Entry No. 111 — the Denver file — filed under: mexican
Garibaldi Mexican Bistro
Yes, the good Mexico City street food is inside the Conoco station next to an automated car wash on South Broadway. Locals fly past it doing 40; the ones who pull in get huaraches, pambazos, tlayudas, whole stuffed nopales and quekas (oversized masa quesadillas) you basically can't find anywhere else in metro Denver. It famously won Westword's 'Best Restaurant With a View of a Car Wash,' which tells you everything about the vibe. Survived a tax seizure and quietly reopened in 2025 — order the tlayuda and don't overthink the gas pumps.
The story
If you aren't paying attention, you'll drive right past 3298 South Broadway assuming it's just another place to top off your tank or run your car through a touchless wash [1.1.2]. Garibaldi Mexican Bistro doesn't sit behind the gas station or share an alley with it; it operates entirely inside the Conoco convenience store at South Broadway and Floyd Avenue. Founded in 2015 by Jesus Cruz and his family, the kitchen tucked behind the convenience store shelves began churning out regional Mexico City specialties virtually absent from the rest of metro Denver—think sandal-shaped huaraches, whole stuffed nopales, oversized masa quekas, and sauce-drenched pambazos.
The absurd setup earned them Westword’s 2017 'Best Restaurant With a View of a Car Wash' award, but operating inside a gas station didn't shield them from municipal financial realities. In June 2025, right on the week of its tenth anniversary, the City of Englewood seized the venue over roughly $70,000 in back sales taxes and taped a bright yellow seizure notice to the glass doors. After swift negotiations, a structured repayment plan with the city, and personal loans, Cruz retrieved the keys and reopened the kitchen just two weeks later.
What keeps locals quietly returning isn't just the novelty of eating Aztec-inspired dishes steps away from motor oil displays. The kitchen refuses to dumb down its menu for convenience-store commuters: tlayudas are cooked crisp and piled high, torta bread is thoroughly submerged in guajillo chili sauce for proper pambazos, and fresh cactus pads are grilled whole and stuffed with melted cheese. You didn't hear it from us, but eating elite Mexico City street food next to a humming automatic car wash bay is easily one of Englewood's finest oddities.
What it's like
You'll miss it on your first pass if you're looking for a standalone restaurant—your GPS drops you right at the gas pumps. Pull into the Conoco lot off Floyd Avenue or snag a side-street spot, bypass pump 3, and walk straight through the main convenience store doors. The kitchen occupies the back corner with a handful of small tables next to the window facing the automated car wash bay, plus a small back room for groups. Table seating is tight and fills up fast, so grab a seat before stepping up to the counter to place your order. Weekdays and early afternoons run quietest; order a tlayuda and a pambazo, grab a cup of horchata to-go, and watch the soapy brushes scrub sedans through the glass window.
The move: Split a tlayuda and a couple of pambazos at the counter, then take horchata to-go and watch the car wash do its thing through the window — it's gloriously unromantic, which is the joke you're both in on.
📍 Before you go You're looking for it inside the Conoco at S Broadway and Floyd, not a separate storefront — the entrance is past the gas pumps (roughly by pump 3), so don't second-guess your GPS when it drops you at a fuel station. Park in the small lot off Floyd or grab street parking on the side streets. Seating is tight, with a little back room for groups; you pick a table, then order at the counter. Weekdays and early afternoons run calmest. It's a quick walk into the rest of Englewood's South Broadway strip of antique shops and dive bars if you want to make a night of it. Hours shift seasonally — check ahead.
- 📍 Englewood
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 3298 S Broadway, Unit B, Englewood, CO 80120 (inside / under the awning of the Conoco gas station, next to the automated car wash)
Hours: Approx. Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-4pm (per current listings; reopened June 2025 — confirm before a special trip).
Pair it with
- Sold Out Vinyl Records — After filling up on tlayudas, head six blocks down South Broadway to dig through crate after crate at Westword's pick for best suburban record shop.
- HORRID — Trade the smell of gasoline and masa for gothic horror apparel and oddities just a short drive north down Acoma Street.
- Fifty-Two 80s: A Totally Awesome Shop — Follow up your gas station lunch with a trip through thousands of 1980s toys and retro pop-culture relics further up Broadway.
- Spectra Art Space — Pair your car-wash-view feast with a stroll through handmade, walk-through immersive art worlds at this women-run gallery up South Broadway.
Good to know
Where exactly inside the gas station is the restaurant located?
It sits directly inside the Conoco convenience store at South Broadway and Floyd Avenue [1.1.1]. Enter through the main store doors past pump 3, and you will find the ordering counter and seating area set up in the back corner.
Why was Garibaldi temporarily closed in June 2025?
The City of Englewood seized the venue during its tenth anniversary week over approximately $70,000 in unpaid municipal sales taxes. Owner Jesus Cruz negotiated a lowered payment agreement with city officials and secured personal loans to reopen later that month.
How does ordering work when seating is limited?
It operates as casual counter service. Because seating is tight, pick an open table near the car wash window or in the small back room first, then step up to the counter to order and pay.
What menu items are hardest to find elsewhere in metro Denver?
Focus on their authentic Mexico City street food items: pambazos (guajillo-soaked tortas), whole stuffed nopales (cactus pads), tlayudas, and oversized masa quekas.
Where should I park when visiting?
Avoid parking at active gas pumps unless you are fueling up. Park in the small convenience store lot off Floyd Avenue or grab street parking on the surrounding residential blocks.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Westword · Yelp · Reddit
last checked: 2026-06-07