Entry No. 12 — the Denver file — filed under: restaurant
Welton Street Cafe
The Dickerson family has been feeding Five Points since 1986, and Welton Street Cafe is the last Black-owned restaurant standing from a stretch that once held barbers, hat shops, and shoe-repair joints. The menu is soul food with a US Virgin Islands accent — fried bread, patés, jerk, honey hot wings — because that's where the family came from before Denver. After being forced out of its longtime 2736 Welton spot in 2022, it reopened at 2883 Welton in late 2024 with a full bar and double the room. Locals treat it as a quiet point of pride they'd rather not see overrun.
The story
Five Points used to be packed with Black-owned barbershops, hat makers, and shoe repair joints, but as gentrification reshaped the neighborhood, those storefronts vanished one by one. Welton Street Cafe is the last Black-owned dining room standing from that era [SOURCE DATA]. Flynn and Mona Dickerson arrived in Colorado from the U.S. Virgin Islands in the 1970s and started feeding Five Points back in 1986, eventually opening their flagship dining room at 2736 Welton Street in 1999. They built a menu that anchors classic Southern soul food with Caribbean roots—a tight family operation run alongside four of their adult children, Fathima, Fathim, Chereka, and Cenya.
When lease issues and mounting repair costs forced the cafe out of its 2736 Welton address in 2022 after 23 years, locals refused to let the institution die. The community raised funds to keep the family on the block, allowing them to reopen in late 2024 just down the street at 2883 Welton. The upgrade doubled their floor space and added a full bar, but the kitchen hasn't compromised: fried catfish, collard greens, and mac & cheese sit side by side with fried bread, jerk, and flaky, meat-stuffed pâtés cooked straight from the Dickersons' island heritage.
What it's like
Step off the RTD L Line light rail right at the corner of 29th and Welton, or grab street parking nearby and head into the brighter, roomier 2883 space [SOURCE DATA]—just make sure your GPS isn't taking you to the old building a block away [SOURCE DATA]. The dining room fills up with locals who treat the place like an extension of their own living rooms [SOURCE DATA], so prepare for a warm, unhurried pace [SOURCE DATA]. Order a round from the full bar [SOURCE DATA], split an order of flaky beef pâtés and fried bread, and settle in for plates of honey hot wings or fried catfish. You'll leave stuffed enough to need an immediate nap, which is entirely the point.
The move: Split the fried bread and patés, get the honey hot wings, and grab a drink at the new full bar — easy, warm, low-stakes dinner with actual history baked into the room.
📍 Before you go You'll find it on the corner of Welton and 29th, in the heart of historic Five Points — Denver's old jazz district, so getting there is half the fun. The RTD L Line light rail runs straight down Welton Street, and there's usually street parking along Welton and 29th if you drive. This is the 2883 address (the late-2024 spot), not the old 2736 one, so trust newer signage. It's closed a couple of weekdays — commonly early in the week — so it's a safer bet later in the week; days shift, so check ahead. Weekend lunch and dinner draw locals, who treat it as theirs, so come hungry and unhurried. Pair it with a stroll past the neighborhood's restored jazz-era buildings.
- 📍 Five Points
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 2883 Welton St, Denver, CO 80205
Hours: Lunch and dinner; closed some weekdays (commonly Mon-Tue) — verify current days on their site before going.
Pair it with
- Black American West Museum & Heritage Center — Walk two blocks down California Street to tour the Victorian home detailing the story of Black cowboys before sitting down for a meal.
- Alchemy Ritual Goods — Pop into this BIPOC- and women-founded ritual shop inside the historic Savoy building around the corner after lunch.
- Cassady's — Neal Cassady's Barbershop Site, 2558 Champa St. — Stroll three blocks over to Champa Street to see the tiny, preserved 400-square-foot footprint of Beat icon Neal Cassady's old barbershop hang.
- Dateline Gallery — Head four blocks north into RiNo to pair historic Five Points culture with deliberate DIY contemporary art at Dateline.
Good to know
Where is the new location of Welton Street Cafe?
It is located at 2883 Welton St, right on the corner of 29th Street in Five Points [SOURCE DATA]. Do not go to 2736 Welton St, which closed in 2022.
What kind of food does the cafe serve?
It serves classic Southern soul food infused with U.S. Virgin Islands flavors—including fried catfish, collard greens, mac & cheese, island-style pâtés, jerk, fried bread, and honey hot wings.
What days is Welton Street Cafe open?
They serve lunch and dinner but are closed early in the week (commonly Mondays and Tuesdays) [SOURCE DATA]. Check their official website before heading out as operating days can shift [SOURCE DATA].
How can I get there using public transit?
The RTD L Line light rail runs directly along Welton Street and drops off right in historic Five Points steps from the restaurant [SOURCE DATA].
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: 5280 · Westword · Official site · 9news.com · red.msudenver.edu
last checked: 2026-06-07