Gordo Loco has a big burrito challenge -- and a bigger challenge getting a liquor license

Gordo Loco is fast gaining a reputation for its fast, filling 98-cent breakfast burrito, which it starts making at 6 a.m. every morning. But Gordo Loco offers many other burritos, including the monstrous El Diablo that was featured at its grand-opening celebration last Sunday, a month after Gordo Loco opened...

By Patricia Calhoun

March 28, 2011

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Gordo Loco is fast gaining a reputation for its fast, filling 98-cent breakfast burrito, which it starts making at 6 a.m. every morning. But Gordo Loco offers many other burritos, including the monstrous El Diablo that was featured at its grand-opening celebration last Sunday, a month after Gordo Loco opened its doors in northwest Denver.

The five-pound El Diablo -- filled with meat, eggs, breakfast potatoes, cheese green chile, even French fries -- sells for $15, but anytime a diner can down it by the deadline, he gets it free. A dozen people took on the El Diablo contest during the grand-opening festivities, and somehow half of them managed to conquer the devilish dish.

But there's one challenge that may prove insurmountable for Gordo Loco. The owners would like to add a liquor license and have applied with the city, but the Department of Excise and Licenses has ruled that the historic bungalow that's home to Gordo Loco (it once housed the original La Loma) is too close to a school -- it's within 218 feet of the Denver Public Schools Career Education Center.

Fortunately, Gordo Loco offers an assortment of fountain drinks and shakes, including an horchata version.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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