Downtown Colorado Springs gained 24 new businesses in 2026, according to the Downtown Partnership. Most of them opened along Tejon Street. The same year, Tejon lost an oyster bar, a neighborhood bistro, a wine bar and a pizza place next to Ed Robson Arena. Look at what replaced them and a pattern shows up. As of this October, the core of downtown has four ice cream counters within a short walk, a new record shop, two new bar-and-grills and a private-room karaoke studio on the way. The street is still busy. It's just set up for a different kind of visit than it was a year ago.
What closed, and what those places had in common
Every closure on this year's list was a sit-down meal.
Oskar Blues closed in late December and was the first to go. 707 Pizza Co., at 819 N. Tejon St. next to Colorado College's Ed Robson Arena, closed in early January. The owners told the college they did not plan to reopen.
Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar served its last meal at 11 S. Tejon St. on Aug. 30, after opening downtown in January 2020. Its Boulder-based owner, Big Red F Restaurant Group, explained the decision in an email to The Gazette.
"After six and a half years — a long and disturbing trip down COVID Road, our current recession that isn't a recession, and a challenging Colorado restaurant climate — our Colorado Springs Jax location has closed."
Jax's locations in Boulder, LoDo and Fort Collins are still open, and the group said it has no current plans for another Springs location. As of early October, no new tenant had been announced for the space.
A week later, The Till Neighborhood Bistro & Bar and Vine and Wheel closed at 616 S. Tejon St. Both shared a building with Garden of the Gods Market and Café. Till handled dinner, the Market and Café covered breakfast and brunch, and Vine and Wheel was a stand-alone wine bar. Owner Mitch Yellen sent The Gazette a statement through Altitude Hospitality Group. The Market and Café will stay open with longer hours, and the two former dining rooms will be used for private events.
So one of the main dinner rooms on South Tejon is now space you book for an occasion. It no longer takes walk-in diners.
What opened in their place
Here are this year's openings and moves, ordered by street address.
| Address | Business | What it is | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 E. Moreno Ave. | Ice Guys/Dice Guys | Homemade ice cream and games, owned by Adam Stepan | Grand opening June 12 |
| 107 N. Tejon St. | Slice 420 Express | Pizza by the slice, limited menu, late-night hours | Announced in August, opening not yet confirmed |
| 118 N. Tejon St. | Stoney's Bar & Grill | Bar and grill in the former Oskar Blues space | Opened in early September |
| 122 N. Tejon St. | The Ice Cream Lab | Liquid-nitrogen ice cream, moved from Delmonico Drive | Open by Aug. 22 |
| 216 N. Tejon St. | Lolley's Ice Cream | Small-batch ice cream, second location after Monument | Ribbon cutting May 16 |
| 327 N. Tejon St. | Easy's Records & Vintage | Records, physical media, vintage clothing, band merch | Opened Sept. 10 |
| 402 S. Tejon St., Suite 100 | Sportsbook Bar & Grill | Locally owned bar and grill | Grand opening June 5 |
| 514 S. Tejon St. | The Green Magick Vault | Handmade goods and herbal remedies inside CO.A.T.I. | Grand opening Sept. 1 |
| 324 E. Pikes Peak Ave., Suite 140 | The Karaoke Studio | Private-room karaoke with a full-service bar | Targeting early December |
The first address on that list has its own turnover story. Yellen's Dad's Donuts operated at 29 E. Moreno Ave. until it closed in March. By June, Ice Guys/Dice Guys was holding its grand opening at the same address. It's another breakfast-and-pastry stop turned into a place to grab a scoop and play a game.
Easy's Records & Vintage, from founders Erica Dunford and Ryan Fowler, and The Green Magick Vault, from owner Carol Smith, add a type of shop downtown has been missing. These are places you browse, often in a few minutes on the way somewhere else.
Four scoops in a short walk
The ice cream count is the clearest single sign of how the street has changed. When The Gazette covered The Ice Cream Lab's move in July, it described the shop as joining "a somewhat crowded field downtown." Starting at the south end and heading north, here is the October lineup:
- Ice Guys/Dice Guys, 29 E. Moreno Ave. Homemade ice cream paired with games, at the south edge of downtown.
- The Ice Cream Lab, 122 N. Tejon St., in the old Munchie's and Michelle's building. Owner William Yeager makes each order from liquid cream in front of the customer, and liquid nitrogen freezes it almost instantly. He estimates it comes out about three times creamier than fresh gelato.
- Lolley's Ice Cream, 216 N. Tejon St., directly across from Acacia Park. Everything is made in small batches in a dedicated gluten-free kitchen. The menu also includes espresso drinks, baked goods, to-go pints and rotating dairy-free and vegan options. Mayor Yemi Mobolade spoke at the May 16 ribbon cutting.
- Josh & John's, listed on its own site at 329 N. Tejon St. It has been downtown since 1986 and moved to its current spot in 2020.
Three of the four sit within roughly two blocks of North Tejon. Josh & John's is next door to Easy's Records. The Ice Cream Lab is a few doors up from Stoney's. North Tejon between Kiowa and Bijou now packs dessert, records, a sports bar and Acacia Park into one easy walk.
The money behind the short stop
This hasn't happened entirely on its own. The Downtown Partnership says it has given 11 downtown businesses more than $330,000 in grants this year, covering signage, lighting, opening inventory and marketing. Those are the start-up costs that matter most for a small storefront trying to catch people walking by. The Partnership also reports more than a dozen more businesses in the pipeline.
The Gazette points out a geographic gap in the same report. Tejon is the main drag, but most new and planned apartments are going up along downtown's southern and southwestern edges, near Weidner Field and the South Nevada corridor. The next big project there fits the same pattern. Phase 2 of Experience at Epicenter, at 650 S. Sierra Madre St., is planned as a 410-unit mixed-use building with 12,000 square feet of retail. It also includes an expanded Moreno Plaza with dining areas, play structures, a dog park, a seasonal ice rink and a splash pad. Those are all places to drop in for a while. None of them is a reservation.
That project, along with the 230-page Elevate Downtown plan City Council approved in May, will shape downtown over the next decade. The creeks are on the list too. The COS Creek Plan is still in feasibility and planning. Its vision includes a beach and terraced plaza at America the Beautiful Park and eight new or redone creekside parks.
October on and around Tejon
The fall calendar fits the new street well. Several of this month's events depend on the storefronts themselves.
- Alamo Square Park farmers market, Wednesday, Oct. 7, with produce, herbs and artisan goods.
- Rock Orchestra by Candlelight at Pikes Peak Center, Friday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m.
- Acacia Park Sunday market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 11, 18 and 25, across the street from Lolley's.
- Downtown bar crawl, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2 to 5 p.m. Ticketed, with check-in at the Bananacat mural on Tejon between Colorado and Pikes Peak avenues.
- COS Creek Plan public meeting, Monday, Oct. 12, at Penrose Main Library, 20 N. Cascade Ave. A second meeting follows Oct. 26 at Colorado College's Gaylord Hall.
- Downtown Candy Crawl, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2 to 5 p.m. An all-ages trick-or-treat at participating downtown businesses.
- Colorado Springs Philharmonic's Edward Scissorhands at Pikes Peak Center, Oct. 30 and 31.
The Downtown Partnership keeps the calendar updated, so check times before heading out. Candy Crawl day is a good chance to visit the newer counters and shops in one afternoon.
If you live near Tejon and have been wondering how this year's changes affect what your home is worth, Behr and Behr Team follows downtown block by block, from the Moreno Avenue end to Colorado College. Request a Free Home Valuation and we'll show you what nearby sales say about your street right now.
