DENVER — The City of Denver has achieved another phase in its project to revitalize the 16th Street Mall.
On Thursday, the city officially opened 16th Street between Larimer and Wazee Streets.
"Today is another really significant moment for our city," said Kourtny Garrett, the president and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership.
The project to revitalize the 16th Street Mall started more than 2 years ago with a goal to improve traffic infrastructure, safety and bring people back to downtown Denver.
"This has always been an identity at the heart of Denver, and we are so excited for this to open for a whole new generation of Denverites who have never known 16th Street to come for the first time, and for those of loved it for 40 years, to be able to keep coming back and keep coming back," said Denver Mayor Mike Johnston.
It's something Mary Nguyen, the chef and founder of Olive and Finch, is also hoping for.
"I grew up as a native, right? Like coming to Colorado and coming downtown every single weekend, riding the tram up and down the street, like when I was a teenager, that was a rite of passage. It wasn't until I was a little bit over that I realized that, like the street, it really didn't represent the soul and the spirit of Denver," Nguyen said. "It didn't represent the soul and the spirit of Denver, and I wanted to be a part of that, because I think that Denver is an amazing city. We have so much great talent."
Nguyen opened her business, 'Little Finch' on the 16th Street Mall two years ago. She told Denver7 there were challenges over the years, but ultimately, she was glad she stuck it out.
"What I have seen is the community, the people who work downtown, the people who live downtown, really supporting us, because they know what we're trying to do," she said. "I feel amazing like this is, this is great, like, just the the energy and the people and the excitement like it, it, it really justifies everything that we've been doing and the challenges we've had in the last two years. It's, it's going to be behind us."
Despite the hardship, she decided to keep her business in the area because of the revitalization.
"I hope that us opening here and being an example for other independent chef driven concepts will make people want to come here and do what we're doing, which is trying to revitalize an amazing street and be a part of something that's so much bigger than us," Nguyen said.
City leaders hope other business owners across the city see the same thing and chose to join the area.
"We've opened 28 new businesses downtown just this year alone, and we know that there are about 20 more that are opening by this fall, so we're seeing a significant business increase throughout all of downtown," Garrett said.
"We got more calls in the last couple months. We've had in the last couple years, in terms of the desire for folks to say, I see what's happening downtown. I see what's happening on 16th Street, and we want to be a part of it," Mayor Johnston added.
Nguyen said she believes in downtown Denver so much, she's chosen to open two more locations in the next year or so.
"I'm excited about the investment that the city is actually putting into the city. It's really unheard of. So we should all be so excited," she said. "I am energized. I am optimistic."