New concepts have entered the Denver Milk Market, but the overall cuisine offerings and laidback vibe hasn’t changed. There’s still fried chicken, ice cream, free games, a full bar, plenty of seating, and more.
Chef Frank Bonanno (Bonanno Concepts) first launched the Denver Milk Market in the Dairy Block in June, 2017, and each stall was filled with one of his food vendors including gelato, pizza, spicy chicken, and noodles. In September, 2023, Bonanno sold the downtown business to Sage Hospitality, who already owned Dairy Block’s Maven Hotel. Last year things started to shift, and now the property is on its third iteration. With that, welcome Konjo Ethiopian Food, Lucky Bird Fried Chicken, and East3, the group’s own concept. Next month chef Lon Symensma’s YumCha Noodles & Dumplings will also open.
Here’s the skinny on each of the spots, and a good excuse to visit the Denver Milk Market soon. Other staples such as Little Man Ice Cream, the coffee shop, and deli area remain the same.
Konjo Ethiopian Food
We’re pretty excited Fetien Gebre-Michael and Yoseph Assefa have brought their Ethiopian concept to downtown. The business partners’ launched the concept as a catering business, then a food truck in 2015. Their other brick-and-mortar spot is located in the Edgewater Market and has garnered a following since opening in 2019.
To say there’s nothing like it in Downtown Denver is an understatement, there’s no African food at all in the area. With Konjo, the idea is to serve healthy, fast, and delicious Ethiopian food, both for meat eaters, vegetarians, and vegans. The traditional plate is served over injera flatbread with two rolls of injera on the side. The rice bowls come with turmeric rice and one roll of injera. Choose from chicken, beef, lamb, or a trio of vegetarian options including miser (red lentils), kik (yellow split peas), gomen (seasoned spinach & potatoes), or tikel gomen (curried cabbage with carrots and potatoes.
East3
Poke bowls but make them influenced with flavors from Thailand, Japan, and Philippines. The build-your-own-bowl menu includes choice of four types: Filipino kinilaw with coconut vinegar, ginger, toasted coconut, red onion, grape tomato, mint, and tamarind pork rinds; sesame nikiri with green onion, nori threads, furikake, and rice paper puffs; Thai fish sauce with lime, tomato, red onion, crispy garlic, mint, tamarind pork rinds, cucumber, avocado, and Thai chili; and housemade ponzu, served with seaweed salad and pickled ginger.
After you choose the sauce, the proteins include big eye tuna, yellowtail hamachi, Norwegian salmon, jumbo lump crab, and tofu. All bowls come over sushi rice.
Lucky Bird Fried Chicken
Leigh Davison opened the Colorado-based Lucky Bird in 2018 as a food truck, and now there are three locations, with the Denver Milk Market as the newest. As the name suggests, the menu features fried chicken in the form of sandwiches, tenders, wraps, and salads. It’s hot, easy, and perfect for any casual fried chicken lover.
YumCha Noodles & Dumplings
The original YumCha was opened by ChoLon Restaurant Concepts at the end of 2021, right next to Symensma’s famed ChoLon. Unfortunately it closed early this year, though the chef did launch another location of the dumpling shop in Central Park, also in 2024.
YumCha specializes in creative Asian street food, including the restaurant’s signature soup dumplings, the French onion with Gruyère cheese and General Cho’s, which is stuffed with chili-soy chicken. Other dishes include fried rice, lo mein, spring rolls, and pot stickers.
Visit Denver Milk Market every day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 1800 Wazee St., Denver, denvermilkmarket.com
