Chuy's Tex-Mex Coming to Belmar

Chuy's, the Austin-based Tex-Mex restaurant with a cult following, plans to open a Belmar location later this year.

Negotiations have been ongoing for at least a year to bring the restaurant to 499 S. Vance Street, across from the Belmar Chick Fil-A. This is the corner lot that cuts into the parking garage attached to Whole Foods and Mile High Wine and Spirits, and it's fantastic to see it finally get developed.

I haven't seen any renderings of the planned structure, and Chuy's is known for giving each of their locations its own, unique look. Among the common design elements are shrines to Elvis and funky, vintage decor.

As far as the menu at Chuy's goes, it's standard Tex-Mex fare, gently influenced by a New Mexican focus on green chilis. As such, it doesn't represent anything particularly new to the culinary scene in the metro area, where "Colorado-Mex" already blends New Mexican, Mexican, and Tex-Mex flavors together. I've never eaten at a Chuy's, but reviews tend to mention the freshness of their ingredients and their housemade tortillas. Perhaps the most notable thing about the menu is the absence of green chili, by which I mean the green chili, tomato, and pork stew that tops nearly every burrito, tamale, and relleno served in Colorado. Instead, Chuy's goes with New Mexican green chili, which is a thinner sauce made from green chilis alone.

My favorite Tex-Mex joints in Denver are the Blue Bonnet, Benny's, and the Rio Grande. And although I don't eat at any of these restaurant all that often, all three are well worth the occasional crosstown drive. For me, I'm excited to see how Chuy's fits in. If the food and the atmosphere are at least as good, then Chuy's will be a great addition to downtown Lakewood.

CubeSmart Self-Storage Planned for 6206 W. Alameda Ave.

The defunct Asian buffet at 6206 W. Alameda Ave. may become a self-storage facility under a proposal currently before the Lakewood Planning Commission.

The plan calls for demolishing the current structure and replacing it with a multistory building with a masonry facade on the first floor and glass curtain walls and metal canopies on the upper floors. The building would house climate controlled storage units, as well as business center with private workstations and a shared conference room.

The building would have windows along Alameda, connecting the office space inside to the Alameda greenway. Parking would be along the side and back, while a masonry wall and landscaping would separate the development from neighboring residential areas.

Overall, this plan strikes me as a good one. This is a site that's peripheral to downtown Lakewood, and as such, isn't a good site for a restaurant. A self-storage center is useful to have nearby, but isn't going to generate a lot of traffic and disrupt neighboring residential areas. At the same time, it's a chance to replace an eyesore structure and parking lot with a building that follows current zoning and building codes, placing the building along Alameda in order to contribute to the overall streetscape, and requiring higher quality materials on the facade.