Here's a puzzler: How do 100 restaurants survive in a 25-square-block area that has fewer than 1,500 residents?

Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies baseball team, is located on the northwest edge of LoDo and draws about 2.45 million baseball fans a year.

“Depending on where you are in LoDo, you're either close to Coors Field or The Denver Center for the Performing Arts,” says John Imbergamo, a Denver restaurant consultant and board member of The LoDo District Inc., a nonprofit group that supports businesses in the area.

The restaurants in LoDo are “a combo of independents and chains unmatched in the city,” Imbergamo says. Chains in the area include Morton's The Steakhouse and P.F. Chang's.

LoDo is a historic collection of 19th-century warehouses that have, in the last two decades or so, been refurbished and converted into lofts and retail space. Development continues with 21st-century structures, among them 1401 Wynkoop and the SugarCube Building, which are both mixed-used developments comprising retail, restaurants and office space.

Restaurants opening in the new developments must follow the standard city building codes—no surprise there. But restaurants located in the historic buildings must adhere to strict design codes.

“It's not a simple thing to come in and install your trade dress down here, like you would in a suburban location,” Imbergamo says. New businesses must submit to the rigorous LoDo Design Review, established in 1988 during the area's revitalization. “Locals know that the review is important, and chains learn that relatively quickly,” he says.

“They're really strict, for all the right reasons,” agrees Steve Halliday, president of Denver-based Pacific Rim Hospitality, a multiconcept operator. This winter, Halliday is opening his third pan-Asian Ling & Louie's restaurant on LoDo's 16th Street pedestrian mall. He says his architect had to work with seven offices to clear the required design hurdles.

Restaurants in historic 19th-century LoDo buildings must undergo a strict review during the design process.

His great expectations aside, Halliday thinks that a LoDo location won't work for all concepts. To do big volume, dinner service and a liquor license are a must. Plus, the location lacks the amenities of suburban locations, for instance, street parking. But the area has plenty of garage parking. Tourists quickly learn to park and walk the strip of restaurants and shops.

Imbergamo adds that another hurdle to thriving is competition, simply because LoDo is packed with many restaurants and bars. “If you don't stand out and do well, you're not a pioneer—you're one of many,” he says.

MORE: Historic districts are beautiful and popular, but for chain operators, are they worth the hassle?