Most new bars on a main street have to win you over with their food. Triple One Public House at 111 N. Public Road doesn't have a full kitchen. Its owners invite you to bring your own dinner or order takeout from "one of the many great restaurants surrounding us." That only works on a block where the restaurants are close by and easy to order from. Old-town Lafayette's Public Road is that kind of block, and this fall's changes point the same way. New businesses are setting up to share the street with what's already there, and the city's biggest decision on Public Road this year chose a business that wants room for community gatherings.
Triple One's Lafayette Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting is tomorrow, Friday, November 6, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. So it's a good week to walk the street.
A pub that leaves the cooking to the neighbors
Cathy and Jeff Brown live in nearby Louisville. They first got to know Lafayette when Cathy, an immigration attorney, needed office space, and they bought the building at 111 N. Public Road in 2014. More than a decade later, part of that building is a pub. It pours Colorado craft beer, wine, cider, and canned cocktails, has several large TVs for games, and keeps classic board games on hand. Its FAQ says it carries basic food and snacks and points you to each nearby restaurant's own takeout or delivery options for anything more.
The opening was low-key. Boulder Reporting Lab's food newsletter listed Triple One as open in its fall roundup, ahead of the formal ribbon-cutting. The posted hours on the pub's website are:
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday to Thursday | 4 to 9 p.m. |
| Friday | 4 to 10 p.m. |
| Saturday | 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Sunday | 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| Happy hour, daily | 4 to 6 p.m. |
The Mug Club shows the pub is aiming for regulars, not a one-time crowd. Membership costs $60 a year, and signups open January 1. Members get a 20-ounce pour at the happy hour price, or a 10-ounce pour and $1 off for high-ABV beers usually served in a 10-ounce glass, and the club is capped at 65 people, with existing members first in line to renew. With that cap, 2027 signups are worth putting on the calendar now if you plan to be a Friday-night regular.
What's within carrying distance
A pub without a full kitchen depends on what's within a short walk. Going by street number from Triple One:
- Teocalli Cocina, 103 N. Public Road, Unit C. Its Lafayette page links straight to online ordering. Grant Hopfenspirger opened it in 2019 as his first location, and he has since added locations in Arvada, Longmont and Denver, the Daily Camera reported.
- William Oliver's Publick House, 201 N. Public Road. Its site has an online-ordering link.
- Remi's Cajun Creole Cafe, 211 N. Public Road. It opened this summer under owner Dara Sanchez-Mack, who has 15 years in hospitality, with Colorado native Napoleon Lewis running the kitchen, according to Axios Boulder. The menu includes gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish étouffée, shrimp and grits, po'boys and muffulettas, and the cafe also has cocktails and live music.
Farther south, The Vaughn is serving burgers and cocktails at 206 S. Public Road, where Community used to be, per the same Boulder Reporting Lab roundup. So within a few minutes' walk, a po'boy from Remi's or a takeout order from Teocalli can end up at a Triple One table, and both of this fall's food-and-drink openings on Public Road add to that mix.
The bank building, and a bookstore that needs room
Across from the new pub and restaurants is the biggest open question on the street. The city of Lafayette owns the former Chase Bank building at 200 N. Public Road, at the corner of Geneseo Street. It has been vacant since 2024. The Daily Camera reported that the city was looking at a roughly $2.6 million price tag for the building and the 35-space parking lot next door at 108 N. Public Road. City staff called the building a "strategic purchase" for bringing in a business that generates sales tax. The parking lot stays city property, available for public use and for community activities like the Lafayette Farmers Market and seasonal pop-ups.
The city got three proposals for the nearly 9,000-square-foot building, which was offered at $1.6 million:
- Teocalli Cocina's Grant Hopfenspirger proposed a community restaurant and beer garden.
- The Arts Hub and Urban West Group proposed splitting the building into four uses: a restaurant and bar, two local retail spaces, and a below-ground black box theater and gallery for The Arts Hub.
- The Read Queen Bookstore & Cafe proposed moving there from its current spot at 129 N. Harrison Ave.
About 1,800 people answered the city's survey on the proposals, and The Read Queen got the most support, Colorado Hometown Weekly reported. Barbra Huntting and Deirdre Appelhans opened the bookstore during the pandemic. When Huntting addressed the city council, she said the business had outgrown its space and described what it lacks room for:
"We try to hold these events, these gatherings, these book clubs and programming, but we just don't have the space for it right now. We're bursting at the seams, basically."
In the same report, Lafayette Economic Development Director Brigid Keating said the proposal would reuse an existing building while helping a local business grow. Kurt Munding, who owns the building The Read Queen rents now, spoke in favor of the move and called the owners "our favorite tenant we've ever had."
The deal isn't done. On August 4, 2026, the council authorized staff to start negotiating with The Read Queen. The city's Lafayette Listens project page describes a flagship store with more retail, community event space and outdoor gathering areas. It says staff will bring a purchase and sale agreement back to council "this fall." The council's October 20 meeting covered other business. Until that agreement reaches a council agenda, the corner of Public and Geneseo is still a vacant bank with a plan attached.
With the bank, the city could have taken the more obvious sales-tax route of another restaurant. Instead, the proposal that won public support and moved to negotiations was the one that adds the most room for gatherings to the block. That fits with a pub that sends its customers next door for dinner.
Through Sunday at The Collective
On the same stretch, The Collective Community Arts Center is hosting the city's annual Día de los Muertos exhibit, "Arcos y Portales," through Sunday, November 8, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The show includes work by Arlette Lucero, Jesus Sales, Michelle Sepulveda and Lida Penkova, plus students from Justice High School and Centaurus High School. Visitors can add to the community ofrendas honoring loved ones who have died. The city's event page has the details.
A few more November dates nearby, from the Lafayette Chamber calendar and the city's own listings:
- November 12, 5:45 to 8:30 p.m. A screening of "Beyond Zero" at The Arts Hub.
- November 13, 7:30 to 9 p.m. Violinist Bade Dastan and pianist Mark Livshits at the Center for Musical Arts.
- November 17, 6 to 7:30 p.m. "Tune into Nature: Pint-Size Predators and Perky Little Pollinators" at Lafayette Library.
One more off the main drag
Not every new spot is on Public Road. Marc Gacy and Sonja Toutenhoofd opened Pegasus Coffeehouse in mid-October at 1280 Centaur Village Drive, in the former MeCo Coffee Collective space within walking distance of Waneka Lake, the Daily Camera reported. The couple spotted the empty shop on a walk from their home a few blocks away and opened less than six months later. They planned to move past their soft opening in the following weeks. The shop serves Novo Coffee with locally supplied baked goods and burritos. It's a good stop before or after a lap around Waneka Lake.
We'll keep watching for the 200 N. Public Road agreement on a council agenda this fall. If you have questions about how changes on old-town Lafayette's main street could affect your own block, or you just want to share your favorite takeout to bring to Triple One, The Margolis Team would love to hear from you. Contact us anytime.
