A long standing mainstay of LODO, Paris was here back when the hood was sketchy and it preserves a bit of an edgy vibe by becoming the spot for the skateboard park kids to linger. If you’re looking for a downtown grnge cafe, this place it the best. Excellent coffees and deserts, in the middle of a stret which is converting itself into a funky and lively place within Lower Downtown.

For 25 years this dumpy little coffeehouse has stood on Platte Street and has beckoned high school students, runaways, and punk rock misfits to come and bask in dense clouds of clove cigarette smoke. I myself spent many a night in Paris as a teen. Then, when the smoking ban went into effect in Denver bars and restaurants the crowd at Paris started to change. Dodging the new law by some miraculous loophole, Paris became the last place in town where you can have a smoke with your cup of joe. Now days, a crowd of Hipsters can be seen tapping away on laptops and enjoying the super-fast free wifi at tables that still sport brimming ashtrays. But word is the loophole is closing, and Paris too will soon be smoke-free.