The organizers of Fork Around & Find Out hoped at least 50 local food and drink businesses would sign up for Greeley's first restaurant week. It runs from Monday, October 19, through Sunday, November 1, 2026. Participating spots will offer a $15 special, a $25 special, or both. The City of Greeley, the Downtown Development Authority, the Greeley Chamber of Commerce and Visit Greeley are running it together.
The price points are the least interesting part. Owners started this event because they were worried, and they paid for it themselves. Most of what they're promoting sits within a short walk of the 9th Street Plaza.
The Week Started With Closed Doors
The Greeley Tribune reported that the idea took shape earlier this year after several local staples closed. Those included Fat Albert's, Kenny's Steakhouse and the Original Roma Restaurant, which has since reopened. Gii Astorga, the DDA's business engagement and event coordinator, had already done some early planning for a similar event the year before. City Councilman Ryan Roth and Matt Estrin, who owns 477 Distilling and Oak and Maple, brought it back to her attention.
Estrin told the Tribune what he had been hearing from other owners:
"It seems like the last six to 12 months, there has been a feeling of angst in the restaurant community. Numbers are dipping, and you're seeing lots of restaurants starting to close."
The funding shows how it's meant to work. Each business paid a $350 entry fee, and the Tribune reported that all of that money goes to marketing. Estrin called it "marketing by mass." In his words, one restaurant pushing for customers reaches only so far, but 50 together "hopefully we can reach a whole lot more people together than we ever could as individuals."
Astorga was even more direct about who the event is aimed at. "Don't say we don't have things to do here, because we absolutely do," she told the Tribune. The article opened by asking whether readers keep going to the same few places or drive to Windsor, Fort Collins or Denver for something new. So the audience is people who already live in Greeley.
Thirty on the Map, Fifty on the Wish List
The goal was at least 50 locations. As of mid-October, the Visit Greeley event directory shows 30 listings. Registration closed October 1. Organizers haven't said whether 30 is the final number. Three businesses are listed twice, once for each of two locations: Hiroshi Teriyaki Grill, Sexy Sammies Chicken Sandwiches & Tenders, and Wing Shack.
Thirty is small next to the "200-some restaurants" Astorga estimated Greeley has. By the directory's region filter, Downtown has 17 listings, the West side 7, the University District 5 and the East side 1. More than half of the first restaurant week sits downtown, and the DDA staff member running it works there.
The directory cards list names and addresses but no menus. The individual specials hadn't been posted in the listings reviewed for this piece, so the directory is the place to check once the week starts. The Tribune's October 10 events calendar lists the event as free to attend.
Most of the Map Fits on a Few Downtown Blocks
Group the 30 listings by address and the downtown count starts to look like a walking route. Several participants share a building number or sit within a few doors of each other.
| Cluster | Participants and addresses |
|---|---|
| 9th Street, 800 block | The Cow Saloon & Eatery, 800 9th St.; Spotlight Café & Creamery and Stella's Pinball Arcade & Lounge, both 802 9th St.; Tres Amigos, 806 9th St.; 477 Distilling, 825 9th St.; Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant, 825 9th St., Unit A |
| 8th Avenue, 7th Street and 9th Avenue | Aunt Helen's Coffee House & Cafe, 800 8th Ave.; Kress Cinema and Lounge, 817 8th Ave.; Meeker's, A Colorado Kitchen & Bar, 919 7th St.; Ellie's Corner, 920 9th Ave.; Austin's American Grill, 1100 8th Ave. |
| 16th Street and south 8th Avenue | The Original Roma, 728 16th St.; Taste of Philly, 829 16th St.; Margie's Java Joint, 931 16th St.; Sexy Sammies, 1540 8th Ave.; Oak & Maple Whiskey & Waffle Co., 1640 8th Ave. |
| Brewery and distillery row, north of downtown | Wiley Roots Brewing Company, 625 3rd St., Unit D; WeldWerks Brewing Co., 508 8th Ave.; Syntax Spirits Distillery and Cocktail Bar, 700 6th St. |
| West and central Greeley | SEASONing K BBQ, 2118 35th Ave.; Greeley Breakfast Club, 2109 9th St.; Crabtree Brewing Company, 2961 W. 29th St.; Big City Roadhouse, 1923 59th Ave.; The G.O.A.T. Sports Bar, 2514 46th Ave.; Breeze Way Bar & Grill, 7309 W. 4th St.; Hiroshi Teriyaki Grill, 6628 W. 10th St. #103 and 808 23rd St.; Sexy Sammies, 4318 West 9th Street Road; Wing Shack, 3502 W. 10th St. and 1815 65th Ave. |
The 800 block of 9th Street has the tightest grouping. Six participants share four addresses there, and you could walk past all of them in a couple of minutes. That makes it a reasonable place for a two-stop evening: a $15 special at one spot and a $25 special a few doors down.
That block also includes one of this year's newest openings. Tres Amigos opened at 806 9th St. on May 19, 2026, in the space Luna's Tacos & Tequila used to occupy. Restaurant week is its first chance to join a citywide promotion like this.
The 16th Street Stretch Includes a Comeback
The 16th Street group is where the event's backstory and its listings overlap. The Original Roma was one of the closures that helped prompt restaurant week. It has since reopened, and it's now in the directory at 728 16th St. Two of the other businesses on the list share an owner. Estrin, who helped restart the idea, owns 477 Distilling downtown and Oak and Maple on 8th Avenue, and both are participating.
16th Street is also newly finished. The Downtown Greeley Development Authority held a ribbon cutting, live music and business specials on September 18 to mark the end of construction there. Margie's Java Joint and Taste of Philly sit on that stretch along with the Original Roma. So in late October, 16th Street is probably the downtown group least affected by street work.
A Restaurant Week With Pinball, Pie and Cocktails
Pooling money changes who signs up. The Tribune noted that several "less-than-traditional places" registered. Ellie's Corner is serving pies, cinnamon rolls and other sweets, Wiley Roots Brewing is pouring beer, and 477 Distilling and Syntax Spirits are making craft cocktails. The July announcement had already said specials could include tasting menus, seasonal drinks or grab-and-go bakery boxes.
The final list includes a pinball arcade, Stella's; a cinema lounge, Kress Cinema and Lounge; two coffee shops, Aunt Helen's and Margie's Java Joint; and three breweries, Wiley Roots, WeldWerks and Crabtree. A $350 shared ad buy works just as well for a bakery case as for a dining room, so the list isn't limited to full-service restaurants.
The West side has another 2026 newcomer. SEASONing K BBQ opened at 2118 35th Ave. in late July. The Greeley Tribune described it as tapas-style Korean barbecue and its third Colorado location. Together with Tres Amigos, it means two of the 30 listings opened in Greeley only this year.
Getting Downtown Around the Construction
The same downtown blocks that hold most of the listings are also in the middle of the city's multi-year Downtown Infrastructure Improvements Project. It began in August with new water and sewer lines on 7th Avenue between 9th and 10th streets, and nearly 20 blocks of utility work are planned. The City of Greeley's September 16 update planned these closures:
- 8th Avenue and 10th Street intersection: closed through late October.
- 10th Street between 7th and 8th avenues: closed through mid-October.
- 9th Avenue between 11th and 12th streets: closed for several months for stormwater work.
- Access: the city said businesses, sidewalks and pedestrian access stay open, though some street parking near intersections may be unavailable for a while.
The city also said these schedules depend on the weather and could change, so treat this list as September's plan. Check the city's news page before driving downtown. Austin's American Grill at 1100 8th Ave. is the participant closest to the 10th Street work. The 9th Street cluster is a block or two north of it, and the 16th Street group is farther south.
The last weekend of restaurant week also lines up with downtown Halloween. The Downtown Greeley Development Authority's Trick or Treat Street runs Friday, October 30, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the 8th and 9th Street Plazas. It includes candy stops, pumpkin painting and Spook Alley tours. That's two days before the specials end, and it's in the same blocks as the busiest part of the map.
If a $15 special at a 9th Street spot you haven't tried yet ends up on your list, the agents at Mile High Lifestyles would like to hear where you went. We follow Greeley's local businesses the same way we follow its homes, and we're glad to share what we know about the neighborhoods around them. Start Your Property Search whenever you're ready, and enjoy the specials while they last.
