Machete Tequila + Tacos closing after 10 years on Colfax

After 10 years on Colfax, John Wallrath is saying adiós.

The owner of Machete Tequila + Tacos will serve its last margaritas Saturday at 3570 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver, he told BusinessDen. He chalked up the closure to the spot’s lease expiring at the same time construction crews are building a bus rapid transit line down the middle of the corridor.

“There’s just no upside right now,” Wallrath said of running his taco joint amid construction. “We appreciate what’s going on with the city and the attempt to beautify the area, but it just didn’t work for us.”

Wallrath, who opened the 4,000-square-foot spot in 2016 with Dan Ohlson, said that energy shifted in late 2024. That was around the time BRT construction started farther west along Colfax; work didn’t start in front of Machete until months later. He said people perceived the area as difficult to traverse and parking as hard to find.

Pre-pandemic, patrons would come to Machete before and after concerts to...