Ten Biggest Denver Restaurant Closures of 2025

It was a busy year in the dining scene, with the opening of many notable new spots such as Rougarou, BearLeek and Pig & Tiger. There are more exciting openings on the horizon in 2026, but the ever-changing scene means the closings keep coming as well.

While it hadn’t served a meal since 2020, we’re still mourning the loss of Mexican staple Benny’s after finally getting confirmation that it won’t be coming back after its building was listed for sale or lease. And this year brought other big headlines as old favorites served their last meals, some amid controversy.

Here are the biggest restaurant closures of 2025:

AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q
2180 South Delaware Street
Jared Leonard had a wild run in Colorado that came to an abrupt end this year. After opening restaurants in Chicago, he came to Denver in 2018 to open Au Feu at Zeppelin Station. Over the next seven years, he opened and closed (and relocated) many concepts, including Budlong, Clairette, Grabowski’s and two locations of Campfire in Lakewood and Evergreen, all of which were shuttered by the time employees at his barbecue joint, AJ’s, staged a walk-out in February, just before the restaurant was seized for unpaid taxes. Leonard was in Mexico at the time, where he had just opened two eateries in Punta Mita. By July, he’d been indicted by an Illinois-based grand jury on federal wire fraud charges. The upside: Patrick Klaiber, who previously worked for Leonard as the pitmaster at AJ’s, took over the space with business partners Manny Barella and Caleb Benton. Now, he’s a co-owner of one of the best new restaurants in the city, Riot BBQ.

Fruition
1313 East Sixth Avenue
It was December 2024 when James Beard award-winning chef Alex Seidel announced that he was shuttering his first restaurant, Fruition, in January of this year after an eighteen-year run: one of the first closures of 2025. Fruition was the kind of spot that welcomed both neighborhood regulars and diners celebrating special occasions. When it served its last meal, it was helmed by executive chef Jarred Russell, who is now in the kitchen at Kawa Ni. Last year, Sage Hospitality Group took on the majority partner role at Seidel’s other remaining Denver restaurant, Mercantile at Union Station, though he is still listed as an owner at that spot as well as the chicken chain Chook.

The Hornet
76 Broadway
For nearly three decades, the Hornet buzzed on Broadway, where it was a staple in the Baker neighborhood for boozy brunches, casual lunches and crowd-pleasing dinners. But in August, it announced that it was saying goodbye for good following the sale of its building for $3.3 million in May — despite the fact that it had two years left on its lease. If you’re missing the Hornet, consider visiting Acova, the LoHi spot from Hornet owner Sean Workman, which serves the same Honey Stung Fried Chicken and has its own solid brunch.

Lao Wang Noodle House
945 South Federal Boulevard
For nearly 25 years, Tse-Ming and Chun-Ming Wang shared their potstickers, soup dumplings and more with fans at their spot on South Broadway. After Tse-Ming passed away in 2021 at the age of 76, his wife continued cooking Lao Wang’s beloved staples, but in January, their son, Danny Wang, told Westword that the eatery would serve its last guests the following month. “Looking at where Mom is with her health, it’s tough for her, and there’s only so much we can do with two or three of us,” he said. While he hinted at a possible return one day in a new location, there haven’t been any updates.

Mercury Cafe
2199 California Street
A cultural mainstay that was started fifty years ago by Marilyn Megenity, Mercury Cafe was more than a bar or restaurant, it was a gathering place for the community…a mainstay even as it moved through several locations before landing at 22nd and California streets. In 2021, Megenity was ready to retire, and sold the business to entrepreneur Danny Newman; his wife, Christy Kruzick; and business partner Austin Gayer. But in August 2024, Newman put the Merc up for sale. At the end of March, the Merc held one last hurrah before new owners Dom Garcia and Ashlee Cassity stepped in and transformed it into the Pearl. While the Mercury Cafe name is gone, its new iteration carries on its spirit, with bohemian décor, an eclectic vibe and a packed calendar of events such as poetry, open mics, jazz jams, dance lessons, game nights, karaoke, lectures, tarot readings, trivia, concerts and more, all with a new LGBTQIA+ focus.

Middleman/Misfit Snack Bar
3401 EastColfax Avenue
The BRT construction project caused chaos on Colfax this year, with many bars and restaurants struggling as blocked sidewalks and streets stifled business. One of the spots that was hit the hardest was Middleman, a seven-year-old neighborhood watering hole that also housed the James Beard-nominated Misfit Snack Bar. “We are down 50 percent from last year, and we are hemorrhaging money every month now,” chef Bo Porytko, owner of Misfit, told Westword in June, when the bar announced its closure. Porytko still owns and operates his Ukrainian restaurant Molotov Kitschen + Cocktails down the street, however, and the Middleman space recently reopened under new owners as the Lowbeam — though it only offers snacks like olives, nuts and chips to snack on. RIP to the Misfit burger.

Q House
3421 East Colfax Avenue
Located in the same building as Middleman, the Q House space remains vacant after its September closure. The Michelin-recommended, upscale Chinese eatery from chef/owner Christopher Lin had been open since 2018 and was the best spot in town for wok-fried cheung fun. We’ve yet to find a suitable replacement — suggestions are welcome.

Osaka Ramen/Sushi-Rama RiNo
2611 Walnut Street/2615 Larimer Street
February marked the end of an era when chef Jeff Osaka closed his last two remaining restaurants, Osaka Ramen and the original location of his conveyor-belt sushi chain Sushi-Rama, which were both open in RiNo for a decade. Osaka has operated restaurants in Denver since 2008, when he debuted his first spot, the original Twelve, which closed in 2014. Its next iteration, 12@Madison, never reopened after the pandemic hit, but Osaka had also grown Sushi-Rama to five outposts over its ten-year run. Phraya Thai is now serving in Sushi-Rama’s former home, while BearLeek debuted in Osaka Ramen’s subterranean space.

Pete’s University Park Cafe
2345 East Evans Avenue
Since the pandemic, we’ve lost a lot of classic diners (RIP to spots like the Breakfast King, Denver Diner, Breakfast Inn and Tom’s Diner). In November, yet another greasy spoon shuttered after the Contos family made the decision to close Pete’s University Park Cafe after running it for three decades. Now, the family is focused on keeping its other beloved spots — Pete’s Kitchen and Pete’s Satire Lounge on Colfax as well as Pete’s Central One in Washington Park West — afloat, and we’re hoping none of them drift off anytime soon.