The Restaurant Closures You Should Know About

Seven months into its life, DJ’s Colfax Cafe closed its doors at 1490 Eudora Street. That space previously housed Red Octave, a business that also lasted a short amount of time at that address. Before it was Red Octave, diners knew it as Cork House Broker and, before that, the Cork House and Tante Louise.

Breakfast and brunch fans still have two other outposts of DJ’s to enjoy: the original one that opened in 2006 in the Berkeley neighborhood at 3838 Tennyson Street and the four year old DJ's Ninth Avenue Cafe at 865 Lincoln Street.

AUGUST 9

The Theatre District’s sweet tooth must have turned sour, as Crave Dessert Bar, located at the ground-level of high-rise condo building, Spire, has shuttered. Noticing the dearth of dessert options in downtown Denver, the owners opened the sleek cafe-bar offering gourmet sweets in 2011 at 891 14th Street. The place has gone through some changes over the years and chefs, as well as owners, have come and gone. Now the space is vacant.

In the Ballpark area, modern Mexican eatery Latigo has closed its doors permanently at 2229 Blake Street, a little more than a year after opening. From chef Ignacio Leon, formerly of Paxia, came polished plates for the lively and growing neighborhood. A sign inside the 300-person restaurant described the place as: “honest and authentic in its design, timeless and reliable in its utility.” There was no official statement on the closure on social media or on the door that is now missing the word Latigo.

AUGUST 7

Axios Estiatorio, a six year old Greek restaurant owned by Telly Topakas located at 3901 Tennyson Street shuttered, 5280 Magazine reported. The closure of the spot known for seasonal fish plates and pastitsio came without much notice. A note tapped on the door of the business thanked patrons and informed them that the ownership was ready to more on to other ventures.

AUGUST 1

Wild Eggs, a six year old breakfast joint located on Alameda and Logan, has shuttered, BusinessDen reported. The 5,000 square foot spot was ownerd by Michael Rothberg who shared in an email statement to BusinessDen that he wanted to spend more time with family. Rothberg was hoping to find someone to step in to either take over the business or take over the space for a different concept. A flyer advertising the business shows that there are 4 years on primary lease term with rates locked in for two additional 5-year options. A transferable liquor license is part of the deal.

On its Facebook page, Wild Eggs shared this with its customers:

To Our Valued Guests and Community:

Wild Eggs has closed. We want to thank your for your support and dining with us over the past 6 years. We will miss you.

- The Wild Eggs Denver Family

JULY 25

Louisiana-style Cajun and Creole cuisine is tough to come by in the Mile High City, and getting harder now that Uptown’s Gumbo’s Louisiana Style Cafe has closed its doors for good. The bright, casual eatery with a popular happy hour and hopping patio had moved from its 16th Street Mall location to 1033 East 17th Avenue in 2012, serving up steaming bowls of chicken and andouille sausage gumbo, fried oyster po’ boys classic crawfish etoufee and red beans and rice.

Next-door neighbor, Argyll Whiskey Beer closed its doors last May, quieting the block for the time being. However, property landlord Rob Edwards, a partner with Pinnacle Real Estate Advisors, says a new tenant is on its way to the former gastro-pub space. He kept quiet on any further details.

JULY 24

Gus Mavrocefalos has operated Famous Pizza for nearly 43 years, but will soon be clearing out of the corner shop location at 98 S. Broadway, citing sharply the rising rent. Though Mavrocefalos wasn’t even asked to renew his lease, he hopes to continue serving slices beyond the lifespan of this location, scouting the city for other available spaces for him and his pies.

JULY 19

Chef Sean Kelly has closed and sold his Park Hill restaurant, Desmond Bar & Grill. A brief announcement was made on the Facebook page of the business:

Dear Friends and Fans,Desmond Bar & Grill has been sold. Thank you for your support over the last two years.Wishing you health and happy eating,Sean and all of us at Desmond

Nearly two years old, the restaurant was seen at the time of the opening as a return of the celebrated chef to the dining scene. Since that time, however, Kelly opened STK Provisions inside the buzzing Denver Central Market and is planning a satellite of the rotisserie-centric eatery at the Denver International Airport.

Beau Jo’s is about to shut off the ovens at 2710 South Colorado Boulevard, BusinessDen reported. A thirty years staple of the University Hills Shopping Center, the mountain pizza business will close after service on Sunday, July 30. Six locations of Beau Jo’s will continue to operate in Colorado, with an additional one coming to Longmont at 2033 Ken Pratt Boulevard in October.

JULY 10

The boom of eateries and bars in the Stapleton area may be to blame for another closure in the family-friendly area. Four year old Stapleton Tap House announced its shutter through Facebook last week. The last service will be on July 21. In June, the Bistro at Stapleton closed after three years citing in the kindest terms the addition of the Stanley and Eastbridge developments among the factors that led to less customers through the door. Here’s what the team at Stapleton Tap House said in its announcement:

We are sad to announce that the Stapleton Tap House will be closing two weeks from today, on Friday July 21, 2017. We’ve had a great run for the past four years and it has been our pleasure to introduce so many beer drinkers to great Colorado (and recently some non-Colorado) craft beers.

Over the next two weeks we will continue to be open our regular hours. Thanks to our brewery parters and our customers for supporting us and giving us such great reviews. We’ve been proud to be your “Guardians of the Craft.”

If you have any questions, please feel free to post below or email TapHouse@StapletonBrewing.com - we will do our best to respond quickly.

Over in RiNo, Zephyr Brewing hosted a moving party last weekend. After two years, the brewery left its home at 1421 26th Street for a production facility in North Denver that will also include a small tap room, Westword reported. There will be at least a month of downtime for the business that may launch a second tap room later this year.

May 31

Waffle Up, a business located in the Baker neighborhood, shuttered its doors last weekend after two and a half years in the space at 300 Elati Street, the original home of Humble Pie. The team announced the closure on its Facebook page and explained that they decided to “scale back operations and focus on the catering side of the business, providing the owner with an opportunity to dust off his passport, his bike and his dog.” Some pop ups are in the works for those seeking to get their Belgian waffle fix and, of course, catering is also an option.

News of JJ Chinese Seafood closing spread in the chef community last weekend, but it turns out that the 2500 West Alameda Avenue spot had already been closed for a few weeks by the Denver Health Department, according to Westword. JJ Chinese, which served a fun Cantonese menu, plus live seafood, will be replaced with Yummy Szechuan Restaurant, a sign on the building indicates.