After a year and a half on Broadway, Crimson Canary closes in Baker

Crimson Canary, the "Boss Italian" restaurant in Baker that Interstate Kitchen & Bar owners Andre and Aaron Lobato (they're also brothers) and Joey Newman opened in the fall of 2011, ceased singing on Saturday night after a final dinner service. See also: - Best Fried Calamari - 2012 Crimson Canary...

By Lori Midson

April 8, 2013

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Crimson Canary, the "Boss Italian" restaurant in Baker that Interstate Kitchen & Bar owners Andre and Aaron Lobato (they're also brothers) and Joey Newman opened in the fall of 2011, ceased singing on Saturday night after a final dinner service.

The 1970s-era restaurant, its cherry-red chandeliers illuminating photos of recognizable mobsters, generated lots of amore from Laura Shunk, Westword's former restaurant critic -- and it was far more than a red-sauce joint, turning out excellent salumi and osso bucco, risotto and deep-fried calamari, the latter of which won a Best of Denver award in 2012.

"This is not your usual red-sauce kind of place. It's kind of like what we do at Interstate applied to this type of food," co-owner Joey Newman told Shunk when he and the Lobatos opened Crimson Canary after the success of Interstate, which is still going strong in the Santa Fe Arts District.

But Crimson Canary, located on a swatch of pavement that has a lot of competing restaurants and bars, never seemed to house a crowd, and Saturday morning, prior to shuttering, the doomsday announcement came via Facebook: "We gave it our best, but I'm sad to report that Crimson Canary will be closing its doors for the final time tonight. Come down for a drink and join us in saying goodbye to this awesome little spot."

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