When the LoHi location of Cart-Driver reopened in January after a year of being closed, the neighborhood not only got a beloved restaurant back, but a great daily happy hour option too. The only caveat, it only runs from 4 to 5 p.m. Over at the RiNo location you have more happy hour options, with two, two-hour slots from 3 to 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. to midnight each day.
The menus at the two places differ too. The original RiNo spot serves wood-fired, sourdough pizza, oysters, and tinned fish. Over in LoHi, the same items are available along with fresh pastas, mussels, and large format dishes.
When the first Cart-Driver launched in 2014 it took over a 640-square-foot shipping container space in a complex on the corner of Larimer and 25th Streets. It was founded by Andy Niemeyer and Kelly Whitaker, chef and founder of id est hospitality company, which runs award-winning spots Bruto, Wolf’s Tailor, Hey Kiddo, and Basta in Boulder. Immediately fame followed as diners clamoured to get one of the sourdough crust pizza from the wood-fired oven. In 2016 the partnership ended, and now Cart-Driver is run by Niemeyer and his business partner, Mark Licata.
Niemeyer opened the LoHi spot at the end of 2019 in the former Z Cuisine space. It has 80 seats with a small outdoor seating area. Where RiNo is more casual with a few indoor seats and large patio in the back, LoHi feels more like a neighborhood bistro. Both serve the same pizza though, which has remained at the top of best eats lists for a decade.
The Food
Wood-fired, 12-inch pizzas is what both Cart-Driver locations are known for, especially the clam pie, which even this clam-hating writer enjoys. There are plenty of other pizza options too, though the restaurant duo also specializes in fresh oysters and a tasty collection of tinned fish. Housemade pasta dishes and steaming bowls of mussels also steal the show at the LoHi spot.
For happy hour, Cart-Driver LoHi offers up Daisy pies for $10, which run $18 on the regular menu. Oysters cost $3.50 each, chicken liver mousse runs $9 and includes fresh rosemary focaccia, and $10 gets you a mini board with sardines, piada bread, seasonal compound butter, and sambal.
At the RiNo spot the happy hour is similar but split. For the afternoon deal, oysters run $3 each and chicken liver mousse is $8. Then for the late night happy hour you can get the Daisy pizza or sardines with bread for $8 each.
The Drinks
The Cart-Driver LoHi happy hour menu has a few simple drinks on special. Enjoy $8 glasses of prosecco on tap and $9 pours of the house red or white wine. The Messed Up Negroni with gin, vermouth, Campari, and prosecco costs $8, and is only on the happy hour list. You can also get the bartender’s choice cocktail for $8, and a Genesee tall boy for $3.50.
The Messed Up Negroni also appears on the RiNo 3 to 5 p.m. menu for $8, as well as prosecco for $8, and a can of Montucky Cold Snack for $3. During the 10 p.m. to midnight happy hour, you can get a draft beer and shot of Fernet for $8, or a dealer’s choice cocktail for $8. All dine-in only.
The Details
Head to Cart-Driver LoHi right when it opens at 4 p.m. for an hour-long happy hour every day of the week. Reservations are recommended, because even on a Monday the place was already packed by 4:30 p.m. For those in the RiNo area, you can enjoy discounts on food and drink every day from 3 to 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. to midnight. All deals are dine-in only.
Cart-Driver LoHi, 2239 W. 30th Ave., Denver; Cart-Driver RiNo, 2500 Larimer St., Suite 100, Denver, cart-driver.com
