Building Facade Above the Greedy Hamster Collapses

Bad news for the month-old Greedy Hamster, which took over the downtown space on 14th Street vacated by the Belvedere: The brick facade above the pub's patio — and a large part of the the rest of the building — collapsed onto the sidewalk yesterday afternoon. The Denver Fire Department...

By Mark Antonation

June 16, 2015

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Bad news for the month-old Greedy Hamster, which took over the downtown space on 14th Street vacated by the Belvedere: The brick facade above the pub's patio — and a large part of the the rest of the building — collapsed onto the sidewalk yesterday afternoon. The Denver Fire Department and building inspectors were quickly on the scene to evacuate the structure and assess the damage. As of this morning, the building is cordoned off, temporary chain link fences have been put up and the businesses at that address will not be able to open to customers.

No one was injured during the incident, but Greedy Hamster owner Tay Wilbanks says there were guests on the patio just twenty minutes before the bricks started coming down. Her restaurant was just starting to build momentum, she adds, and having to close with no idea if an when she'll be able to reopen is stressful. "We had all of this stuff planned for PrideFest this weekend," she notes.

The damage appears to be cosmetic at this point, but the building's status will be uncertain until the city is able to conduct a full inspection. Other businesses affected include Fortune Cookie Tattoo and a computer repair shop.

The Greedy Hamster posted this photo on its Facebook page:

As you may have heard, the facade of our building came crashing down today. We will update the page as soon as we have any news. Thanks for the concern and support.
Posted by The Greedy Hamster on Monday, June 15, 2015

Mark Antonation is the former Westword Food & Drink Editor. In 2018, he was named Outstanding Media Professional by the Colorado Restaurant Association; he's now with the Colorado Restaurant Foundation.

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