Wellshire Inn concessionaires on the outs with city

Former Westword scribe Jared Jacang Maher has more good scoop on the city's deal -- or lack thereoff -- with the Wellshire Inn, the facility at a city-owned golf course that isn't bringing the city a penny. In fact, the concessionaries who have the contract on the Wellshire -- a...

By Patricia Calhoun

December 3, 2010

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Former Westword scribe Jared Jacang Maher has more good scoop on the city's deal -- or lack thereoff -- with the Wellshire Inn, the facility at a city-owned golf course that isn't bringing the city a penny.

In fact, the concessionaries who have the contract on the Wellshire -- a deal between Larry Atler and Howard Torgrove that dates back to 1976 -- haven't paid the city rent for two years, Maher reports, "while other concessionaires at some of Denver's seven other public golf courses dole out between $20,000 and $132,480 in annual payments to the city."

"We have a property of considerable stature and value," Chris Nevitt, Denver City Council president, told Maher. "We should be maximizing our revenue from that, not to mention providing a cool venue for people to have events and eat. And it's doing nothing for us right now. If we're in business with someone who can't get it done, then we need to be in business with someone who can."

There's more, lots more, about the Wellshire, which you can read in Maher's story on facethestate.com.

Leo Goto used to run the Wellshire Inn with Atler and Torgrove -- but he has his own problems these days, since his Riverfront restaurant abruptly shut down.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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