Amazing Jake's reaches the end of an amazing run

The amazing saga of Amazing Jake's will draw to a close on Saturday, when the entire contents of the 65,000 square-foot facility at 1400 South Abilene in Aurora will be auctioned off by Super Auctions. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for anyone to bring their favorite entertainment experience into the...

By Patricia Calhoun

May 6, 2010

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The amazing saga of Amazing Jake's will draw to a close on Saturday, when the entire contents of the 65,000 square-foot facility at 1400 South Abilene in Aurora will be auctioned off by Super Auctions. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for anyone to bring their favorite entertainment experience into the comfort of their own home," promises Robert Storment, president of Super Auctions.

The list of items for sale include coin-operated arcade video games, billiard equipment, kiddie rides, a carousel, bumper cars and the entire inventory of restaurant equipment, including pizza stations, tables, coolers and bar equipment. You can preview the concents from 1 to 7 p.m. tomorrow; live bidding starts at 10:15 a.m. May 8.

Art Cormier -- renowned in Denver both for Smiley's laundromat and the Regency Hotel -- had taken over the giant funplex last year, with plans to change it into Smiley's Fun Center. But neighbors didn't like the fun he had in mind: live music and big parties that had drawn many complaints when he hosted them at the Regency. Cormier never formally submitted an application to the City of Aurora that would have allowed the changes he wanted to make at Amazing Jake's, though, and his lease on the space officially ended January 12.

By then, Cormier had a new interest: Fun City, the former Mr. Biggs (and Fat City before that) at 9670 West Coal Mine Avenue in Littleton, which could soon have an amazing story of its own.

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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