Three storefronts on Highland Square's stretch of West 32nd Avenue went dark in 2026. Two new ones opened. Both openings came from operators who already had a working business somewhere else, either a location down the block or a concept in another city. The closings include a bakery that had been on the avenue since 2006, and two of the three spaces they left have no announced tenant as of mid-October.
That is how the block changed this year. It brought in expansions and outposts rather than first-time operators, and it lost three rooms whose operators did not replace them on this avenue.
Three closings in five months
The year's first departure came in May. Happy Bakeshop at 3621 W. 32nd Ave. had opened in 2006 and changed owners earlier in 2026. BusinessDen reported that it closed that month, ending a run of about 20 years on the avenue.
Little India closed a few weeks later. Its 3496 W. 32nd Ave. location served its last meal at the end of service on May 31, after a five-year run, according to Westword. When the closing was first announced in March, owner Simeran Baidwan gave the Denver Post a list of reasons: high rent and property taxes, rising wages, insurance, delivery and card-processing costs, and weaker consumer spending. Little India still runs its other three Denver locations, and its locations page now lists those three without the Highland address.
Natuur closed in September. The homegrown smoothie-and-bowls chain closed its Sloan's Lake shop on Friday, Sept. 26, and its Highland location at 3712 W. 32nd Ave. on Sunday, Sept. 28, Westword reported. The chain's two Texas locations had closed months earlier. Its Instagram farewell read, "Getting to serve Denver and be a small part of your days has meant more to us than we can say."
That makes a bakery, an Indian restaurant and a health-food counter, gone in five months. They had little in common in menu, price or hours. The bakery had changed hands months before closing, Little India kept its other outlets and let this one go, and Natuur had already shrunk to two Denver shops.
The arrivals came with a head start
The two businesses that opened on West 32nd this year look different. Neither one was starting from scratch.
Paperboy was open at 3940 W. 32nd Ave. by late March. Westword described it as an Austin brunch concept, and it brought its known dishes along: chicken and biscuits, Texas Hash and a cornmeal pancake. Its menu had already been tested in another market before it reached Highland Square.
Hearth Patisserie started from even closer by. Hearth Bakery already had lines at locations in RiNo, Uptown, Highland and Littleton, and its Highland cafe opened in 2025. In August, Hearth expanded that Highland outpost with a European-style pastry shop. Westword placed it directly beside the former Happy Bakeshop storefront at 3621 W. 32nd Ave. Its grand opening was at noon on August 27. Founder Matt Quinlisk started the bakery group, and pastry chef Kevin McCormick leads the patisserie.
So one opening was a known concept arriving from out of town. The other was a local operator expanding a cafe it already ran on the same block. Both came in with the kind of base the closed storefronts didn't have, or had lost.
What Hearth's expansion adds to the block's hours
Hearth's existing bakeries are built around morning pastries, bread and coffee, according to Westword. The patisserie runs on a different clock. It is designed around afternoon and evening desserts, with higher-end, French-inspired classics and elaborate individual pastries.
The opening menu, as Westword described it:
- Chouquettes, the small cream-puff-style choux
- Paris-Brest, filled with hazelnut praline, mousseline and pralinettes
- Tarts with fillings ranging from strawberry with almond and mascarpone cream to coconut lime
- Elaborate gâteaux, along with flans, brownies and tiramisu
This matters on West 32nd because the year's losses included a bakery that had been part of the avenue's daytime routine for two decades. Hearth's addition doesn't try to recreate that. It takes a morning business the block already had and extends it into the afternoon and evening, run by an operator whose Highland cafe has been open since 2025.
The ledger, address by address
| Address on W. 32nd Ave. | 2026 change | When | Operator's footprint |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3621 | Happy Bakeshop closed | May 2026 | Open since 2006; new owners took over earlier in 2026 |
| 3496 | Little India's Highland location closed | May 31, 2026 | Three other Denver locations remain |
| 3712 | Natuur's Highland location closed | Sept. 28, 2026 | Two Denver shops, both closed |
| 3940 | Paperboy opened | Open by late March 2026 | Austin concept |
| Beside 3621 | Hearth Patisserie opened | Aug. 27, 2026 | Expansion of Hearth's Highland cafe; Hearth also has RiNo, Uptown and Littleton locations |
Every opening has an operator with another location or an established concept behind it. The closings include a 20-year bakery that closed soon after an ownership change, a chain that has now closed everywhere, and a multi-location restaurant that kept its other outlets and dropped this one. No successor has been publicly announced for the former Little India or Natuur spaces.
The empty rooms, for now
For anyone walking from Lowell toward Perry, the practical result is two dark storefronts that were busy at the start of the year. Little India's spot at 3496 and Natuur's at 3712 had no named tenants as of mid-October. Natuur's own website still shows an "Order now!" link, so search results and map apps may still list the Highland counter as open.
Based on this year's pattern, the next tenants for these spaces are likelier to be operators extending something they already run than first-time owners. That is an observation about 2026, not a forecast. Little India's owner had already described in March the cost pressures a single storefront on this avenue has to absorb.
December 5 runs from the same block
The avenue's main holiday event is still on the calendar. Highland Square has scheduled Holiday in the Highlands for Saturday, December 5, 2026, according to the district's event page.
- 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: the annual Holiday Market, with local artisans and makers, holiday gifts, food and drinks, and kids' activities
- Noon to 3 p.m.: Santa and horse-drawn wagon rides through Historic Highlands, hosted at Nostalgic Homes, 3737 W. 32nd Ave.
- During the Santa hours: a free professional photo with Santa for children, dogs and families
Nostalgic Homes at 3737 is a short walk from Natuur's former spot at 3712. A walk that takes in the Santa stop, Hearth's two storefronts on the 3600 block and Paperboy at 3940 covers most of what changed on this stretch in 2026. Artisans who want to sell at the market can apply through the vendor application linked from the event page.
The Highland Square website's general events calendar still shows older listings. Use the dedicated Holiday in the Highlands page for the 2026 date.
If you own on the streets off West 32nd and want to talk through how this year's openings and vacancies on the avenue figure into your plans, Rachel Gallegos and our team are glad to have that conversation.