Entry No. 46 — the Denver file — filed under: mexican

Contreras Market & Panaderia

What started in 2000 as the Contreras family knocking on doors selling bread wholesale now eats an entire Morrison Road strip mall: a panaderia cranking out ~5,000 conchas and ojos de buey a day starting at 3 a.m., a full carniceria with marinated meats, a grocery, a sit-down restaurant, and a bar. From the street it reads as just another neighborhood grocery, which is exactly why nobody outside Westwood knows it's a one-stop Mexican-American institution. Look for the maroon building with the white trim and the mural on the northeast end of the road.

The move: Grab a tray and tongs, load up on pan dulce and a couple of conchas at the panaderia counter, then sit down in the attached restaurant for marinated meats and a beer from the bar — a cheap, unhurried afternoon that locals treat as routine and outsiders treat as a discovery.

📍 Before you go It sits on Morrison Road, Westwood's Mexican-American commercial spine in southwest Denver — about a 15-minute drive from downtown, with a free lot out front, so don't bother circling for street parking. Since the storefront blends into the strip, just aim for the northeast end of the road and the mural. Go in the morning if you can: the panaderia bakes through the small hours, so selection on the tray racks is widest and freshest early, and pan dulce thins out as the day goes. Hours shift seasonally, so check ahead. Make a stroll of it — Morrison Road is lined with other taquerias, panaderias, and Mexican shops worth wandering before or after.

• 📍 Westwood
• 💸 $
• ⚡ Low-key
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: 3570 Morrison Rd, Denver, CO 80219 (maroon/white-trimmed building, NE end of Morrison Road)

Hours: Bakery production starts ~3 a.m.; daytime retail hours for grocery/panaderia/restaurant. Confirm current hours via Yelp/official site before going.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: denverite.com · Official site · Yelp

last checked: 2026-06-07