UPDATE 3:30 p.m., Thursday, February 16: Blue Pan Pizza, 3930 West 32nd Avenue, is also closed for the day. A phone message at Sam's No. 3 downtown states that the restaurant has been "forced to shut down" but expects to be back open at 5:30 a.m. Friday morning.
UPDATE 1:30 p.m., Thursday, February 16: After a tour of Denver's west side, we can report that the following restaurants are closed for the day:
Cafe Chihuahua, 2250 South Federal Boulevard
Doña Lidia Gorditas, 1201 South Federal Boulevard
El Camaron Loco, 775 Federal Boulevard
La Calle Taqueria y Carnitas, 1565 West Alameda Avenue
Las Tortugas, 1549 West Alameda Avenue
Los Gallitos, 2630 West Alameda Avenue
Patzcuaro's, 2616 West 32nd Avenue
Tacos El Paisa, 1920 Federal Boulevard
Tacos Junior, 1951 South Federal Boulevard
Tacos y Salsas, 910 South Federal Boulevard
Tarasco's New Latino Cuisine, 470 South Federal Boulevard
Torres Mexican Food, 1597 South Federal Boulevard
Tortisimas, 375 Federal Boulevard
Villa Real Food Truck, 1512 West Alameda Avenue
With this many restaurants closed in one small part of town, the impact is no doubt being felt throughout metro Denver.
Original story posted at 10 this morning:
Both locations of Maria Empanada (on South Broadway and in the Denver Tech Center) and Adelitas Cocina y Cantina and its companion bar, Palenque Mezcaleria, announced yesterday that they would be closed today to support employees participating in A Day Without Immigrants, a national day of protest on February 16 that calls for immigrants (and those who support them) to stay home from work and school and to not spend money.
Now several more local restaurants have joined in, including two of restaurateur Frank Bonanno's eateries — Osteria Marco and Russell's Smokehouse — and all three locations of Biju's Little Curry Shop. Here's the message Bonanno sent out on Facebook:
People who have been with me ten, thirteen years, without missing a day are choosing to make their voices heard on this one. I stand with them. We stand with our team. In honor of today's protests, Osteria Marco & Russell's Smokehouse will be closed for business today.And Biju Thomas, who runs Biju's Little Curry Shops in RiNo, Berkeley and Boulder, added this to his Facebook page:
Hi friends ... in support of our team, our friends and extended families we will close today. @littlecurryshop in RiNo will have free chai and a place for people to visit and talk about all this today, but please bring your own lunch. Thank you all for your support ... #Onward !!!
Although Machete Tequila and Tacos has not released a statement, the downtown and Cherry Creek locations are not answering phone calls during posted business hours. Quijote's Mexican Grill at 1043 Broadway is also closed.
Some restaurants are closing in solidarity with the movement, while others may be forced to close or restrict hours and menu offerings because of the one-day walkout. We'll update the list of closures as we learn more.
