Every Restaurant and Bar Opening and Closing This Week

This was definitely a week when gloomy predictions of COVID-related restaurant closings came true. Several longtime eateries called it quits in the face of a long winter without much revenue.

For starters, Mici Handcrafted Italian closed its downtown location after sixteen years near the Colorado Convention Center. This was the Miceli family's first Mici restaurant, and the business has since grown to include five other outposts. Over the years, the focus shifted from downtowners to family dining in the suburbs; the Mici at 2373 Central Park Boulevard is even getting a refresh after eight years in that spot. The company estimates that it has donated more than $100,000 to schools in the Central Park neighborhood since opening.

Pete's Greek Town Cafe never reopened after the March shutdown of dining rooms across the state, and now there's a for-lease sign on the building. Founder Pete Contos passed away in 2019, but his family still runs the remaining restaurants that bear the founder's name, including Pete's Kitchen and Pete's Central One.

And on Broadway, Moe's Original BBQ closed after a decade of serving up smoked meats. Fortunately, like Mici and Pete's Greek Town, Moe's isn't completely gone; there's still the barbecue joint at 3295 South Broadway in Englewood, as well as other locations throughout the state.

Another recent closing led almost immediately to a reopening. Irish pub 3 Kilts Tavern may have set a Denver restaurant record for opening and closing, then reopening, all in the space of a few months. After a short-lived appearance on the 16th Street Mall, 3 Kilts left downtown for Capitol Hill, and is now serving up pints of stout and Irish nachos in the former home of Barricuda's.

Here's our complete list of openings and closings for the week of November 9 through November 15, 2020:

Restaurants and Bars Opening This Week*
3 Kilts Tavern,1067 Ogden Street
Daikon Banh Mi Shop, 919 Pearl Street
Yak & Yeti, 9000 Yukon Street, Westminster

Restaurants and Bars Reopening This Week*
Route 40 Cafe (takeout only), 2550 East Colfax Avenue

Restaurants and Bars Closing This Week*
Board Game Republic, 900 West First Avenue
Mici Handcrafted Italian (downtown location only), 1531 Stout Street
Moe's Original BBQ, 530 Broadway
Pete's Greek Town Cafe, 2910 East Colfax Avenue
Sarto's, 2900 West 25th Avenue

*Or earlier, and not previously reported.

Do you know of any openings or closings that aren't on our list? Let us know in the comments, or send an email to [email protected].