Inside the great box of treasures that is the three decade of Racines laid this poster, a photo of 49 matchboxes from just as many Denver restaurants and bars. When exactly this was taken remains unclear, but City Spirit Cafe was still open and that means it was after 1997. It appears that the mashup of matchboxes was created courtesy of the Food Bank of the Rockies as the phone number at the bottom of the poster is the one of the organization.
We were curious: How many of these places are still around? How many stood the test of time? Twenty-nine, ranging from Tante Louise to Strings are no longer around while 20, Sushi Den, Avenue Grill, and Barolo Grill among them. If you want a full list, here are the 29 shuttered eateries and bars.
SHUTTERED:
Aqua Lounge
Bistro Adde Brewster
The Black Swan
Black Timber Tavern
Cache Cache
Cadillac Ranch, in the current Tamayo space
Cafe Paradiso
Champions
Chives
Ciao Baby
City Spirit Cafe
Cliff Young's
Creekside
Denver Buffalo Co.
Josephina's, in the current Rioja Space
Juanita's
La Piazza
The Little Russian
Marina Landing
Mexicali later Del Mar Crab House, now Osteria Marco.
Mike Berardi's
The Normandy
Pearl Street Grill
Rock Island
Rocky Mountain Diner
Strings
Tante Louise
York St
Zenith
What else has closed that friend of Eater mentioned missing? Here are a few:
The Chrysler
Manhattan Cafe
Barrel's
Dudley's
Cafe Giovanni
Papillon
Aubergine
Claire de Lune
Chez Thoa
Mocha Cafe
Trader Vic's
Little Pepina's
Transalpine
Magic Pan, now Ocean Prime
The Bratskeller
Champion Brewing Company
Lime in Larimer Square, the soon-to-open Milk & Honey
Soapy Smiths, later Martini Ranch, now Euclid Hall
Hi Ricki, later released to Sambucca, now three separate bars
Tommy Tsunami, now Maloney's Sports Bar
Sostanza, in the current Venice space
The Brick Oven Beanery
Pelican Pete's
Z Tejas, in Park Meadows, later sold to Thai Basil
Rick's Cafe, now Choppers
L'Auberge
Dixon's, now Lucky Pie and Blue Sushi
The Peppermill, now Del Frisco
Chuck a Luck Deli
No Frills Grill
Straight Johnsons, a spot for great pizza with black lights in case you were high
Shakey's Pizza, now Piatti in Cherry Creek
Round the Corner
The Denver Tea Room
The Wellshire
The Hungry Farmer
Taylor's Supper Club
Tommy Wongs
Señoritas Cantina, now home to Venice
The Reese Coffee House
The Tiffan
Gator Magoon's
Royal Platte River Yacht Club
M&G Cafe
Sabor Latino
Tico's
Hogan's
Maxwell's, now Sam's #3 Downtown
Winston Hill's BBQ, now a Chipotle
The Library
The Cork & Cleaver
Stanford's
Bella Restaurante
Sign of the Dove
Pizzeria Uno
Cliff Young's
Le Profile
Mel's
Adega, in the current Venice space in Lodo
Der Weinerscnitzle
Dardano's Pizza
Marvelous Marv's, which became Ebbets Field in Brooks Towers
Pagliacci's, now the Lumina complex under construction
Don the Beachcomber
Top of the Rockies
The Petroleum Club
The Canterburry Inn
A&W
Stout Street Electric Company
Koo Koo Roo California Kitchen, a space that was released to Hapa Sushi
Michael Berrardi's
Al Fresco
The Rattlesnake Grill in Cherry Creek
Emerson Street East
The London House
The Leaning Tower of Pizza
The Riveria, iconically known as The Riv, now Las Delicias
The Lazy Dog, now home to Hacienda Colorado.
Leo's Place Cucina Leone
Aix, which was later Olivea under different ownership, and is now home to Beast and Bottle.
Josephina's on 17th, which was later sold to Las Margaritas, and is now home to Argyll Whisky Beer
The Bagel Nosh, Rodney's, and Houlihan's, all in Tamarac Square, now a Super Target
Phillipe's
Cucina Cucina
Shaner's
The White Spot
La Petit Boulangerie
Footer's
York Street Cafe
Fourth Story, above the Tattered Cover, in a building that now houses Pura Vida spa
Goodfriends, from the same team behind Racines
3 Sons
Boccalino
Valente's
Laudisio in Boulder
Carbone's
Longo's Tavern
Just last week, Denver lost Paris on the Platte. What do you miss? Add your favorites in the comments.
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