Fresh Thymes to end dine-in services after a decade in Boulder

BOULDER — Fresh Thymes, a gluten-free and ingredient-conscious restaurant, on 30th Street in Boulder, plans to cease dine-in operations in the near future.

The restaurant, which opened in 2013, plans to continue offering catering services and operating Bodega, its grab-and-go concept next door to Fresh Thymes. 

Owner Christine Ruch said in a statement that the decision to stop dine-in service came as result of “the rising costs of food, staffing challenges, and an increasingly difficult environment for small businesses in Boulder.”

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The impending move has left Ruch “heartbroken,” but “the financials just don’t make sense anymore,” she said. 

“Over the years, we’ve built a lot of brand equity as one of the few restaurants left in Boulder that is cooking for the community with a healthy lifestyle in mind,” Ruch said. “This is my entire life’s dream, and I’m heartbroken that we can’t continue to serve our customers in the same way we have for years.”

Bodega opened in May as a healthier twist on the classic urban corner store concept.

Ruch told BizWest this spring that her goal for the new establishment is to “reinvent the idea of a neighborhood bodega where you can stop in for groceries or a quick cup of coffee or essential items for the kitchen.”

Fresh Thymes’ operators are by no means the first this year to cite rising costs and the difficulty of operating a small business in Boulder as reasons for closure.

Rosenberg’s Bagels & Delicatessen, a popular eatery with locations in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood and in Aurora’s Stanley Marketplace, closed its University Hill outpost in October after little more than a year in business. A month later, Lady Pizza’s closed its University Hill eatery after nearly a decade in business.