And now Gordo Loco is gone: A note on the door says "closed today," an owner reached on the phone yesterday said they were making some changes -- but the sign out front has been pulled down, and the Gordo Loco truck is no longer in the parking lot.
What's left behind is a newly renovated space...that has a very long history.
This bungalow was built as the home of a soap-factory mogul; its first use as a restaurant was the original La Loma. After that venture moved down the street, the historic building housed many different ventures, among them a Filipino restaurant, a Chinese restaurant, an international restaurant and La Fabula. That ambitious Mexican spot didn't last long, and the problems of the partners behind it didn't end with the death of their restaurant: The bodies of Ronald Ford and Ramiro Sanchez were found in their home in southwest Denver in February, and the Denver Police Department is still searching for a cross-dresser known as "Ms. Puppy" in connection with their deaths.
After La Fabula, the building housed the Shooting Star coffeehouse. It had sat empty for several years before it became Gordo Loco, a fun spot with big burritos and burgers at low prices.
But while Gordo Loco looked great, it faced a stiff hurdle: The building is so close to a school that it cannot get a liquor license. And in the end, that may be have been the biggest curse of all.
