♻️ Why Denver’s backing off new climate rules

💡 Climate Office Looks To Ease New Emissions Rules

Denver’s climate office is reportedly considering tweaks to emissions rules put in place last year on new office and residential developments. Changes would aim to decrease penalties for landlords dealing with unexpectedly high vacancy rates. [Denver Business Journal 🔒]

💸 No More Money For Denver Basic Income Project

City Council on Monday evening rejected eight proposed amendments to the city’s budget for 2025, including $2.5 million proposed for the Denver Basic Income Project. The program lost Mayor Johnston’s support following outcomes from its first 10 months of work earlier this year. [Denver Post 🔒]

• What’s next? DBIP founder Mark Donovan tells City Cast Denver that his organization is “not going away” and is already working on a yet-to-be-announced project with Adams County.

🏙️ Why No One Wants to Live in Denver Anymore

The election earlier this week put a spotlight on just how fast this country is changing, but what about Denver? After decades of booming growth, we’re facing population decline. Colorado’s state demographer explains why that matters. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

🗳️ A Really Bad Week for Ranked Choice Voting

Colorado voters soundly defeated a proposal to adopt open primaries and ranked choice voting this week — and they weren’t alone. While Washington, DC voted to adopt open primaries, similar proposals failed in Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, and South Dakota. [Unite America]

Denverites are opening wide for fried chicken doughnut sandwiches; bidding farewell to their favorite locally canned wine; welcoming back some fan-favorite finger foods; and saying “hope to see you soon” to Colorado’s best lobster rolls. Here are some of the latest openings and closings on the Mile High dining scene.

Openings:

Electric Donut Factory | Food Truck

Opened Nov. 3

In the hopes of filling a niche for late-night post-concert eats, DJ-turned-food truck owner RJ Pangelinan is dishing up fried chicken doughnut sandwiches and other eclectic snacks (most of which are smashed between two sugar-glazed doughnuts) out of the Electric Donut Factory food truck. You can find details on the truck’s next pop-up by following it on Instagram.

Dumplin’ | 3609 W 32nd Ave (West Highland)

Opened Nov. 7

Local culinary legend Frank Bonanno is shaking things up. Taking the place of his decade-old sandwich shop Salt & Grinder (which he shuttered in September) is Dumplin’, an Italian-Asian fusion concept. Bonanno said he’d been looking for a way to riff off his once popular Asian eatery, Bones, which closed in 2019. The new menu will even offer Bones’ signature lobster ramen bowl.

Misfit Snack Bar | 3401 E Colfax Ave (City Park)

Reopened Oct. 16

After a five-month hiatus to search for a standalone location, Chef Bo Porytko is reopening the fan-favorite eccentric eatery Misfit Snack Bar in its original location at the Middleman cocktail bar. “We decided we missed you all too much and thought it was high time to return home,” the two-time James Beard award nominee said in a recent Instagram post.

Closings:

Infinite Monkey Theorem | 3200 Larimer St (Five Points)

Closing Dec. 31

RiNo’s Infinite Monkey Theorem winery will tap its last keg of wine before year’s end, marking the end of an “urban wine” era that started in an old Baker warehouse 16 years ago and grew into a woman-owned, community standby on the brink of major expansion before the pandemic struck — something the winery “never really recovered from,” says president and CEO Nicki McTague.

Monaco Inn Restaurant | 962 S Monaco St Pkwy (Washington Virginia Vale)

Closed Oct. 26

After 40 years of dishing up Greek, Mexican, and American dinner favorites, the owners of Monaco Inn have hung up their aprons and are ready to enjoy retirement. The restaurant will become the second location for Pomodoro Pizza and Pasta, a popular family-run Italian eatery out of Aurora.

Maine Shack | 1535 Central St (Highland)

Closing Nov. 10

Lobster lovers have less than a week to nab one last buttery lobster roll from Maine Shack before it closes its LoHi shop on Nov. 10. (It closed its Boulder location on Nov. 3.) But fans fret not — that lobster-shaped hole in your heart will (hopefully) only be temporary as the seafood purveyor scouts for a “new and improved space” to re-debut next spring or summer.