Northwest Arvada Gets a New Barbeque Restaurant in the Village of Five Parks

The city of Arvada has grown immensely over the last few years — from 2010 to 2020 the population has risen over 15% – and with more people moving from the city to the suburbs, locales like Arvada are in need of more restaurants. Especially in the northwestern part of the city, good restaurants are few and far between. Filling that void, Lot Que brings a much-needed dose of flavor, thoughtful barbeque, eclectic sides and a downtown feel to the quaint Village of Five Parks.

Lot Que Arvada

Photo by Brandon Johnson

Josh Timon moved to the Village of Five Parks about 20 years ago – that’s when he recognized the need for a restaurant. “We would always have to drive to Boulder or Louisville to get to any good restaurants. Even Olde Town is a 20-minute drive from here,” he said. Emboldened by the idea, Timon and his neighbor — Jaime Miles — began talking about opening a restaurant in one of the empty lots in the neighborhood. The lot had been sitting vacant for 20 years and was originally intended to be a daycare. Miles ended up purchasing the lot and plans for a restaurant started coming to fruition. “He wanted to live in the suburbs but have an urban feel,” said Timon of the building’s design.

The location feels like a downtown neighborhood completed by a park and buildings with businesses below and residences above. It’s not unlike the Highland neighborhood, with a slightly different clientele. “We needed to appeal to the demographic here. It’s ladies’ nights, post-golf drinks, date nights, families getting a bite to eat,” explained Timon.

As businessmen at heart, Miles and Timon were inspired by the investment strategy of a friend and fellow restaurateur in Dallas and used a similar strategy to open their first restaurant — Lot One. The investment strategy allows people in the community to purchase shares in the restaurant and get returns each year. Timon and Miles used the same strategy to open Lot Que. “98% of our investors live within three miles of the building. This community built these two restaurants and are the reason we were able to thrive during the pandemic” said Timon.

Josh Timon

Josh Timon, photo by Brandon Johnson

While Lot One is a gastropub with salads, burgers, bowls, grilled entrees and craft cocktails, Lot Que is strictly barbeque. “We knew we wanted another food concept in the area and during COVID we thought about food concepts that would do well for takeout,” explained Timon. The barbeque concept was a natural fit due to Timon’s passion for smoking meat at home and Lot One’s chef’s barbeque experience in Kansas City. “Barbeque is very personal and probably very religious depending on where you grew up. Colorado doesn’t have a style yet so we wanted to appeal to all the styles out there,” said Timon.

From the Texas-style brisket to the Kansas City-style spare ribs and sauces inspired by the flavors of the South, Lot Que appeals to all meat-lovers. The sides at Lot Que even stand out amongst the sea of bland coleslaws and potato salads at most barbeque restaurants. “We take average sides and turn them up a notch,” said Timon. The sweet potato cornbread is moist and sweet yet won’t crumble as you eat it, the ranch slaw has a kick of spice and isn’t overly saucy and both the bacon mac and cheese and the hashbrown casserole are delicious on their own.

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The benefit of both Lot One and Lot Que being in the same building is that you can order a cocktail, beer or glass of wine from Lot One and take it to-go or drink it at Lot Que and vice versa with food. That makes it convenient when you want brisket and your partner wants a salad. Lot Que also serves ice cream from High Point Creamery for a sweet and cool dessert after your meal or to enjoy while you listen to the live music that plays every Tuesday and Wednesday night behind the building.

The opening of Lot Que marks just the second of Timon and Miles’ growing family of restaurants. Keep your eye out for more from the two in the future and follow along on their journey on Instagram.

Lot Que is located at 13730 W. 85th Dr. Unit 103, Arvada. Open Tuesday – Thursday 11 a.m.- 9 p.m., Friday 11 a.m.- 10 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.- 10 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m.- 9 p.m.

All photography by Brandon Johnson.