It was almost as if there were clones of Steve Ballas working the Wednesday lunch shift at Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs.
The 70-year-old was everywhere — taking orders behind the counter, bussing tables from the packed dining room and exchanging pleasantries with longtime customers of his. But he won’t be keeping up this frenetic pace much longer.
After nearly two decades slinging hot dogs alongside Colfax Avenue, Ballas is hanging up his tongs. On Saturday, Oct. 19, the iconic condiment-colored building will hot its last dog, the latest in a series of tough-to-swallow changes along the East Colfax corridor.
“Things happen and it's time to go out on top,” Ballas said.
We sat down with Ballas in Steve’s bustling dining room. Wherever your eyes wander, there’s something to be seen, whether it's newspaper clippings, signs explaining the choice of news channels being played on the two televisions, or the series of panels that tell the saga of Steve. (The first one says, “Genesis: 1958. Christmas Morning – Bridgeport Connecticut.”)
The style, in a word, is maximalism. But for Ballas, the unifying theme is simple:a love of serving guests, and specifically serving them hot dogs.
“The smile on someone's face is all I need, really,” Ballas said. “I mean, that's the joy of making other people happy with food, and that's what's been my success”
Customers flocked to Steve’s to enjoy one final hot dog
As soon as a banner announcing its closure went up outside Steve’s in late September, flocks of people started visiting the restaurant to say their final farewells.
The dining room was packed for lunch when we visited on Wednesday. Ballas described his at-times overwhelmingly large menu as “Americana” — there’s something for everyone.
There are the classics, like the Coney Island-style dog with chili and the Chicago Dog — but there are also dogs you’re unlikely to find anywhere else. The “Denver Dog” features bacon, chili and a sausage wrapped in a flour tortilla instead of the traditional bun. And if you’re feeling especially saucy, the “Chimi Dog” takes the Denver Dog and deep fries it like a chimichanga.
“People would come because the kids wanted hot dogs and they didn't have any. They came to my place,” Ballas said. “The kids love hot dogs and so do adults.”
And judging by the makeup of the diners, he’s right. People from all corners of Denver were there — nurses, firefighters, cowboys, office workers, remote-working parents with young children, all crammed into a redeveloped gas station.
Kathy Valdez came to catch a bite and to say her goodbyes. She’s been going to Steve’s since it opened in the 2000s.
“The dogs are good. I mean, who doesn't like a hot dog?” she said after placing an order.
As a New Yorker, Jan Renner holds hot dogs in high regard. And while she can’t get on a flight to the East Coast every week, she can make the drive to Steve’s.
“I like Steve's as much as I used to like the other dogs in New York,” Renner said.
Miriam Fernandez has been a regular for the last 15 years. Now she brings her daughter with her to Steve’s.
She said that Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs has been a constant over the last two decades while Denver has radically changed.
For Fernandez, Steve’s closure represents another period of change for the city.
“We have better museums. We have more interesting, exciting culinary restaurants and more people. I am a city person, so I love that,” Fernandez said. “But of course, you do see also the losses of this change that happens in any place that's changing and growing.”
Steve’s is closing amid great change along East Colfax
Steve’s isn’t the only restaurant closing in the corridor. Just across the street, Fox Run Cafe, a popular breakfast restaurant, is closing shop. Next door, a rolled ice creamery abruptly shut its doors. Enzo’s End Pizzeria, the go-to for late-night pies at PS Lounge, closed this summer.
Meanwhile, higher-end restaurants nearby appear to be thriving. Molotov Kitschen + Cocktails, an Eastern European restaurant a couple of blocks away, was named to The New York Times’ 2023 best restaurants list. Sắp Sửa, across from East High School, was a semifinalist in the Best New Restaurant category of the James Beard Awards.
Ballas attributes that to a changing restaurant business model: Costs are higher, and customers are willing to pay more money for fancier food.
“Think about it,” he said. “People will pay $20 for a vodka drink, but will they pay $20 for a hot dog? No. So you've got to change what they're willing to pay for, which is why I think it's getting a little more upscale.”
But, even if Ballas was given a chance to do it all over again, he wouldn’t trade his hot dogs for anything.
“I would just do the same thing, but I would've started younger,” he said.”
Ballas may be entering semi-retirement, but his legacy is set to continue
After Steve’s closes on Saturday, Ballas will be spending most of his time with his wife, who is in recovery from cancer.
“I'm a cancer survivor myself,” he said. “I want to get some of this weight off now that I have less stress in my life, and start walking around and doing some exercises and just kind of enjoying life a little.”
Ballas already has a contingency plan if he gets bored. A former EMT and police officer, Ballas said he’s thinking about driving a van to take people who use wheelchairs to rehab and hospital facilities.
While the Colfax location is closing, bits and pieces of Steve’s will carry on.
Travelers at Denver International Airport can still grab Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs in Terminal B for another two years, until its lease ends.
What’s next for the building?
Meanwhile, hot dogs may still be served by the future tenants of Steve’s building — just not by Ballas.
Mama Jo's Biscuits & BBQ, a Carolina-style BBQ joint owned by husband-and-wife duo Ben and Jodi Polson, is set to take over the space. In addition to smoked meats served with homemade biscuits, Ballas said they plan to keep some of Steve’s hot dogs and burgers on the menu.
“They understand my legacy and they want to keep that going and build on their own legacy for this space that's been here on Colfax,” Ballas said.
