What if your next taco or noodle bowl didn’t just fill you up, but helped fill a need in the community, too? Across Colorado, a handful of restaurants are doing just that—turning every order into an opportunity to give back.
Start in LoHi at Avanti Food & Beverage, where the food hall’s sleek renovation isn’t the only thing worth noting. Behind those seven stalls and two patios is a mission-driven model: Every meal supports local nonprofits like CHOW, which helps hospitality workers facing burnout, and Protect Our Rivers, which organizes cleanups and education efforts.
Craving wings? Fire on the Mountain, with locations in Highlands and Wash Park, has donated over $750,000 to local causes— from school lunch programs to sustainability nonprofits like We Don’t Waste and Colorado Wildlands Project. That’s some spicy generosity.
In RiNo, Mecha Noodle Bar goes even deeper. Its nonprofit arm, Eat Justice, has been fighting for equity in the food industry since 2015, raising more than $200,000 during the pandemic to support staff, healthcare access, and food drives. Slurp with pride.
Down in Englewood, Café 180 runs on a pay-what-you-can model—and it works. The team has served more than 200,000 meals and funnels 100% of profits right back into the community.
And let’s not forget Santiago’s, the burrito behemoth with outposts across the metro area. Each year, they pick a nonprofit to support—and this year is KIND, which supports kids with health-related conditions. Last year’s annual golf tournament raised over $450,000 for the Anchor Center. That’s a breakfast burrito with serious muscle.
