A Denver Chinese restaurant is set to expand its footprint later this year.
MAKfam, co-founded by Doris Yuen and Kenneth Wan, is set to open a second, larger location on Walnut Street in Denver’s North Art District, according to The Denver Business Journal.
What began as a New York City pop-up evolved into a Denver food hall concept and eventually grew into a flagship restaurant at 39 W. 1st Ave.
Unlike the original location’s hybrid counter-and table-service model, the new space will feature a full dining room and bar, along with reservations. The expanded footprint will also give the team room to experiment with new dishes and cocktails.
The fast-casual restaurant serves traditional-inspired Chinese dishes, drawing on the owners’ Chinese American roots. Both founders were raised in immigrant families with backgrounds in the restaurant industry. MAKfam has also earned recognition from the Michelin Guide and the James Beard Foundation.
MAKfam’s menu includes small bites such as dumplings and bao, along with lunch sandwiches like steak and egg jian bing and tofu and tomato jian bing. Larger plates feature fried rice, tofu noodles, beef stir-fry noodles and Hong Kong-style curry.
A happy hour menu is available Monday through Friday from 2 to 5 p.m., featuring a limited selection including fried chicken and chive dumplings, mala sticky fries, ginger scallion noodles and the MAKchicken sandwich. Half-price bottles of wine, beer, specialty cocktails and the Chinese Boilermaker round out the offerings.
While an official opening date hasn’t been set, the team is targeting a fourth-quarter 2026 debut. Be sure to check the MAKfam website and follow along on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news and updates.
What Now Denver reached out to the team. This article may be updated.
