Hop Alley

Denver, CO, United States

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Hop Alley

Denver, CO, United States

Firm

Nguyen Lawrence

Type

Hospitality + Sport › Restaurant

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2015

SIZE

1000 sqft - 3000 sqft

Hop Alley is a 58-seat, modern Chinese restaurant in the River North neighborhood of Denver, CO. It has been named Westword's Best New Restaurant, Eater Denver's Restaurant of the Year, and 5280 Magazine's #1 Restaurant for 2016.
The impetus for the design was a desire to retain the existing building structure, -which is of some signifiicance to Denver’s Chinese-American and Japanese-American history- as a part of the dining experience. The rough-plastered exterior walls and exposed wooden roof trusses are juxtaposed against with a refined shou sugi ban (charred cedar) kitchen “box” that sits in the center of the space with the roof structure floating above it. The bar is designed to feel like a side alley next to the kitchen box and is lit with strings of outdoor market lights.
The material palette of charred cedar, hot rolled steel, black-painted walls, and concrete countertops rely on subtle changes in texture for contrast, and are complemented by a custom chandelier made of red market lights imported
from Hong Kong (the owner spent significant time in his childhood in Hong Kong walking these markets and the cheap red plastic shades have personal significance for him. White chairs and cherry table tops help to warm up the space. In the bathrooms, a bronze faucet and mirror are complemented with a custom concrete sink, and black hex penny tile floors and walls.