Mary Nguyen is a Denver native, born to Vietnamese immigrants who arrived in Colorado after the end of the war in Southeast Asia; she’s a graduate of George Washington High School and the University of Colorado Boulder, who began a career in finance before finding her sweet spot in hospitality, with a series of elevated casual restaurants under the Olive & Finch umbrella.
And she’s passionate about helping to bring downtown back. She’s opened three eateries in the area since 2023, including two Olive & Finch outposts and Little Finch, just off Blake Street.
As a small business owner and a member of the Visit Denver board, she says it’s important — and personal — for her to support other businesses, and to represent Denver’s struggling core. “Obviously, we’ve had challenges after COVID,” she says. “We all want to see a vibrant Denver, and I think that it’s great for us to sit around and talk about it, but I think we need to do something about it. …So that’s what I’m intentionally trying to do.”…