Elsa Harberg never thought she’d be in the gas station business.
But as the landlord of 2200 E. Colfax Ave., she didn’t have much of a choice.
“We spent eight months with brokerage trying to sell or lease to traditional (convenience) store gas station concepts, but they want tons of pumps and more square footage,” Harberg said of the property, which used to be home to Choice Market.
“It became clear … we needed to do something different,” added the executive with St. Charles Town Co.
So, the firm, which Harberg’s father, Charlie Woolley, started 30 years ago, decided to open and operate a business within it itself.
The 2,300-square-foot Wyman’s Mercantile, named after the historic district it resides in, will open in early July, Harberg said. It will essentially be a rebrand of Choice, which described itself as a combination of 7-Eleven and Whole Foods.
“Wyman’s will have all the locally sourced, naturally made, high-quality products that Choice had,” Harberg said, specifically mentioning Hinman Pie — which makes “the best cherry pie in the world” — as one of the vendors. “And we will also have the Lay’s and Coca-Colas that East High School students can afford.”
General Manager Sarah Dolfi, who handled retail operations for Choice Market, said local chain Renegade Burrito will likely man the kitchen and food service counter, though the deal is not 100% done. When Wyman’s opens, she said, it will have grab-and-go options such as salads, sandwiches and wraps.
At full strength, Wyman’s could have the fast-casual burrito option, coffee and pastries as well, Dolfi said.
Cars also can fuel up. The property has four gas pumps and two electric vehicle charging stations.
“Choice was so spread out and everyone was spread so thin,” Dolfi said, saying that an energized and focused staff will be the main difference with her store. “This store got left in the dust.”
Wyman’s is the first retail outfit for St. Charles Town Co., an investment and development firm active in the retail and income-restricted housing sectors. Urban preservation is also a focus, Harberg said.
The firm has been on East Colfax since the early 2000s, Harberg said, and owns nearby Lowenstein Theater, which is home to Tattered Cover Book Store. The company also redeveloped the Savageau Building next door to Wyman’s at 2260 E. Colfax Ave., buying it in 2017 for $1.1 million and selling it in 2023 for $2.7 million.
St. Charles Town Co. was an investor in Choice Market and bought the Wyman’s property in 2018 for $1.5 million. Choice opened there in 2020 and shuttered last May. The local chain closed for good in the fall.
“Between the pandemic and everything that happened in 2020, they were struggling with a lot of issues like safety, security, theft, things like that,” Harberg said. “They eventually had to file for bankruptcy, and as a result we as landlords were left with this building.”
St. Charles initially tried to sell the property, listing it for $3.6 million, but didn’t get any bites. Toward the end of 2024, Harberg said she and Woolley decided something had to go into the building. People had been breaking through the fence and hanging out on the property, and St. Charles was paying for security to check the property multiple times a day.
“We got on top of that pretty quickly because we knew it was going to be problematic. We deeply care about the neighborhood and Colfax,” she said. “And we want to limit vacancies because I know they contribute to this sort of antisocial behavior we see along the corridor.”
Even though the father-daughter duo knew what they wanted to do there for the past six or so months, it wasn’t smooth sailing.
Between switching around licenses and permits, Harberg said Denver gave them headaches throughout. The changes, she said, triggered several inspections of the property, with staffers “very adamant” about properly placing bike racks and signage. Harberg thinks there shouldn’t have been as many hoops to jump through, given there wasn’t much build-out.
“It really has been a challenge for something that could be so great for the community with what’s going on, on East Colfax,” Harberg said. “The city has been supportive, but I think this should’ve taken way less time.”
In preparation for opening, St. Charles ended up spending $100,000 on what Harberg called “deferred maintenance” such as utilities, roof repairs, landscaping and relocating the cash wrap.
Harberg believes that Wyman’s can be a standout spot, especially given Denver’s recent gas station ordinance. In February, the City Council voted to bar new gas station builds within a quarter mile of existing ones — something Harberg thinks will make Wyman’s attractive to prospective purchasers.
“We do feel like we have a little crown jewel on Colfax, and the hope is that someone will see value in real estate and we won’t have to own a gas station,” she said. “But if it works really well, you never know, there could be Wyman’s everywhere.”
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