Cold Comfort: The Owners of Tom's Home Cookin' Put the Building Up for Sale

The building that houses one of Denver's most popular Southern food eateries, Tom's Home Cookin' in Five Points, is now for sale, according to news accounts this morning. Owners Tom Unterwagner and Steve Jankousky, who also run the restaurant, bought the property in 2001 for $185,000 and now have it listed for...

By Mark Antonation

November 16, 2015

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The building that houses one of Denver's most popular Southern food eateries, Tom's Home Cookin' in Five Points, is now for sale, according to news accounts this morning. Owners Tom Unterwagner and Steve Jankousky, who also run the restaurant, bought the property in 2001 for $185,000 and now have it listed for $585,000. It's unclear what this means for the future of Tom's; the Denver Post reports that Unterwagner and Jankousky are just testing the real-estate market and may sell, relocate or stay put. So for now, at least, you'll be able to squeeze in one or two Thursday Thanksgiving lunches.

Tom's has reached cult-restaurant status in the working-class neighborhood, where it has served macaroni and cheese, meatloaf and fried chicken for nearly fifteen years: its cash-only, lunch-only and weekdays-only model means lines form before the doors even open at 11 a.m. and the kitchen generally sells out long before 2 p.m. — as it did today.

We hope Tom's keeps on cookin' for another fifteen years, either in Five Points or at a new location. But if the worst befalls lovers of down-home comfort food, where will you turn for a soul-warming lunch?

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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.

Contact: Mark Antonation

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