Reader: We're Losing Colorado Classics to Cookie-Cutter Pizza Chains

The Beau Jo's on South Colorado Boulevard was sweet while it lasted... Westword

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Beau Jo's, the forty-plus-year-old purveyor of the "Colorado-style pizza," is closing its location at 2710 South Colorado Boulevard on July 30. Although the homegrown chain will still have six other outposts, including the original location in Idaho Springs, the loss of this convenient spot hit Denver fans hard. Says Betty:

Sad...losing out to the cookie-cutter pizzas, from chains that are fighting for the almighty dollar. Hopefully the remaining locations can continue to thrive and keep the tradition going.

Adds Dallas: 

My first pizza in Colorado...the Front Range had some great pizza in 1973. Edgewater, Bonnie Brae, Antonio's, Pizza Oven, Carbones and Famous come to mind.

But then there's this from Jared:

It's a classic Colorado establishment, but there is some great pizza to compete with nowadays. I love what they do, but they need changes...

And some of that great pizza is coming from Italian joints that are even older than Beau Jo's, including the six old-school spots we listed later this week. Says Toni:

I've been going to Carl's Pizza since I was a small child, nearly sixty years now. They still have the best sausage pizza in town. I remember many times my dad and I would go in the back door to pick up pizza for our Friday night payday treat. Their sausage and pepper sandwich is really good and the spaghetti is good. 

click to enlarge

Carl's is still going strong at sixty-plus.

Westword

Adds David:

I've been chowing down on the rectagular pizza while swilling cheap tap beer at Lechuga's since the ’70s. Love the sausage (extra please) and onion pie — and the crust actually tastes more like crispy buttery dinner rolls. Yum. We're fond of Gennaro's calzones, too, though.

And Jan salutes another spot that turns fifty this year:

Romano's has been a favorite of mine for decades. May they long survive.

Will you miss this Beau Jo's location? What are your favorite old-school Italian joints in metro Denver?