StarLite Diner and Lounge will open soon in Boulder's Twenty Ninth Street

Since getting spiffed up a few years back, Boulder's Twenty Ninth Street has played host to more than twenty restaurants, a mix of fast-casual and full-service chains plus independently owned spots that has changed frequently.

Now the development is about to get another new joint to replace a restaurant that recently went out: StarLite Diner and Lounge is taking over the former Ruby's Diner spot.

The concept is owned by Chris Dailey, who is also behind Boulder Creek Events, several restaurants in Flatirons -- including Street Legal Pizza and Street Legal Burgers -- and the forthcoming ice rink going into Twenty Ninth Street. The spot, says Dailey, will have a "soft '50's look," with a little bit of a nostalgic, Coca-Cola throwback.

"We're doing typical diner fare," he says, mentioning burgers, club sandwiches and the same pizzas he makes at Street Legal as part of the menu. "And we'll do breakfast all day long until we close at 2 a.m." Dailey adds that he expects the place to take on a lounge-like atmosphere as the night goes on, which is why he's calling it both a diner and a lounge.

"Construction is about to begin," says Kate Honea, marketing manager for Twenty Ninth Street. "We're hoping they'll be open by January." Dailey echoes that sentiment, saying he expects to start serving around the first of the year.

Honea also hints that plans for other new restaurants are in the works for the development, with the details for some of them to be released later this month.