When one restaurant closes its doors, a new restaurant opens up in its place. That’s the way it’s been in Boulder County for decades, and few eateries ever celebrate a decade in business.
The year 2017 saw some legendary restaurants fade from the scene including the original Old Chicago, Conor O’Neill’s, Turley’s, Walnut Brewery, the Sundance Cafe and the 98-year-old Blue Parrot in Louisville. At the same time Boulder welcomed a wealth of new eating spots, ranging from Emmerson and Bar Taco to the French Quarter Brasserie and Le French Café.
A slew of newcomers wait in the wings for 2018 including Chimera, Vero Italian and Coabana Cuban Restaurant, not to mention the new Shine. Here’s the full breakdown for the county.
Boulder
• CU students mourned when Boulder’s only Denny’s closed at 2905 Baseline Road.
• The original location of Old Chicago closed after 40 years at 1102 Pearl St.
• Aji Latin American Restaurant closed after 12 years at 1601 Pearl St.
• Conor O’Neill’s closed after 18 years of beers and jigs at 1922 13th St. (formerly The James Pub).
• Beau Jo’s Pizza closed at 2690 Baseline Road, former site of Two Bitts Bistro. Beau Jo’s had previously been open on the Hill and at the now deceased Crossroads Mall.
• Turley’s Kitchen has closed, ending a saga launched in 1977 when the Good Earth Restaurant opened at 17th and Pearl.
• Sushi Tora closed at 2014 10th St. Coming soon: Chimera, an Asian-influenced eatery from Edwin Zoe and his mom (of Zoe Ma Ma fame).
• Bar Taco opened at 1048 Pearl St., former home of the Daily Camera lunch room.
• Emmerson opened at 1600 Pearl St., former home of LYFE Kitchen and the Gondolier.
• McDevitt Taco Supply opened at 4800 Baseline Road.
• Woodgrain Bagels is open at 2525 Arapahoe Ave., serving Montreal-style wood fire baked bagels. The site formerly housed Cuba Cuba Sandwicheria.
• The Cellar West Artisan Ales opened a tasting room for its Belgian farmhouse-style beers at 1001 Lee Hill Drive.
• Boulder Pho opened at 2855 28th St., once home to Thai Kitchen and Jimmy and Drew’s 28th Street Deli.
• French Quarter Brasserie & Oyster Bar opened at 1207 Pearl St., former site of Woody Creek Bakery, Paradise Bakery and Potter’s.
• The Full Cycle bicycle shop, 1795 Pearl St., opened an in-store bar serving beer, wine and espresso.
• The Walnut Brewery closed at 1123 Walnut St. Boulder Beer soon after opened a taproom/eatery in the space.
• Roxie’s Tacos opened at 1135 Broadway serving tortilla-wrapped Indian fillings including vegan chana masala.
• Pizzeria Da Lupo, 2525 Arapahoe Ave., is being remodeled into Vero Italian, a pizza trattoria from Denver chef Andrea Frizzi, owner of Il Posto.
• Capitol One Cafe opened at 1247 Pearl St. in the former Boulder Café location serving free WiFi, espresso and banking services.
• Decadent Saint, producer of wine-based mixers used for sangria and craft cocktails, opened at 1501 Lee Hill Road.
• Oskar Blues opened its first Boulder taproom in the former World of Beer/Bacaro space at 921 Pearl St.
• Shine Restaurant and Gathering Place closed at 2027 13th St. The Post Brewing Company opened in the space, which was also formerly home to Boulder Draft House and Redfish. Shine will reopen in the former Volta Restaurant space at 2480 Canyon Blvd.
• Hosea Rosenberg of Blackbelly opened Santo, serving Taos fare at 1265 Alpine Ave., formerly Scotts on Alpine, Ella, Radda and Masa Grill.
• Le French Café opened at 2525 Arapahoe Ave.
Niwot
• Lucky Pie Pizza and Tap House opened at 7916 Niwot Road.
• A fire damaged the kitchen at Colterra Food & Wine, 210 Franklin St. No reopening date has been set.
Louisville
• Madera Grill closed at 817 Main St. in Louisville. An expanded Waterloo restaurant reopened in the space.
• La Revolución Taqueria y Cantina closed at 701 Main St. Opening soon: Coabana Cuban Restaurant
• The 98-year-old Blue Parrot Restaurant closed at 640 Main St. Coming soon: a second location for Boulder’s Verde Restaurant.
• The Biscuit Bary opened at 579 E. South Boulder Road near Alfalfa’s Market.
• The Moe’s Broadway Bagels empire has expanded with a new shop in the Table Mesa Shopping Center and in Louisville at 1057 Courtesy Road next to a new Vic’s Coffee.
• Boulder’s Organic Sandwich Company opened a second shop at 459 S. McCaslin Blvd., formerly Blue Box Doughnuts.
Lafayette
• Boulder’s Fate Ale House opened a second brewery restaurant at 400 W. South Boulder Road.
• Endo’s Brewing Co. 2755 Dagny Way serving craft beer and bicycle repairs.
• Ras Kassa’s Ethiopian Restaurant opened at 802 S. Public Road
• U-Turn BBQ and Brewery opened at 599 Crossing Drive.
• Chocolaterie Stam opened its first Colorado location at 103 S. Public Road.
• Denver’s Stem Ciders will open the new 200-seat Acreage Restaurant at 1380 Horizon Ave. featuring wood-fire cuisine from chefs Daniel Asher and Kelly Whitaker.
• Apeizza E Vino closed at 300 S. Public Road. Coming soon: a second location for chef Alec Schuler’s Tangerine.
Longmont
• Beau Jo’s Pizza opened at 2033 Ken Pratt Blvd.
• Old World Pizzeria opened at 613 Frontage Road next to the Bavarian Bakery.
• The 28,000-square-foot Wild Game Entertainment Experience opened at 2251 Ken Pratt Blvd.
• Othermama’s Bakery opened at 237 Collyer St.
• The Longmont Public House opened at 1111 Francis St.
• Boulder’s Gondolier Italian Eatery opened a second location at 1217 S. Main St.
• The latest location for Boulder’s Kitchen Next Door opened at 1232 S. Hover St.
Elsewhere
• Veteran restaurateur Kevin Taylor and his chef son, Ryan Taylor, opened Hickory & Ash near the 1stBank Center in Broomfield.
• Nederland’s Sundance Café closed after 19 years in business.
• Farmer Girl Restaurant closed at 432 Main St. in Lyons.
• The Rocky Flats Lounge south of Boulder is rumored to be reopening in 2018 for fish fry nights and Packers games.
What did we miss? nibbles@boulderweekly.com
John Lehndorff hosts Radio Nibbles 8:25 a.m. Thursdays on KGNU (88.5 FM, 1390 AM, kgnu.org).
