Fleur Bistro closes its doors in Capitol Hill

Almost two years after opening, Fleur Bistro officially closed its doors after brunch service yesterday. Today owner Andrew Esparza was packing up the tables and chairs. Despite a great Capitol Hill location, close to where he's lived for thirteen years, he says that business was slow and the restaurant just...

By Nathalia Vélez

October 29, 2012

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Almost two years after opening, Fleur Bistro officially closed its doors after brunch service yesterday. Today owner Andrew Esparza was packing up the tables and chairs. Despite a great Capitol Hill location, close to where he's lived for thirteen years, he says that business was slow and the restaurant just couldn't keep going.

Fleur opened in January 2011 in a circa 1872 Victorian building that once housed the Maison de Fleur flower shop. "I think it's a very difficult space because there is no parking and no real kitchen. We cooked by electrical burner and that kind of slowed down the food process," says owner Andrew Esparza.

Fleur had served lunch and dinner, as well as a eekend brunch with bottomless drinks. In August, it had expanded hours to seven days a week to better serve the neighborhood "I think we got good support from the community for our brunch business, and we got at least medium sales for lunch. But we weren't getting any business for dinner and we just couldn't make it," Esparza explains.

Esparza is also the owner of Zydeco's in LoDo, which he says he plans to keep open as long as business keeps coming in. And he hasn't discarded the idea of opening another restaurant in the future.

Follow @CafeWestword

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.