A little over a year ago, the big box at The Gardens on Havana sold paint, hinges and furnace filters. The ACE Hardware there gave Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, as its expected last day, according to a notice from On Havana Street, the corridor's business improvement district. In early October 2026, the same building at 1150 S. Ironton St. had a line outside. Inside, shoppers were shaking collectible mystery boxes and picking up melon-flavored sodas.
Most of what changed on South Havana Street this fall followed that pattern. Hardly anything went up on empty land. A grocery became a different grocery, a burger counter became a chicken counter, and a convenience store became a coffee shop. If you want to find what's new, start with the old names you still use for directions. The time each building sat empty mostly depended on how far its new use was from its old one.
The Old ACE Is Now TESO Life
TESO Life opened its first Colorado department store in the old ACE space. The grand-opening weekend ran Oct. 2 to 4, and The Denver Post reported that the store went viral on social media and drew long lines. The store sells Asian beauty products, snacks, home goods, toys, stationery and pet supplies. A spokesperson for New York-based TESO Group told the Post, "Our Aurora location is one of our biggest yet." The store is about 25,000 square feet, which the company says is nearly twice the size of most of its other locations.
The Post also reported that a store employee said a whole shelf of Sonny Angel and Smiski blind boxes had sold out. A hardware store gets one trip when something breaks. A store built around collectibles and snacks gets repeat visits.
TESO also joins established neighbors. The same Post story lists Daiso, H Mart, TOUS les JOURS, Chaton Bakery, Ebisu Japanese Lifestyle Store, Seoul Station, Katsu Ramen, Tofu Story and Shin Myung Gwan Korean BBQ around the area. TESO's roughly yearlong turnaround came from a big box that already had the floor space a department store needs. The more a building has to change, the longer the wait.
When the New Tenant Does the Same Job, the Wait Is Short
The fastest refills this year kept the building's original purpose. The district's running list of new and closed businesses shows a few of them:
| Building you remember | What's there now | Address | How it changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamburger Stand | Havana Burger | 938 S. Havana St. | Renamed in August 2026 |
| Carl's Jr. | El Pollo Loco | 2211 S. Havana St. | Closed early 2026, grand opening Nov. 5, 2026 |
| L Café | L Café, Armenian restaurant, bakery and cafe | 1930 S. Havana St., #12 | Rebranded October 2026 |
| Jamba Juice and Auntie Anne's | Same brands, new owners | The Gardens on Havana | Ownership change set for September |
| Tynan's Pre-Owned | Lifted Trucks | South Havana | Car lot to car lot, September 2026 |
| Ethio Motors | Car Nova | 890 S. Havana St. | Car lot to car lot, grand opening Sept. 19, 2026 |
El Pollo Loco shows the pattern best. A drive-through restaurant building already has a kitchen, a pickup window and a parking layout set up for quick visits. The Carl's Jr. closed in early 2026. On Havana Street listed El Pollo Loco's grand opening for Thursday, Nov. 5, from 9:30 to 11 a.m., and it was taking orders that day. That's a gap of months, measured within the same year.
Americantiques shows the same principle on a smaller scale. Heirlooms Antique Mall expanded into the former Colorado's Pro Gym space at 1961 S. Havana St. in September 2026. An antique mall needs open floor and not much else, and an old gym already has that.
When the Job Changes, the Building Takes Longer
Turning a building into something it wasn't built for brings permits, remodeling and slower timelines.
Relaxing World, at 2760 S. Havana St., Unit P, in Havana Exchange Shopping Center, is a spa replacing a spa. Even so, the district's list notes that the remodel and permitting of the former Vogue Day Spa ran into delays from summer to winter 2024, and the remodel was still underway in January 2025. On Havana Street announced it was open on Oct. 7, 2026, with hours of 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. A full remodel stretched a like-for-like swap to nearly two years.
Bigger changes of use take longer. The 7-Eleven at the Birchtree Shopping Center closed in May 2025. By Sept. 15, 2025, it had been leased to Tí Cafe, a Vietnamese coffee and specialty tea shop that already operates on Broadway. The district's Nov. 4 activities roundup listed Tí Cafe at 1910 S. Havana St. and The Cave as coming to Birchtree. Down the street at Havana Plaza, the former Havana Cleaners at 2222 S. Havana St. is being converted into HaBeeBi Scoops, a dessert shop. Going from dry cleaner to ice cream counter means a new kitchen, new plumbing and new health requirements.
Inside M Mart at 2000 S. Havana St., the spot where Sonmat Banchan operated is listed for a new Korean side-dish store.
The Old Safeway on Mississippi Is the Biggest Test
The largest shell in the area is the former Safeway at 12200 E. Mississippi Ave. According to The Denver Post, Safeway told the state the store was expected to close to the public on Nov. 7, 2025, as part of a round of closures across Colorado.
Its next tenant is another grocery, though a very different one. The Denver Post reported on Oct. 21 that New York-based Hashi Market plans to open in the building. The chain calls itself a combination of fresh-food supermarket, mini department store and catering service. It sells produce, Japanese snacks and beverages, sushi, seafood and meat counters, party platters, beauty supplies and household goods. Denverite reported that the Aurora store will have eight departments and promoted live tuna cutting and strawberry sandos as "coming soon." According to Arapahoe County records cited by Denverite, an LLC bought the building for $5.1 million in June, and the company received a $4.34 million loan from Hanmi Bank through a Small Business Administration program. 9NEWS reported that Hashi's website lists the Aurora location as "coming soon."
Hashi has done this kind of move before. The Post reported that the chain opened in Cupertino, California, on Oct. 9 in a former Sprouts Farmers Market, and that customers lined up outside. Hashi takes over old supermarkets, and a supermarket building with refrigeration and loading docks is about as close a match as a grocer can find. A full year after the Safeway closed, the Mississippi Avenue lot is still the clearest example on the corridor of how long a large building's handoff takes, even when the new use is close to the old one.
Shopping the Corridor This Season
For the holidays, the stores already open make a full afternoon on South Havana, from one end of the corridor to the other:
- Mazaya Foods, 2872 S. Havana St., in Havana Exchange Shopping Center. This family-run halal market sells meat, Mediterranean baked goods, international groceries and produce, and it's open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- TESO Life, 1150 S. Ironton St., at The Gardens on Havana, for stocking stuffers, snacks and skincare.
- Vita Wellness & Spa, 10651 E. Garden Drive, Suite 105, also at The Gardens on Havana. Its grand opening was set for Oct. 24.
- Americantiques, 1961 S. Havana St., for gifts you won't find twice.
A short drive away, 85°C Bakery Cafe opened its first Colorado location in mid-September at 2767 S. Parker Road, according to The Denver Post. It sells breads, pastries, cakes, coffee, tea and boba, including Milk Pudding Bread and egg tarts. On Havana Street is also running holiday giveaways on its social media channels through November and December.
The Buildings Still Waiting
Some buildings are still waiting for their next tenant. The district's list shows these spaces available:
- The former Big 5 Sporting Goods at 10051 E. Iliff Ave., at Parker Road, which was expected to close at the end of January 2026
- The former Solomon's European Market
- The former Sport Clips and Rocket Fizz spaces at The Gardens on Havana
- The large Concorde space at 111 N. Havana St., after Concorde's planned June 1, 2026, relocation
- The former Shortline Mitsubishi lots at 2930 and 2950 S. Havana St., available for sale or lease
At the north end, the owner of the World Bazaar property at 242 Havana St. is going through permitting to build Prestige Car Wash, a touchless wash, on part of the parcel. Based on how this year went, the empty spaces most likely to fill first are the ones whose next tenant can use the building much as it stands.
For more on Aurora's restaurant corridor, see our late-summer guide to Stanley Marketplace and Havana Street. For the wider city, visit our Aurora neighborhood page.
Every turnover on Havana changes how a block feels to live near, and that affects how nearby homes are valued. If you own close to the corridor and want to know how this year's openings show up in your home's value, Lane Lyon can walk you through it. Request a free home valuation or consultation.
