Tossa, a concept cooked up by Smashburger, closes its first (and only) location

The space is dark, the phone number is disconnected, and the website is deader than Elvis. All of which means that Boulder's Tossa, which had been tossing fast-casual pizzas and pasta for over a year now, has officially closed. See also: - Five restaurants that both opened and closed in...

By Chris Utterback

December 28, 2012

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The space is dark, the phone number is disconnected, and the website is deader than Elvis. All of which means that Boulder's Tossa, which had been tossing fast-casual pizzas and pasta for over a year now, has officially closed.

Cooked up by some of the brains and chefs behind Smashburger, one of Colorado's major fast-casual success stories, Tossa brought an interesting concept to a pizza-clogged city: gourmet items like white-bean dip and Sicilian Orange salads ordered over the counter by day, and full table service and wine selections by night.

Yet from the time it opened, Tossa faced stiff competition not only from Boulder's many lauded pizza restaurants, but a strong slate of fast-casual contenders like Larkburger, Cuba Cuba Sandwicheria and a Red Robin Burgerworks in the same shopping center.

News broke of Tossa's closing the day after Christmas, but a recent Yelp review said that the restaurant had been dark on December 21, a sign posted on the door with instructions on how to redeem Tossa gift cards.

According to Stacie Lange, a spokeswoman with Denver-based Consumer Capital Partners, the firm that owns Smashburger and Tossa, the company is refining the Tossa concept and still plans to open more units in Denver in 2013. "We're taking a hard look at everything," she says, and that includes recipes and the look and feel of the restaurants.

She also calls Boulder's Tossa experiment "a great success for us."

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