Weeks

The space had been home to Sawa, a buffet serving Sudanese, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food. The Denver Post covered Sawa in February while it was still operating. By the paper's May report, Sawa had closed "earlier this year." Neither article gives an exact closing date, so the best anyone can say is that it closed sometime between mid-February and early May.

Then the building went on the market, and the interest arrived fast. "I had seven LOIs (letters of intent) on the space within a couple weeks of it being on the market. Very popular spot," Stark told the Post. "All the offers were very competitive."

According to the Post, the kitchen that was already in the building is a big reason the space attracted so many offers. A restaurant that inherits a working kitchen avoids much of the cost and delay of building one from scratch. Six of the seven bidders came away without the space.

Post Oak didn't win just by showing up. Stark told the team about the competition after their first offer came in, and Post Oak sent a second, "stronger offer" that same night. After that came the owner's lunch on Tennyson.

Evans Was Not Post Oak's First Choice, Then It Was the Only One

Nick Prince opened Post Oak at 4000 Tennyson St. in Berkeley in 2019, after he left a corporate banking career. He told the Post that the Tennyson location brought in $5 million in revenue last year and has 39 people on the payroll. That's the restaurant the Evans landlord drove across town to try.

The search for a second location started somewhere else. Prince first tried to buy a building in Olde Town Arvada, but the plan proved too expensive during due diligence. His broker, Katie Martineau of Hoff & Leigh, then sent him a few options. Those included the former Little India at 32nd and Lowell and a space on South Broadway. The site near DU was the only one Prince toured.

"We just want to bring influence to the bottom half of Denver, including that DU market is just, I feel like it's so perfect for us."

Nick Prince, owner, Post Oak BBQ, to the Denver Post

Prince pointed to the mix of students nearby and the affluent neighborhoods around campus. He also said this isn't the start of a chain. "The goal was always two or three," he told the Post. "The thing is, with legit barbecue, if you grow too much, people will get the mindset, 'Yeah, they used to be good before they opened up 20 different shops.'"

That makes the Evans location more significant. An operator who plans to stop at two or three restaurants passed on Highland and South Broadway and chose this block for one of them.

If you've eaten on Tennyson, you'll recognize the cooking. Prince brings in truckloads of meat from Texas every week. He uses a salt, pepper and garlic rub and smokes brisket, ribs and wings over post oak logs, also from Texas. We wrote about the street that built Post Oak's following in our piece on Tennyson Street's First Fridays.

What the Plans Filed With the City Show

Permit documents reported by Developing MyCity in late July show a full-service restaurant and bar, not a carryout counter.

The square footage in the plans is larger than the 3,000 square feet in the Post's May report. The dollar figures don't match either. Prince told the Post the buildout would cost about $750,000 and that he's paying for all of it himself. The $412,600 on the permit covers the architectural, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and demolition work. Prince's number appears to cover everything else that goes into opening a restaurant on top of that, though the reporting doesn't break it down.

The menu will mostly match Tennyson. The bigger kitchen adds room for brisket burgers and tomahawk steaks. The plans also call for exterior improvements to the building.

The Rest of the Strip Moved Around It

The Sawa space wasn't the only change on Evans this year. Taken together, the 2026 changes show businesses moving within the area and new operators arriving. None of the businesses covered here left the neighborhood entirely.

1. February: Einstein Bros. Bagels shifts a few blocks. Westword reported that Einstein closed its 1213 E. Evans Ave. shop and planned to move into the former Bruegger's at 2000 S. University Blvd. Gabe Washburn of Bagel Brands said the new store was set to open February 17, with a grand opening on March 7. Westword's February roll call lists the University Boulevard location as an opening.
2. Late winter into spring: Sawa closes at 1737 E. Evans. Seven offers follow within a couple of weeks of the space hitting the market.
3. August: Stoner Pizza Joint opens at 1505 E. Evans Ave. It appears in Westword's August openings roundup, which doesn't give an exact opening day.
4. Late August: Yemen Grill & Cafe pauses. Westword reported the restaurant at 1135 E. Evans Ave. was temporarily closed for updates to its space. Pickup and delivery stayed available.
5. September: Yemen Grill reopens. Westword listed it as reopened in its September 19 weekly roundup and again in its October 1 list of September openings and closings.

In each case a business moved down the street, changed hands or closed for a remodel, and the space didn't sit empty for long. Einstein moved a few blocks to a busier corner instead of leaving. Yemen Grill closed to update its space, not to shut down. Even the vacancy left when Sawa closed turned into a bidding contest.

Where Post Oak Stands as of October 9

The Post's May story said Prince hoped to open "by October." It's now October, and I haven't found a public announcement that the Evans restaurant has opened.

Here's what the public record shows. In late July, permit applications were still under review. Zoning, electrical, sewer and public health reviewers had asked for revisions, including updated plumbing and electrical plans, grease interceptor verification and zoning documentation. In mid-August, a job posting dated August 14 recruited staff for the DU-area restaurant and described it as "opening this October." That posting has since expired. Post Oak's own careers page lists "Evans Avenue" as a location applicants can choose, but it doesn't give an opening date.

Hiring for a restaurant that isn't open yet usually means the opening is near, but it doesn't confirm a date. The safest summary is that Post Oak was targeting October, was hiring for it in August, and hasn't announced a date yet. If you live a few blocks from campus, Post Oak's own channels will be the first place to post opening hours. The permit documents list a Tuesday-through-Sunday schedule with Mondays closed.

When it does open, it'll be in the building at 1737 E. Evans Ave. that Sawa left. A landlord picked this operator after a lunch on Tennyson Street, and six other restaurateurs wanted the same space.

I've worked on Tennyson Street and around Berkeley for years, and I'm glad to see a restaurant from that corridor settle near DU. If you're comparing blocks around Evans and University, or weighing a move between northwest Denver and south Denver, Jon Mottern and The Source at SERHANT. can walk you through what's changing on the ground, block by block. Work With Us.