It’s never easy to see a favorite restaurant go. Whether it was a neighborhood hangout, a special-occasion splurge, or even one of the spots you’d been meaning to get to (but never did). Some closings make our jaws drop while others aren’t surprising. None of them are fun.
Here are 12 of the saddest Denver-area restaurant closings of 2024.
Although Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs hadn’t been itself for a few years now, it was still depressing to see the hotdog spot end its run. At one point, Biker Jim’s symbolized everything that was fun and hip about the growing business district on upper Larimer Street, and those dogs — with cream cheese or jalapenos and Coca-Cola-braised onions — were exquisite after a night at Star Bar. Luckily for hotdog fans, founder Jim Pittenger is making some of his original recipes at popups around town.
Speaking of hot dogs, Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs left a mustard-and-relish stained impression on two generations of Denverites, many of whose pictures adorned the walls in the building that put weiners into the spotlight in Denver. The good news is that Steve and Linda Ballas turned the place over to Mama Jo’s Biscuits & BBQ, which plans to resurrect some of Steve’s specialties.
Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs wasn’t the only restaurant that closed along the 15ish-block stretch of Colfax between York Street and Colorado Boulevard. Denver also lost the original location of Tacos, Tequila, Whiskey, which had been serving spiced-up street tacos since 2012; Enzo’s End, a much-loved 30-year-old pizza joint; and Fox Run Cafe, which took burgers and breakfast to new levels of deliciousness in a town where there are many great places to get both.
Downtown also said goodbye to plenty of restaurants in 2024, none bigger than Stoic & Genuine, at 1701 Wynkoop St. One of the original tenants when the historic Union Station reopened in 2014 after a massive makeover, Stoic & Genuine was one of the adults in the room when it came to elevated seafood in Denver. Brought to you by restaurateurs Beth Gruitch and Jennifer Jasinski, it specialized in dishes like caviar, oysters and lobster rolls.
A neighborhood watering hole near Washington Park, in Denver, also closed this year, much to the dismay of the regulars who relied on it to meet friends or grab dinner and watch a game. Finley’s Pub, at 375 South Pearl St., shuttered in October after 12 years. The spot was known for its burgers.
On the east side of town, Comida, which started as a food truck in 2010 and grew to three brick-and-mortar stores at one point, closed its last location at the Stanley Marketplace, 2501 Dallas St. in Aurora, in September. Owner Rayme Rossello said she is leaving the industry altogether. Not far away, four-year-old Carm & Gia Metropolitan, 9598 E. Montview Blvd., also shuttered its diner-like ode to Italian beef sandwiches, hot dogs and burgers.
The good news: On the west side, New Saigon Bakery & Deli remains open and is still run by Thu Nguyen, whose parents operated New Saigon, the full-service Vietnamese restaurant next door, for 30 of its 42 years. The bad news: That restaurant, at 630 S. Federal Blvd., closed its doors in February. But Thu’s sister An Nguyen now owns another Vietnamese restaurant on the east side of Denver called Dân Dã, 9945 E. Colfax Ave., which should hit many of your favorite notes when it comes to do-it-yourself spring rolls and other Vietnamese comfort food.
New Saigon was one of Denver’s longest-running restaurants. But it wasn’t the only venerable institution to shutter. We also lost the 38-year-old Monaco Inn, at 962 S. Monaco St. Parkway, a Greek restaurant that Mike Mike Tsikoudakis had been running since 1986; and the family-owned Taco House, at 581 S. Federal Blvd., which had been in since 1958 (Taco House’s owners said on social media that their Lakewood location will remain open).