The café at the north edge of Cheesman Park reopened this year. From the second week of October onward, the Botanic Gardens decide how long an evening there lasts. The Carriage House at 1290 Williams Street serves until about 6 p.m., with happy hour from 3 to 6 daily. On most nights between Oct. 9 and Oct. 31, Denver Botanic Gardens at York Street opens an after-dark program at 4:30 or 5:30 p.m. The café closes about when the Gardens open their gates. On an October weeknight, the piece that sets the schedule is a timed-entry ticket.
That's a different October than this corner had a year ago.
October 10, a Year Apart
Last fall, staff at the Secret Garden Bar & Café were told on Oct. 7 that the café would close for the season on Oct. 19. It closed on Friday, Oct. 10 instead, about half an hour after opening. The operator, City Street Investors, cited substantial financial losses. Either way, the park's only patio café was set to close before Halloween.
This year, Oct. 10 is a Ghosts in the Gardens night at York Street, running 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. The patio that used to be dark by mid-October is part of an evening that runs past 10.
The building has had more than one life. The Tears-McFarlane House dates to about 1899. The City of Denver bought it in 1977 and ran it as the Capitol Hill Community Center. Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods, the nonprofit known as CHUN, moved in in 2005 and took over the property in 2015. In 2021, CHUN and City Street Investors started the makeover that made the café possible.
What 1290 Williams Street Serves Before Six
The Carriage House opened on Aug. 6 under new ownership. Westword reported a line on the first day. The opening menu was built around "toastettes," thin toasted slices with toppings like whipped ricotta and pepper jam or crispy prosciutto with sun-dried tomato pesto. They were $4 each or three for $10 when Westword visited in August. Sandwiches included a jambon au beurre for $14 and a French onion grilled cheese for $13, and Black Box Bakery supplied the pastries.
The patio still carries a Best of Denver 2025 title it won as the Secret Garden: Best Place for Coffee in the Morning and Cocktails in the Afternoon. There's also a small market of snacks, spreads, cheese, drinks, and what the café calls "park-ready goods." On an October evening, that market matters more than the patio does.
Two details are still open:
- Opening hour. In August, Axios reported daily hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The café's website now lists "~7am to 6pm." It doesn't take reservations. Check before you plan a sunrise coffee around it.
- Phase two. The indoor café and full cocktail bar were supposed to open in September. Westword reported on Sept. 29 that the date had passed with no new one announced. The café's website still reads "Hard hats now. Highballs in the fall." Until that changes, plan on the 3-to-6 happy hour and the patio.
For now, the Carriage House is an afternoon place. The evening part happens at the Gardens.
The Gardens' October Calendar, Night by Night
From Oct. 9 to Oct. 31, York Street runs two ticketed evening programs on 15 different nights, and they never share a date.
| Date | Day | Program | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 9–10 | Fri–Sat | Ghosts in the Gardens | 5:30–10:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 15–18 | Thu–Sun | Glow at the Gardens | 5:30–9 p.m. |
| Oct. 20 | Tue | Ghosts in the Gardens | 5:30–10:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 21–24 | Wed–Sat | Glow at the Gardens | 5:30–9 p.m. |
| Oct. 28–30 | Wed–Fri | Ghosts in the Gardens | 4:30–10:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 31 | Sat | Ghosts in the Gardens | 4:30–9:15 p.m. |
The two programs work differently, and that changes how the rest of the evening fits around them.
Glow at the Gardens is the family one. Tickets are $37 for adults, $35 for seniors 65 and up, and $29 for kids 3 to 15. Members pay $34, $32, and $27, and children 2 and under get in free. The jack-o'-lanterns and big sculptures are carved from real, locally grown pumpkins. New this year, the route is split into three color-coded, one-way paths you can walk in any order. You have to walk all three to see the whole event. The Gardens says Glow sells out weeks ahead every year, and as of today, Oct. 3, opening night is 12 days away. Themed food and drinks are sold inside.
Ghosts in the Gardens is the grown-up one, open to ages 12 and up. Storytellers share staff and security-guard encounters and the history of a site once known as "The Boneyard." You can also step inside the Beaux-Arts Waring House. The tour is self-guided, takes about 90 minutes, and new stories start every 15 minutes. Masks and costumes aren't allowed. Tickets are $34, or $29 for members. Its smaller sibling, the Haunted History exclusive-access night, was Oct. 2 and sold out. The Gardens' former life as the Mount Prospect Cemetery gives the stories their material.
Building the Evening Around the Ticket
The Carriage House's last hour, 5 to 6 p.m., overlaps the Gardens' first hour on almost every one of those 15 nights. That means the entry time on your ticket decides where the café fits in.
A Glow night, Oct. 15–18 or 21–24:
- Get to the Carriage House patio a little after 3, when happy hour starts.
- Pick up a toastette trio or a sandwich there, since Glow doesn't open until 5:30.
- Choose a Glow entry time that leaves room for all three paths before the 9 p.m. close.
- If the kids get hungry again, the themed food inside covers it.
A Ghosts night, especially Oct. 28–30:
- Doors open at 4:30 on these late-October dates, so a later entry time gives you a longer stop at the café.
- Leave the patio by 6, when the café closes.
- Plan for the 90-minute tour, with stories starting every 15 minutes. These nights run until 10:30, so you can come back to the neighborhood for a late dinner.
- On Oct. 31, Ghosts ends earlier, at 9:15 p.m., and the no-costume rule still applies on Halloween night.
There's also a daytime option on Saturday, Oct. 17. The Gardens' Skulls and Spooky Succulents workshop runs 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and costs $59, or $56 for members. That evening is a Glow night, so it's the one date this month when the Gardens has programming at both ends of the day.
November Moves the Clock Earlier
After Oct. 31, the evening calendar pauses until Friday, Nov. 20, when Blossoms of Light opens. It runs 4:30 to 9 p.m. through Jan. 10 and is closed on Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, and on Christmas Day. Tickets are sold in advance only, with no sales at the door, and prices are still listed as TBA. With a 4:30 opening, the Gardens start about 90 minutes before the Carriage House closes, so the café-then-Gardens evening still works on Blossoms nights.
The day after Blossoms opens, on Saturday, Nov. 21, the Gardens holds Math in Bloom Presents Fibonacci Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Its drop-in activities are included with general admission.
Two more openings are expected in November. Both are forecasts, not confirmed dates:
- Holm is a bistro from the team behind Beckon and Major Tom, going into the former Table 6 space at 609 Corona Street. Its menu is meant to change with the seasons and use produce from the group's Lakewood farm. The Denver Post reported in August that the owners hoped to open in October. Westword's Sept. 29 update moved the target to November.
- Black Box Cafe, the bakery behind the Carriage House pastries, is building a sit-down café in the former Suzette space at 5901 W. 25th Ave. in Edgewater. The plans include house-baked challah sandwiches and ice cream by the pint, with a November opening expected.
None of the sources say whether the Carriage House will stay open through the winter or close for a season the way the Secret Garden planned to. Phase two's indoor seating would make a winter season possible, and the café has promised it "this fall." For now, the patio is open, happy hour runs until 6, and Glow opens in 12 days.
Whether you're picking up toastettes before a Glow night or wondering how the reopened Carriage House and a busier Gardens calendar might change homes near Cheesman Park, The All Star Team can help, in English or Spanish. Get your free home valuation and local market plan.
