Pancakes, mystery meats among options for bored Denver night owls
By B. Erin Cole
The Metropolitan
Never trust anyone who goes to bed before 3 a.m.
Long after the sun goes down, the late news signs off and most reasonable people settle in to sleep, thereās still some people who prefer to eat, drink, shop and be entertained at all hours of the night.
Luckily, Denver has many places that cater to night owls. Almost anything someone might want or need in the middle of the night is available, if one knows where to look.
Why?
There are as many reasons for staying up late as there are people who do it. Some do it because of their work schedules. Others suffer from insomnia. And many people keep awake at night just because they want to.
Whatever the reason, there are distinct advantages to doing things at night.
First off, nothingās ever crowded. Grocery stores are almost empty, except for a few employees stocking shelves around 4 a.m. Restaurants are less busy than usual late at night, except for the bar-closing rush around 2 a.m. Roads, interstates and gas stations: all almost devoid of human presence.
Night time is also the best time for those who like to be left alone. People who are up late at night tend to be the type who donāt ask any questions ÷ they donāt care who you are, where youāve been, or what youāre doing. Nothingās shocking at 4 in the morning.
Shopping
Grocery stores are the most common type of business open all night. Those needing emergency evening food items can find them easily, as almost all the major grocery chains (such as King Soopers, Safeway and Cub Foods) are open around the clock. Albertsons, unfortunately, doesnāt cater to the late late crowd, as all its stores close at 1 a.m.
Besides food, grocery stores also offer some other ways to amuse yourself late at night. You can have a contest among your friends to see who can find the most disturbing food item. Possible winners could include pigās feet, scrapple, or any jar of Gerber Veal for Infants (just think: babies ... eating babies).
Other late-night grocery store fun could include: catching up on your magazine reading, watching doughnuts being made and checking restrooms for cleanliness. And, if you have a fetish for watching people stock shelves, you can indulge that, too.
Several metro-area Walgreens are open all night as well. The stores located at 2000 E. Colfax Ave. and 1111 S. Colorado Blvd. are open whenever you need something crucial, like medicine (both stores offer a 24-hour prescription service) or something frivolous, like a neat new color of nail polish. While neither store is large enough to offer a large selection of most items, theyāre good places to find essentials such as office supplies, health care products, makeup and some groceries.
But if your late-night shopping dreams are much bigger than that, be prepared to drive. The Denver area is fortunate enough to have several ćhypermarts,ä but theyāre all located way, way out in the suburbs, where space is plentiful enough to accommodate such enormous stores.
A ćhypermartä is basically a grocery store and discount store rolled into one, which takes up about the same space as the two stores would separately. The sheer size of these stores, impressive enough in the daytime, are almost overwhelming at night. When youāre tired or out of it enough that merely comprehending your own hand is difficult, finding yourself in a hypermart is almost enough to break your psyche.
The most common Denver-area hypermarts are the three Kmart Super Centers, located at 9401 E. Arapahoe Rd. in Greenwood Village, 10555 W. Colfax Ave. in Lakewood and 1400 E. 104th Ave. in Thornton. There isnāt anything truly noteworthy about these stores, but theyāre handy and convenient, offering everything from doughnuts to dining-room furniture to diapers. If youāve ever felt fenced in by a regular-sized Kmart, this store is for you.
But the real crown jewel in the all-night shopping field is Biggās Hypermart, at 10001 Grant St. in Thornton. Biggās offers almost everything youāve ever wanted in a store: selection, good prices, and lots of weird and fun merchandise to look at, make fun of and buy as gifts for friends who only exist in your head.
An investigative trip to Biggās in the wee hours of Feb. 3 turned up such consumer gems as:
š lots of video tapes of long-forgotten cartoons and movies, only $1 apiece;
š many sad-looking tapes of third-rate Ī80s artists, 50 cents each;
š several mystery brands of South American yogurt drinks, and
š strange and unusual meats.
Biggās combines the best of several shopping worlds. While they not only have lots of stuff you do want, they also have lots of things you didnāt know existed. Learn and consume at the same time!
The really cool thing about shopping at Biggās late at night is that because itās so big and cavernous, you can be in there a long time without ever seeing another shopper or any employees.
This can inspire apocalyptic fantasies for those in the right state of mind. Being in an almost-empty part of Biggās at 3 a.m. can seem like The Day After. The world has come to an end, all the other consumers have died, and all this stuff is here for you. An American dream, if there ever was one.
Eating
After a hard few hours shopping, youāre going to be hungry. And fortunately for you, there are lots of 24-hour restaurants around, happy to fulfill your needs, especially if those needs include pancakes and fried foods.
Most of the major late-night restaurant chains have scads of locations throughout Denver. Try to drive down a major thoroughfare such as Federal or Colorado Boulevards without hitting at least one Dennyās, Village Inn, or Perkins.
Some of the lesser-known chains can be found if you look around, such as Shariās (home of the best cheap prime rib sandwich in the world), with locations in Northglenn, Parker and Westminster. International House of Pancakes has several metro-area locations as well, such as the one at 2001 E. Colfax Ave. While IHOP is good for the many types of pancake syrup they serve, toast lovers beware: it doesnāt come automatically with their breakfasts (itās extra).
If you want a late-night meal at a place with more character, try some of the local 24-hour institutions. The Denver Diner, located close to campus at 740 W. Colfax, is a good place to get enormous burritos, massive burgers many other types of foods on a grand scale. Remodeled a couple of years ago, the restaurant is clean, shiny and plays lots of Ī50s music, which you can scare others by singing along to.
The White Spot at 800 Broadway is your best bet if your idea of late-night fun includes being completely surrounded by the color orange. Its frightening early-70s decor will keep you awake, letting you fully enjoy the White Spotās excellent pancakes and wildly divergent clientele.
If you donāt scare easily, you could try Reeseās, at 1435 Curtis St. The best thing about Reeseās is that its interior eerily resembles an old Shakeyās pizza parlor. But try somewhere else first.
The best place to eat in Denver at all hours of the night is easily Jerusalem, at 1890 E. Evans Ave. Open until 4 a.m. on weeknights and 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays, this tiny restaurant serves up incredible Middle Eastern food to an always interesting mix of people. Hereās where you go when you want something cheap, fast and actually kind of healthy. Yes, they do have French fries (cryptically referred to on the menu as ćfried potatoä). Be prepared to wait when you get there, though.
Copying
Any list of Denver late-night spots wouldnāt be complete without a mention of Kinkoās (various metro locations, the closest to campus being at 1500 Blake St.). You can find everybody at Kinkoās late at night, doing everything from copying concert fliers and assembling zines to writing reports and videoconferencing.
Where else are you going to find glue sticks, note pads and scrap paper at 5 a.m.?
Some area Kinkoās (such as the one at 555 17th St.) have phones you can use for free. If you donāt have a phone, this is the place to be.
More Kinkoās fun includes going through the trash to see what other people have been copying.
Interesting items you can find there include secret legal forms, fliers for many scary events, notes for classes youāll never take, and such.
Driving
Late-night people like to roam. If you have a car, a full tank of gas and a lot of good tapes, there are several places you can make interesting evening excursions to.
Outlying towns, such as Idaho Springs or Castle Rock have some late-night attractions. Each has several 24-hour restaurants and Idaho Springs, especially, has way more gas stations than a town of its size should.
But the best place to drive to late at night is Cheyenne, Wyo. Just over an hourās drive away from downtown Denver, Cheyenne has lots of places for weary and curious travelers to stop. Because itās located at the junction of two major interstates (I-25 and I-80), there are enormous travel plazas at every exit.
The best of these is the Flying J Travel Plaza, located off I-25 at exit 7. Everything the modern driver needs is here: gas, auto supplies, cheesy knicknacks, pastries and more. There are showers for the grungy and a pizza stand for the hungry. If you go eat in the restaurant located within the building, youāll be treated to Trucker TV, where you can learn about various speedtraps, insurance services and other trucker news.
The Flying J Travel Plaza comes close to being a world in itself ÷ one where everyone wears wacky T-shirts, eats beef jerky and calls you ćHoney.ä
