"I know, I can't catch a break. It's crazy," says Myrna Soltero Diaz, the owner of Chula, a Mexican eatery at 3866 South Broadway in Englewood that was formerly a 4G's location. But following a 2020 divorce from her husband, who still owns the 4G's outposts in Littleton and on South Federal Boulevard, Soltero Diaz decided to change the name of the restaurant.

"He didn't ask me to change the name or anything; I just wanted to," Soltero Diaz explains. "I wanted to start from scratch." Inspired by her beloved pet dog, who passed away at sixteen as Soltero Diaz was considering the name change, she decided to call the place Chula, which means "pretty" or "cutie" in Spanish, she says. A mural depicting Chula the dog was part of recent updates made in the space.

After a brief closure, the rejuvenated Chula debuted on January 12. Longtime staffers remained, as did the popular combos and the corn and flour tortillas, which are made in-house daily. But Soltero Diaz and her team added some more traditional menu items to the mix, including birria tacos and fried tacos, as well as more soups, steaks and seafood options.
Then, around 9 a.m. on January 18, as heavy snow came down in the metro area, a car crashed into the side of the building. Thankfully, the restaurant was closed at the time; the day before, the building's water heater had broken. Soltero Diaz's son, Eddie, was there with a repair person at the time of the crash, but they were not hurt in the incident. "He saw the hole and was like, 'What the hell!'" Soltero Diaz recalls. "It was horrible."

The police later shared that the driver had suffered a seizure. He was taken to an area hospital and treated, but the restaurant has been closed ever since.

Now, Soltero Diaz is working with her landlord and insurance company to submit plans to fix the hole left in the building. Since there was no major structural damage, she says she's hopeful that the restaurant may be able to reopen as soon as the repairs are made.

While the accident initially had Soltero Diaz wondering if she'd ever be able to get Chula up and running, the support of her sons and staff lifted her spirits. "Eddie told me to just take a break, take a vacation," she says, laughing. She's taking that advice for now, but is looking forward to serving the community again.