Every Opening and Closing This Week: Sushi Ronin Shutters and More

During the last week of February, we reported more restaurant closures than openings for the first time this year – and March has kicked off in a similar fashion with four closures, three openings and one comeback.

This week saw the end of the original Sushi Ronin, which was the first restaurant of the year to open in 2016 and nabbed our pick for Best Sushi Bar the following year. After that, the LoHi eatery parted ways with opening chef Corey Baker, who is now heading up the kitchen at Kumoya, and added two now-closed outposts in Lowry and Congress Park (that space recently reopened as a location of Bamboo Sushi).

The company’s majority owner, Alex Gurevich, has also been tied up in court. According to a September 2024 BusinessDen story, “a federal judge has rejected a bankrupt LoHi sushi restaurant’s plan for restructuring after finding it would force out two minority co-owners and unfairly benefit a third.”

But his son, Ethan Gurevich, who was also Sushi Ronin’s executive chef, says the closure is unrelated to any legal issues. “It was simply that the renewal for the lease was close to double the current lease, leaving it not financially viable to remain in LoHi,” he tells Westword. “In addition, the last partner/owner left is moving on from sushi restaurants.”

A statement from the restaurant about the closure reads: “We are grateful to our community and loyal patrons over the last ten years. We can’t thank everyone enough for the support and we are deeply saddened that Sushi Ronin is closing its doors. Unfortunately, the ability to remain open wasn’t an option anymore, as the climate for small business in Denver is changing rapidly. We are honored to have helped pave the way for restaurants, chefs and Japanese cuisine in Denver. We will cherish the memories we made and helped others create.”

Other closures this week include Virginia Vale dive bar W.T. Shorty’s. (If you never got to experience this tucked-away watering hole, revisit Sarah McGill’s 2017 story about the joint.)

Gypsy House Cafe announced that it was shuttering after losing a court battle with its landlord. It is hosting a farewell party at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 8. “This day will be filled with photo shoots, dancing, singing, laughing and if we choose to cry we will do it together!” reads an Instagram post announcing the closure. “Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, we will be covering our walls with white paint and are welcoming the community to participate in this ritual as a way to say goodbye.”

And, of course, the most talked-about closure of the week was AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q; employees staged a walkout just days before the property was seized by the state for unpaid taxes.

In more optimistic openings news, Full Frame Beer made its debut this week in the former home of Jagged Mountain downtown. A passion project from two industry vets, Westword contributor Ryan Pachmayer says it’s the right addition at the right time for the local craft beer scene.

Over a year after it was forced to close because of zoning issues, Moonflower Coffee is back on West Colfax and has taken over the entire space that originally opened as Full Tank Food Park.

In Lakewood, Taiwanese-Hawaiian dessert shop TropiTai Delights drew so many customers during its grand opening weekend that it ran out of many ingredients for its milk teas and shaved ice. It’s currently on pause until Thursday, March 13, while it restocks.

Back after a planned refresh is Tamayo on Larimer Square. The two-decade-old restaurant from chef Richard Sandoval had closed on New Year’s Day; it reopened on March 4.

In other openings and closings news:

• Molson Coors announced that the Blue Moon brewpub in RiNo will close by the end of March.
• The Dewey Beer outpost in RiNo is now neighborhood bar the Shambles.
• Local Mexican chain El Tequileño is opening a fifth location in Westminster.

Here’s the complete list of restaurants and bars that opened and closed this week*:

Openings

Full Frame Beer, 1139 20th Street
TropiTai Delights, 98 Wadsworth Boulevard, Lakewood
Moonflower Coffee, 4200 West Colfax Avenue

Reopening

Tamayo, 1400 Larimer Street

Closures

AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q, 2180 South Delaware Street
Gypsy House Cafe, 1545 South Broadway
Sushi Ronin, 2930 Umatilla Street
W.T. Shorty’s, 990 South Oneida Street

What did we miss? Email info to editorial@westword.com.