Odyssey Italian Restaurant Closed Temporarily After Fire

A fire broke out inside Odyssey Italian Restaurant on February 16, forcing the popular Sicilian eatery at 603 East Sixth Avenue to close temporarily.

According to owner Jason Alfonso, he was alerted on Monday afternoon about the fire in his restaurant, which is located in a converted three-story mansion. There is no damage visible from the outside, but it “is pretty bad” inside, he says.

Alfonso is still working with his insurance provider and the Denver Fire Department to determine the cause of the fire, but he currently believes it was because “an exterior fan caught on fire,” and the flames then spread inside the restaurant through the ventilation system. The fire department put out the fire promptly after arriving, but stayed on the scene into the evening.

“We’re trying to work through the insurance claims and get open again as soon as possible,” Alfonso says.

Known for classic red-sauce dishes, a group-friendly vibe and a killer pasta deal on Mondays, Odyssey is also home to one of the best walks from the front of the house to your dining table in Denver. If you eat upstairs, the trip will take you through multiple hallways and the kitchen, giving you a Goodfellas-like feeling while taking you on a mini-tour of the old Victorian house.

Alfonso hopes to reopen Odyssey within a month. In the meantime, he’s asking patrons to visit Ollie & Parks, his other restaurant at 1210 East 17th Avenue in Uptown. According to Alfonso, the American tapas restaurant will temporarily feature Odyssey items while its sister spot recovers. And that includes the Monday pasta deal — half-price on many of Odyssey’s pasta dishes, accompanied by a Caesar salad and bread.

“If we could get some support at our other restaurant, Ollie & Parks, that would really mean a lot,” Alfonso says. “We’re trying to bring some of the Odyssey menu there while scaling back on the usual Ollie & Parks menu.”

It’s been a tough time for restaurants and diners on this stretch of East Sixth Avenue. Mr. Lucky’s sandwich shop, located one block east of Odyssey at 711 East Sixth, abruptly closed in late 2025 after being seized by the city for unpaid taxes. And at the start of 2025, James Beard award-winning chef Alex Seidel closed Fruition, a Michelin-recommended restaurant at 1313 East Sixth Avenue. Another eatery is scheduled to open there later this year.

For our bellies’ sake, we hope the modern Odyssey’s journey is much, much shorter than Homer’s.