Danny Newman doesn’t like to let a good thing go to waste. When the local entrepreneur purchased a large lot with a former tire shop five years ago, he had plans to open Denver’s tiniest motel with one room and a swimming pool.

But when the pandemic hit, construction prices nearly doubled, so he decided to scrap the idea for what he called Colfax Country Club altogether. Newman couldn’t watch the 0.22-acre lot sit empty, though. “It was too much of an ordeal for a fun, silly motel concept,” he said. “But it was more financially frustrating to have it just sitting there.”

Inspired by food truck parks in Austin and Portland, Newman decided instead to create Full Tank Food Park at 4200 W. Colfax Ave. this month. “The only thing that worked in that space while we figured out what to do with it was food trucks,” he said.

There is enough room for seven food trucks to rent a space in the lot. Newman hopes to have three permanent vendors and four rotating ones at all times. “We want to make sure there’s a variety with no overlap of offerings,” he said.

KrazyCoconut Thai Street Food is parked in a permanent space, and Uptown & Humboldt is serving gyros there Wednesday through Sunday. Other food trucks that have rolled through, include Turkish Chef on Wheels, Fritay Haitian Cuisine, What’s Happening Catering and Pint’s Peak Ice Cream.

Moonflower Coffee, a former mobile coffee cart, has claimed a permanent home inside the old tire shop on the lot, which has been transformed into a lounge with cozy couches, tables and bathrooms for the food truck park.