Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant closes 23-year downtown Denver location, moves to Wazee
As a lot more Mexican-impressed restaurants proceed to open along the Entrance Range, the reasonably old-university Rio Grande desires diners to know that it’s still alive and kicking.
Soon after shuttering its 23-year locale on Blake Avenue on Monday, the restaurant will reopen just a few blocks absent, at 1745 Wazee Avenue, on Friday, June 3. Rio operator Pat McGaughran reported he bought the Wazee property to be equipped to greater command his destiny as a restaurateur.
The new room will need less employees, it will offer you mounted-mortgage expenses in a very variable industry and it will arrive with a developed-in clientele of baseball enthusiasts and Union Station community residents, he included.
“LoDo is a distinctive room in today’s earth with regard to items that are happening on the street stage,” McGaughran instructed The Denver Article. “So I imagine that the power adjustments block by block these times. And when this spot turned readily available on Wazee, we realized that it is headed in the way of some really considerable financial commitment. And we felt like the space, even three blocks away from where we are now, was more workable for us.”
The Wazee Avenue Rio is found inside the place that Morton’s previous occupied until eventually its pandemic closure in 2020. Surrounded by new Ballpark community eating additions at the Dairy Block and McGregor Square, the Rio can be aspect of a “new energy” downtown, McGaughran hopes.
“You’ve obtained to stay on your activity right here, and that is what I’m hoping that today’s presentation of the Rio (does),” he reported.
The transfer has allowed the 36-12 months-outdated cafe idea to strike refresh without the need of closing for weeks or months. McGaughran reported he absolutely scraped the former steakhouse to build a gentle-crammed and pleasurable corner eating spot, comprehensive with a sidewalk patio.
A related transformation just took place at the initial, Fort Collins Rio, which closed next a kitchen hearth in July of 2021 and reopened with its redesign late very last month.
Joni Schrantz, Furnished by the Rio
The Rio in Fort Collins reopened with a redesign on Mountain Avenue in late May well, virtually a 12 months right after closingdue to a kitchen area hearth. (Joni Schrantz, Offered by the Rio)
The Northern Colorado restaurant had operated in a short term area when its Mountain Avenue authentic was rebuilt and redesigned. “It’s been a wild calendar year,” McGaughran claimed.
Fort Collins was the initially Rio Grande Mexican Cafe to open up in 1986, serving Tex-Mex fare and margaritas — of which a few is the limit, as locals know. Now the manufacturer includes 5 areas like outposts in Greeley, Boulder and Park Meadows.
“Back when we opened the (Denver) Rio in 1999, several individuals said, ‘Why would you go to Downtown Denver, it is dead down there,’” McGaughran recalled. “But we saw the potential… . Now men and women are asking us the similar concern: ‘Why keep in LoDo?’ And the solution is the identical.”
Opening at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 3, 1745 Wazee St., 303-623-5432, riograndemexican.com.
Subscribe to our new food stuff newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver foodstuff and drink information sent straight to your inbox.
