Construction fencing surrounds the old Pete's Greek Town Cafe, at 2910 E. Colfax Ave., but the building doesn't appear to be undergoing any updates or renovations.
Trees of heaven grow along the old diner's side. Graffitied chipboard covers the windows. The whole place, a casualty of the pandemic, looks like it isn't coming back to life anytime soon.
It's a disappointing sight for regulars, who went to Pete's Greek Town Cafe for the saganaki flaming cheese, the spanakopita-spinach pies, the mousaka and the endless cups of coffee. This was just a few years back, when you could get a sandwich and fries for under $10, when most diners priced food to serve everyone looking for a place to hang out for a while, to build community -- not rush in, rush out, and speed gobble a $17 sandwich.
The dilapidated building is also a sad sight for Denverites who were eager for trendy California-based chain, Dave's Hot Chicken, to take over the restaurant, as Jason Beld, the restaurant's franchisee, told BusinessDen it would, just over a year ago. At the time, Beld had submitted concept plans to the city for some work on the restaurant.
The project looked promising. But it never took off because Dave's Hot Chicken recently "terminated the lease agreement," Forrest Hunt of the Crosbie Real Estate Group told Denverite.
Beld did not return Denverite's requests for comment on this story.
Once again, a for-sale sign graces the building, but the owner, the late Pete Contos's wife Elizabeth Contos, would also consider taking on another tenant.
The property is advertised as both a restaurant and a "redevelopment opportunity." The price is unspecified.
Though the restaurant looks shabby, it's a reminder of Pete Contos's legacy and what Denver has lost when he died at 85 in 2019.
Contos immigrated from Greece to the United States in 1955 and spent the next decades opening restaurants and bars that defined Colfax Avenue: the Satire Lounge, Pete's Gyros Place and eventually Pete's Kitchen, among other spots both on and off Colfax.
Several of Contos' spots are still running, even as other Colfax staples vanish.
Longtime Congress Park favorite Annie's Cafe shuttered earlier this year and now houses Spice Room. Capitol Hill's Tom's Diner is now a Palm Springs-style cocktail bar. City Grille -- which once boasted having Denver's best burgers -- is an office for developer Milender White's nearby construction project. And the Denver Diner is being rehabbed as a Chase Bank.
So what's the future of Pete's Greek Town Cafe: diner, trendy bar, condos or bank?
Ask Hunt, and his answer is simple: "It's available."
