Lillian Cho and Tim Lu, a pastry chef and chef married duo who co-own Noisette, sit for a portrait in the restaurant and patisserie in Denver, Colorado on Friday, August 19, 2022. The couple announced the restaurant would be closing in June. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
Noisette will soon close its doors in LoHi.
The French bakery and fine dining spot, which opened in 2022 at 3254 Navajo St., fell victim to rising costs and economic uncertainty, according to its owners.
“I think it’s what a lot of people are experiencing,” said pastry chef Lillian Cho, who owns the restaurant with her husband Tim Lu. “Inflation and the threat of tariffs and just general fear that the public has. They don’t have a lotta confidence in where we’re going.”
Patrons can still enjoy Noisette’s signature duck breast and fresh cooked baguettes, which Cho said are often compared to loaves actually made in France, through June 14, its last day of service.
“The focus is trying to get more people in here and go out with a bang,” she said.
With China-sourced caviar and European cheeses and wines on the menu, the looming threat of import charges weighed on her and her customers’ minds. Though Noisette only saw some rising costs from that, inflation from the years prior brought up the price tag of most items.
Cho also said Denver’s hourly minimum wage, which sits at $18.81 for non-tipped workers and $15.79 for tipped workers, was another issue to contend with.
“Since we’ve opened, (the minimum wage) increased over $3 an hour per person. That’s been a huge challenge for us,” she said. “We definitely believe that it’s the right thing to do, but at the same time it puts a lot of the burden on us.”
The couple had been thinking about closing Noisette since mid-March, when she said things “dropped off.” Though the first and second years for Noisette were pretty strong, Cho said things grew more volatile a little over a year ago.
“(It started) after March last year. We participated in restaurant week, but at that time inflation was a big issue,” she said. “Pretty much for the past year and couple months we’ve been struggling. It’s been really up and down… there was no stability.”
After a decade in New York City restaurants, Cho and her husband Tim Lu moved to Denver in 2018. Cho mans the bakery in the mornings while Lu helms the fine dining from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Noisette also serves a Sunday brunch and sandwiches during the day on Saturday.
She hopes that the last few weeks in the 2,600-square-foot space will be bustling for her, her husband and their 18-person staff.
“We just want to make sure (our employees) move onto someplace where they have more stability than they had here. We’d have to cut people sometimes,” she said. “We really love our staff, and we’re really focusing on making this a good close for them.”
This isn’t the only LoHi French spot to close in recent weeks.
Jacques, the second concept from Basserie Brixton chef Nick Dalton, closed earlier this month at 3200 Tejon St. The Denver Post reported that Dalton and fellow owner Simon Rochez are looking to find a buyer for the casual joint, which opened in October.
Lillian Cho and Tim Lu, a pastry chef and chef married duo who co-own Noisette, sit for a portrait in the restaurant and patisserie in Denver, Colorado on Friday, August 19, 2022. The couple announced the restaurant would be closing in June. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
Noisette will soon close its doors in LoHi.
The French bakery and fine dining spot, which opened in 2022 at 3254 Navajo St., fell victim to rising costs and economic uncertainty, according to its owners.
“I think it’s what a lot of people are experiencing,” said pastry chef Lillian Cho, who owns the restaurant with her husband Tim Lu. “Inflation and the threat of tariffs and just general fear that the public has. They don’t have a lotta confidence in where we’re going.”
Patrons can still enjoy Noisette’s signature duck breast and fresh cooked baguettes, which Cho said are often compared to loaves actually made in France, through June 14, its last day of service.
“The focus is trying to get more people in here and go out with a bang,” she said.
With China-sourced caviar and European cheeses and wines on the menu, the looming threat of import charges weighed on her and her customers’ minds. Though Noisette only saw some rising costs from that, inflation from the years prior brought up the price tag of most items.
Cho also said Denver’s hourly minimum wage, which sits at $18.81 for non-tipped workers and $15.79 for tipped workers, was another issue to contend with.
“Since we’ve opened, (the minimum wage) increased over $3 an hour per person. That’s been a huge challenge for us,” she said. “We definitely believe that it’s the right thing to do, but at the same time it puts a lot of the burden on us.”
The couple had been thinking about closing Noisette since mid-March, when she said things “dropped off.” Though the first and second years for Noisette were pretty strong, Cho said things grew more volatile a little over a year ago.
“(It started) after March last year. We participated in restaurant week, but at that time inflation was a big issue,” she said. “Pretty much for the past year and couple months we’ve been struggling. It’s been really up and down… there was no stability.”
After a decade in New York City restaurants, Cho and her husband Tim Lu moved to Denver in 2018. Cho mans the bakery in the mornings while Lu helms the fine dining from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Noisette also serves a Sunday brunch and sandwiches during the day on Saturday.
She hopes that the last few weeks in the 2,600-square-foot space will be bustling for her, her husband and their 18-person staff.
“We just want to make sure (our employees) move onto someplace where they have more stability than they had here. We’d have to cut people sometimes,” she said. “We really love our staff, and we’re really focusing on making this a good close for them.”
This isn’t the only LoHi French spot to close in recent weeks.
Jacques, the second concept from Basserie Brixton chef Nick Dalton, closed earlier this month at 3200 Tejon St. The Denver Post reported that Dalton and fellow owner Simon Rochez are looking to find a buyer for the casual joint, which opened in October.
