Former Home of Iconic Diner Is Vacant Once Again

It was the end of a coffee-fueled era when Breakfast King, the once-24/7 diner at 1100 South Santa Fe Drive that had been open since 1975, abruptly locked its doors for good in January 2022.

The news hit fans hard, especially because it came on the heels of the closures of several other beloved old-school diners, including 20th Street Cafe (which reopened under new owners with a Mexican focus in 2023), Tom’s Diner (which attempted a comeback as the short-lived Tom’s Starlight; now that spot is home to Champagne Tiger) and the Denver Diner, which was knocked down to make way for a Chase banking outpost.

But the orange Breakfast King booths were occupied by diners once again late last year, after La Reyna Azteca moved in that August. The business, which has a location on East Hampden Avenue as well as a taco- and torta-focused brick-and-mortar and a food truck in Aurora, tried to appeal to the diner crowd by opening early and serving both Mexican and American breakfast dishes, including chicken and waffles, biscuits and gravy, omelets, pancakes, French toast and Monte Cristo sandwiches.

But the queen’s reign was short. La Reyna Azteca closed just a year after bringing breakfast back to the iconic King’s former home.

Now, the building is vacant once again, and the orange booths are empty.

The space is currently available for lease through SullivanHayes Brokerage, under the address 300 West Mississippi Avenue. The lease rate is listed as “negotiable” for the 2,850-square-foot turnkey restaurant space, which was built in 1967.

Is it time for a diner revival? We hope so. The city still has some beloved old-school greasy spoons, but we just lost another one with the closure of Pete’s University Park Cafe earlier this month. In August, that spot’s sister restaurant, the decades-old Pete’s Kitchen on Colfax, posted this plea on social media: “The construction on Colfax has impacted us far more than we could have imagined. Please come support us during this time and shop local. Colfax small businesses are hurting now, and it’s on us to lean on each other and support each other during these difficult times. Your favorite diner, bar, bookstore, or record shop could be the next to close if we fail to support them now when they need it most.”

Fans did come out to show support, and now that the Contos family has closed the DU diner, they can focus even more on keeping Pete’s Kitchen and the Satire next door around, hopefully for a long time to come.

We’re also hoping to see someone revive the Breakfast King space with a breakfast spot that truly embodies the spirit of an old-school diner. The local food scene is getting more sophisticated with every new tasting menu spot that opens, but there’s still room for the simple things, too.