Junction Food & Drink is a 12,000 SF food hall featuring 10 local chef-driven concepts, an indoor/outdoor bar, coffee shop and 4,000 SF of outdoor seating space. Opening its doors in October 2020, the food hall is a vibrant component of an emerging retail “Main Street” at Colorado Center and the first of its kind in southeast Denver.

The design and development team created a unique amenity both for the mixed-use campus and for the surrounding neighborhoods. A variety of vendors provide elevated food and beverage offerings from local and nationally renowned chefs. The long, narrow building footprint is anchored on the west corner by a coffee shop with its own dedicated entrance, allowing it to operate independently and serve all-day coffee and pastries while remaining connected to the main hall.

Exposed wood glulam and metal trusses visibly extend from inside to out, shaping an open and flexible hall and supporting the floating roof that provides shade for the exterior patios. The column-free space offers ample seating and a variety of zones for dining and socializing. One of the outdoor patios is in a sunken plaza lined with trees, creating a sense of enclosure. A pair of glazed, operable garage doors open to the patio, creating a seamless experience between the interior food hall and adjacent outdoor terrace. Along the main frontage of the building, the sidewalk expands into a large, recessed patio where the 40-foot bar opens to serve guests directly outside.

The material palette responds to the existing buildings at Colorado Center while enhancing texture and color to create a welcoming and comfortable retail experience connected to place. Influenced by nature and the Colorado outdoors, the interior incorporates simple treatment of warm wood, black steel and concrete to highlight the structural nature of the building while allowing the individual vendors’ branding to stand out.