“On a late Tuesday afternoon this month, Welton Street Cafe in Five Points bustles with activity. Co-owner Fathima Dickerson answers calls for takeout orders while simultaneously greeting a steady stream of customers arriving to eat inside the dining room, which recently reopened in late July. In between the activity, she intently studies a book for her master’s thesis program.
Dickerson’s family has served Southern and Caribbean fare in Five Points since 1986, when her mother, Mona, founded the cafe at 2752 Welton Street (the restaurant moved to its current location in 1999). When pandemic-induced restrictions forced dining rooms to close across Colorado in 2020, the beloved institution battled many obstacles. Those included the failure to secure Paycheck Protection Program loans or other government funding, pivoting to a takeout-only model, and managing the needs of the community—all in addition to the ongoing challenges it faces, from increasing property values and rent in Five Points to the diminishing presence of Black businesses in the area due to gentrification.”
read the entire article
Kaowthumrong, Patricia. 5280 Magazine 17 August 2021.