Govinda’s Garden is closing — April 29 will be last day for Denver vegan eatery
The Radha Krishna Temple is taking back control of the restaurant.
Govinda's Garden Café. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Denver is losing one of its vegan restaurants, and probably its quaintest.
Owners Nandini and Carlos Rossi announced earlier this week that Govinda’s Garden Café will close April 29.
“It is with a heavy heart that we are writing this communication to all of you,” Nandini Rossi wrote. “So, the sad news; my husband Carlos and I will be closing our Govinda’s Garden Vegan Café as of April, Saturday the 29th and as of that date we no longer be serving our healthy vegan buffet to you all, as we have for the past three and half years. We are so sorry.”
The note says the Radha Krishna Temple is taking back control of the restaurant, which it ran before the Rossis. It’s uncertain whether they’ll continue to serve food.
Govinda’s is the latest in a steady stream of closing mainstay Denver restaurants. It’s also the second vegan restaurant to close this year — Handy Diner closed in March — and another in a line of vibrantly painted Denver restaurants to close somewhat recently. We can only hope the building doesn’t meet the same gray-painted fate as Le Central and Gypsy House.
The restaurant will host a goodbye celebration on Earth Day, April 22. Details to come.
Here’s the full letter from the Rossis:
Dear friends and customers,
It is with a heavy heart that we are writing this communication to all of you. You all are very dear to us and we have developed wonderful personal relationships, friendships and connections with you. It has been our deepest satisfaction getting to know so many and to serve you over the past years.
The Temple had informed us that they want to take over the management and running of the restaurant awhile back. This was unsettling to us and we were hopeful in our numerous meetings and discussions with the temple management that things might change, but this was not to be. So, the sad news; my husband Carlos and I will be closing our Govinda’s Garden Vegan Café as of April, Saturday the 29th and as of that date we no longer be serving our healthy vegan buffet to you all, as we have for the past three and half years. We are so sorry.
At this point we do not have any information about what the temple plans are. When they plan to open? How many days and hours? We do not feel they plan to continue to be a 100% vegan buffet. We hope that they provide us with this information so that we can pass it on to you all before our departure. Our prayer is that the temple continues to run their buffet successfully that it remains the special place.
As the saying goes, “that which appears to be the end, may only be the beginning”. Our favorite spiritual songwriter George Harrison sang in his first solo album: “All Things Must Pass”. We see the signs and humbly accept the plan of our Sweet Lord.
My husband and I will be taking some time for rejuvenation and healing and to take care of some personal things. When the time is right, we plan to open a vegan catering business… a cookbook book perhaps with all the Govinda’s Garden Vegan recipes you love so much. We will be dividing our time between Denver and Dallas, so we are still looking forward to see many of you in the future.
We will have our last event on Saturday, April 22, Earth Day. A combination of a farewell and celebration for Mother Earth. We will post about this happienng soon.
We hope we can see you and give you a big hug perhaps on our Earth Day Finale Celebration, before our departure, and look so forward to seeing and serving you all in this our final month.
In closing, we want to thank you all so much for your support, encouragement, appreciation and yes, love.
Many blessings and best wishes for you all.
With gratitude
Your friends and servants
Nandini and Carlos Rossi
Your friends and servants
Nandini and Carlos Rossi
An Asian community center in Aurora was vandalized. In less than a week, the community tripled its repairs fundraising campaign goal
Happy Living’s GoFundMe campaign raised over $10,000 within a week.
Denver officials just shut down an East Colfax motel that had been a chaotic home to people without one
The Regis Motel’s owner hoped to turn it into a shelter before its license was suspended over drugs, prostitution, theft and a homicide.
Things to do in Denver this weekend, Sept. 29-Oct.1
The Lumberjack Festival, Suave Fest, the far East Center's Mid-Autumn Festival and much, much more!
See the future of Denargo Market, a 17-acre development bringing thousands of new residents near downtown Denver
The first phase of the project just off Brighton Boulevard will include four acres of open space.
Live jazz returns to the old Chapultepec venue Friday night. Organizers say the special performance is about more than just the music
“How far down the line do we have to get before we realize that one of the very things that is sustaining us is also disappearing?”
A new mural representing the Asian diaspora’s reach in the West will be unveiled at the Auraria Campus this weekend
The mural, sponsored by Colorado Asian Pacific United, seeks to continue publicizing Denver’s rich but often forgotten Asian history.
Finding a restroom or water fountain isn’t easy in Denver — especially if you don’t have a home. A new report shows how the unhoused get by
Seeing feces on the streets? There's a reason for that: It's hard to get to a toilet.
Denver’s considering reallocating nearly $15 million toward mayor’s goal of housing 1,000 people
City Council will vote on the proposals pulling from COVID and American Rescue Plan funds in the coming weeks.
Denverites will soon be able to fly directly to Monterrey, Mexico
Viva Aerobus is the latest airline to add operations at Denver International Airport.
Spike in eviction assistance calls leaves housing nonprofit Brothers Redevelopment ‘floored’
The nonprofit's hotline has seen an almost 60% spike in calls regarding rental and eviction prevention assistance, especially in Barnum, Westwood and Villa Park.
RTD’s A Line will still be called the ‘A Line’ because no one wanted to pay to rename it
A 2022 review valued the naming rights of the train to DIA at $1 million per year.
Four painters will battle it out at the Black Love Mural Festival at RiNo’s Art Park this Saturday
The event, born after the 2020 murder of George Floyd, will highlight Black women artists.
We’re telling scary stories in October. You should join us (if you dare)
Denverite presents "Denverfright: Tales of the Strange and Unusual" on Wednesday, Oct. 25, at the Bug Theatre.
Man charged in August shooting at Logan Street homeless encampment that was later swept by city
The shooting served as a justification for the sweep, though one witness interviewed by police said they'd never seen the alleged shooter.
At Denver’s sanctioned campsites, a model similar to Mike Johnston’s micro communities, roughly half of residents return to homelessness
Officials say their burgeoning "micro-community" program will strengthen the services needed for success.
Anna Sie remembered as trailblazing philanthropist across the state
“My mom’s story was a love story between an immigrant from Italy and an immigrant from China."
Denver pedestrians give a collective shrug to CDOT’s ‘neon navigators’ safety campaign
CDOT this week recognized dangerous intersections in the Denver metro, including 14th Avenue and Federal Boulevard.
A demo company wants to raze this Park Hill mansion on Montview for development. Will Denver save it?
The “Italian Design Home” was once owned by Denver theater mogul Harry Huffman.
Here’s how to have your say on RTD service changes that will go into effect January 2024
Feedback will be accepted through next Thursday.
Denver’s upcoming sweep of encampment near Governor’s Mansion came with housing offers. Some who were at work missed out
Approximately 70 people living at the 8th and Logan camp are headed to individual shelter as Mike Johnston's admin conducts first camp relocation.