10 AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 3, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | rest of the city’s residents. But as a vein of commerce and a window into Denver culture for tourists, 16th Street could use a stronger presentation of Colorado cannabis. As the city tests out open alcohol consumption inside of McGregor Square and on Glenarm Place off 16th, it should consider acknowledging what cannabis can do for the local economy. We’ve already seen what it did for commercial real estate in Colorado after recreational legaliza- tion in 2012. Why not set up Colorado’s fi rst cannabis farmers’ market, where licensed cultivators and vendors interact with customers and sell their products, to attract people to 16th Street one Saturday a month? Or create a pop-up consumption lounge allowing visitors to get stoned and then listen to music or eat over- priced dumplings and tacos? Of course, these would require changes at the state level and, frankly, a more relaxed approach from city lawmakers. But it’s not like we haven’t seen similar activations in California and New York. Cannabis won’t save 16th Street, but a little herb won’t hurt its chances. Remember what South Broadway looked like before legal weed? — Thomas Mitchell Giving Back in a Big Way at Little Finch Mary Nguyen is passionate about revi- talizing downtown because she’s a Denver native, born to Vietnamese immigrants who arrived in Colorado after the end of the war in Southeast Asia. She’s a graduate of George Washington High School and the University of Boulder, who began a career in fi nance before fi nding her sweet spot in hospitality, with a series of elevated casual restaurants under the Olive & Finch umbrella — opening three down- town since 2023, including Little Finch, a restaurant just off 16th Street at Blake Street. As a small business owner and a member of the Visit Denver board, she says it’s im- portant — and personal — for her to support other businesses, and to represent Denver’s struggling core. “Obviously, we’ve had chal- lenges after COVID,” she says. “We all want to see a vibrant Denver, and I think that it’s great for us to sit around and talk about it, but I think we need to do something about it. ...So that’s what I’m intentionally trying to do.” She considers herself a member not just of the broader Denver community but also the Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacifi c Islander community, and celebrates the city’s diversity and growing sophistication. “When we look at what creates a great city, you know, we defi nitely have to look at the amenities,” she notes. “So if everyone’s running away or talking badly, we’re not helping anyone. We’re just hurting each other. So I just really lean in and want to do my part, because I think it requires all of us to do a little something.” She’s done more than a little. “I did the typical Asian thing, right?” she notes. “I graduated from college, went straight into investment banking, working in public fi - nance. So I actually helped structure Coors Field, and did a bunch of bonds for DIA.” But “I always loved hospitality,” she adds. “I actually had no experience in it, but I just loved hosting and loved building community, and I learned early on that my my love lan- guage is food. Yes, it’s very Asian.” She quit her fi nance career in 2001 and started working several jobs in restaurants just to learn the trade. “I worked the morning shift at a coffee shop, then I was hired as a sushi chef apprentice at Hapa when they opened their Cherry Creek location, and then worked at the Beehive in Capitol Hill.” She kept up this schedule, working from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, to learn every aspect of running a restaurant. Then she took a full-time position at Hapa Sushi, and when she quit to open her fi rst restaurant, “I left as the only female executive sushi chef at the time in the country,” she recalls. After several other concepts, she’s focusing on Olive & Finch. She doesn’t see those restau- rants as “fast casual” — she loves seeing all kinds of customers come in and sit with a coffee and their laptops, or dine with their families, or just grab and go. Instead, she thinks this style of eat- ery is essential to Denver’s downtown revival. “I just felt that dining out, at least for me, as someone who really appreciates food, has become such a commitment in time, diet and money. But I don’t think that you should have a lot of money to eat well, or spend a lot of money to eat well. I don’t think that those things should be related,” she says. “My goal has been to create a space that was accessible and affordable, but also really community driven, really vibrant, full of energy, serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, because I wanted, personally, a place to be able to come in and eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, and for it to be just a place where you come as you are, no pretense.” Just like Nguyen...and Denver at its best. — Gil Asakawa Milk Tea People Is a Liquid Asset The City of Denver is banking on Milk Tea People to help revitalize downtown, proposing to invest $640,000 in expanding and relocating the tea bar. This is one of ten projects picked to receive a total of over $100 million; The lineup ranges from renovating parks to converting offi ce spaces into housing. The investments were unanimously approved by the Downtown Development Authority Board on July 30; any project that costs over $500,000 needs to be cleared by the Denver City Council. Kevin Ung, co-owner of Milk Tea People, says his business wants to use the money to move from its current Market Station loca- tion, at 1641 Market Street, into a larger space along 16th Street. He hopes the new space “will bring our community together,” he says. “We’ve done well at our current location, but have outgrown it and want to provide a better experience for our guests,” Ung adds. “We will use the funds to provide more seating for our guests, new technologies to help with managing our workfl ow, and op- portunities to recruit and supply new jobs for the community.” Milk Tea People launched in July 2021 and quickly developed a positive reputation for its minimalist design, carefully crafted recipes and dedication to excellence. The shop opts for high-quality organic ingredi- ents in everything from its matcha lattes to specialty Wafchis, never using preservatives or artifi cial fl avorings. In recognition of its work, the business was named Best Tea Shop in Westword’s 2025 Best of Denver...a detail that made the DDA’s announcement. Ung, who was born in Denver, says Milk Tea People deliberately sought a DDA loan instead of a grant. “Our belief in this project and this city is profound. The terms of this agreement are a refl ection of that,” Ung says. “We see these public funds as a true partner- ship, and we will honor that commitment by paying it back with interest, because our responsibility to its people is not an afterthought, it’s the core of our business.” Voters approved the expansion of the Downtown Development Authority in No- vember 2024, clearing the way for the DDA to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the Central Business District without raising taxes or impacting the city budget. Under state law, DDAs can collect some of the incremental property and sales taxes collected in a certain area and reinvest those funds in economic development activities within that area. Denver’s DDA has existed since 2008, when it was introduced to cover the renovation of Union Station into a multi- modal transportation facility, but it previously only covered the region around the terminal. With the 2024 expansion, $570 million was “unlocked” to be invested in downtown proj- ects, according to the mayor’s offi ce. “We are especially keen to be investing in local Denver businesses that generate greater economic impact for our residents,” says Jordan Fuja, a spokesperson for Mayor Mike Johnston. “[Milk Tea People’s] relocation and expansion will create more than twenty new jobs, bring an estimated economic impact of $7.5 million over the next fi ve years, and drive more foot traffi c to 16th Street.” City offi cials are pushing to revitalize downtown Denver after the COVID-19 pan- demic, rising homelessness rates, burden- some construction projects and high-profi le crime like the 16th Street stabbing spree hurt the area’s reputation, keeping people away from the core city. Applications for the new funding opened in March. The fi rst investments were approved in April, contributing to the downtown safety plan that increased foot patrols and improved public safety, according to the mayor’s offi ce. “Downtown Denver is the heartbeat of our city and the core of our economic growth, and supporting its revitalization with funding from the DDA is key to our success as a city,” Mayor Johnston said in a July 30 statement about the latest awards. “These projects that the DDA approved today are exactly where we should be focusing. ...[They] will transform our city center into not just a central business district, but a central neighborhood district for everyone to come and enjoy.” The other projects chosen to receive the latest round of city investments were $30 million to activate Civic Center Park via new infrastructure, lighting, garden walkways and tree canopy; $23 million to purchase two parking lots near the Denver Pavilions block for redevelopment and affordable parking; $17 million to help fi nance an offi ce-to-residential conversion of the historic Symes Building; $14.5 million to help fi nance an offi ce-to-res- idential conversion of the historic University Building; $7 million to renovate the McNich- ols Civic Center Building, creating outdoor garden dining spaces, a full-service kitchen and an arts marketplace; $5 million to activate 16th Street continued from page 8 Mary Nguyen with Mayor Mike Johnston. GIL ASAKAWA Milk Tea People is moving to 16th Street. MILK TEA PEOPLE/INSTAGRAM
