Sullivan's, the Site of a Memorable Meal With Barry Fey, Is Closing This Weekend

It’s time to say so long to Sullivan’s Steakhouse. When this eatery, which is owned by the Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group, opened at 1745 Wazee Street back in 1999, the Westword office was right across 18th Street, and we frequently found ourselves at one of the high-tops in the boxing-themed bar — chatting, snacking, drinking (too many) beers, listening to jazz and occasionally smoking a big cigar. And on special occasions, we made our way to the dining room, where we’d indulge in meaty meals and meatier conversations. On one particularly memorable night exactly sixteen years ago, we took a favorite guest diner along on an official reviewing meal.

“The server, who looked young enough to be Mick Jagger’s granddaughter, twittered with excitement as she leaned toward one of my dining companions,” then-Cafe critic Kyle Wagner wrote. “Pointing to his Rolling Stones sweatshirt, she asked, ‘Have you ever seen them?’
“Barry Fey made a low chortling noise but kept a straight face. ‘Yes, dear, I’ve seen them,’ he said, refraining from adding something like, ‘and the last time was in my living room.’ And then the Denver icon, a man our server clearly did not recognize, turned his attention to more important matters: removing every particle of meat from the bone of his porterhouse.”

Barry Fey, the concert promoter who loved a good steak as much as he loved the music business, is gone now — and after the close of service on Saturday, May 30, this Sullivan’s will be, too. The lease is up and another restaurant is now looking at the space.

There are eighteen other Sullivan’s locations across the country. And the DFRG has staked its steak claim in metro Denver in other ways. Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House, in the Denver Tech Center, has been serving up big steaks and big martinis for two decades; this fall, the company will open the more casual Del Frisco’s Grille at 2930 East Second Avenue.

If only we could meet Barry there for dinner.