After years of construction, the north side of RiNo in Denver has come into its own, and now a new café is hopping onto the scene. Enter Bad Rabbit Coffee, a perfect example of how the opening of new luxury residences and office spaces in the area has brought a wave of restaurants and bars to the neighborhood.
We’ve also seen the trend within the Novel RiNo (1717 E. 39th Ave.), a mixed-use development now housing the second location of Odie B’s sandwich shop, Filipino hot spot Magna Kainan, and rooftop bar Sorry Gorgeous. Nearby, Dear Emilia, chef Ty Leon’s ode to Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, recently debuted on the ground floor of The Current (3615 Delgany St.) office building.
But back to Bad Rabbit Coffee, which just opened inside Industry RiNo Station, one of the original developments that helped put RiNo on the map when it opened in 2017. After operating for just under one-and-a-half years as a mobile pop-up, the café concept has taken over the sprawling coffee bar inside the shared co-working space’s lobby, marking its first brick-and-mortar location.
“Having a brick-and-mortar was not on our bingo card. It was in our five-year plan, not our immediate plan,” said Jolene Main, who co-founded Bad Rabbit in 2024 with Taylor O’Doherty.
“It was very serendipitous,” said O’Doherty, mirroring Main’s statement. “We both love this area, it’s got great foot traffic and it’s also not at crazy price points yet.”
From Mobile Bar to Brick-and-Mortar
O’Doherty and Main first met while working on the opening team at Federales in Denver, with O’Doherty behind the bar and Main as a server. As they bonded over long shifts and daily gym sessions, O’Doherty shared her longtime goal of starting a mobile pop-up bar, though she wasn’t sure how to bring it to life.
“I saw a mobile bar at my cousin’s wedding and thought, ‘I could totally do this,’” O’Doherty said. “[Jolene and I] were going to the gym every day, and I kept talking about it, but I didn’t think I could do it on my own.”
That’s when Main stepped up and offered to help.
After coming up with a plan, the pair purchased an old horse trailer and transformed it into the mobile pop-up bar O’Doherty had dreamt of, naming it Bad Rabbit after O’Doherty’s own pet bunny Timothy.
“I have a very angry bunny rabbit at home,” O’Doherty said with a laugh. “He’s really cute, but he always looks like he’s judging you and scowling at you.”
They launched the concept in October of 2024, but after a well-attended launch party, business was slow to follow. Rather than abandon the idea, they decided to add coffee to the repertoire. By spring 2025, the pair landed their first coffee pop-up at Park Meadows Mall in partnership with the activewear brand Vuori and Body Talk Pilates.
“We started doing a lot more coffee than booze,” recalled O’Doherty. “We still do alcohol on the side for private events, but the coffee just took off.”
From there, the concept snowballed. The two found a niche in pilates studios, gyms, and wellness-focused events. As they were pitching their business and pop-up events, Main reached out to Industry RiNo Station to see if they’d be interested in having Bad Rabbit pop up at the office space.
“Next thing you know, we’re in here and they’re giving us a tour of the café space and telling us that they really need somebody to fill it and that we’d be a good fit,” she continued. “Lo and behold, out of nowhere, we got a brick and mortar that we were not expecting.”
Within about six weeks, they had signed on and moved in.
Operating inside an office building comes with built-in advantages. Early business has been driven in part by “house accounts,” where companies cover drinks for employees. With new signage, Google Maps and Apple Maps visibility, and a planned grand opening party on April 18 (from 10 a.m. to noon), Bad Rabbit aims to draw in more of the surrounding RiNo and Cole neighbors to the shop. At the same time, they’re continuing to juggle pop-ups, private events, and nonprofit collaborations, keeping the original mobile business alive.
Bad Rabbit, Good Coffee
At its core, Bad Rabbit is a reflection of its founders’ lifestyles. With backgrounds in bartending and fitness, the menu leans into “healthier” drinks without losing the indulgent edge.
“Making better-for-you ingredients was always going to be part of it,” said Main, who studied exercise science and previously worked as a personal trainer. That mindset shows up across the menu, which, in addition to coffee, includes electrolyte drinks, an evolving lineup of smoothies, and protein shakes. Currently the team has toppings like collagen cold foam in the works.
All syrups are made in-house, avoiding pre-bottled options in favor of fresher ingredients with shorter shelf lives. That way, the additions aren’t sitting for too long. Those syrups are then worked into drinks, like Main’s personal favorite, the Matcha Cloud, an iced matcha topped with matcha foam. Also try the Brown Sugar Cold Brew, Ube Cloud (iced coffee topped with ube foam), and the Mont Blanc, a cold brew finished with a sweet orange zest foam akin to sipping a Creamsicle.
The café also offers grab-and-go items like breakfast burritos and baked goods from local partners. For now, Bad Rabbit is just operated by O’Doherty and Main. Though long term, the vision stretches far beyond this space.
“Part of our five-year plan was to be like an Improper City or Hudson Hill where it’s a café during the day and then a bar at night,” said Main. “I think that would be like the perfect blend of what we do.”
For now, this unexpected brick-and-mortar in Denver serves as a testing ground.
“This was move-in ready,” said O’Doherty. “It felt like the clouds were parting, the skies were opening, and everything was aligning for us.”
Visit Bad Rabbit Coffee Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. 3827 Lafayette St., Denver, badrabbitcoffee.shop
