- Local
- Community
- Journalism
Support the independent voice of Denver and help keep the future of Westword free.
Today at just after 4 p.m., Governor Jared Polis announced that all Colorado restaurants and bars will be required to close beginning first thing Tuesday; the order extends for the next thirty days. "I’m ordering no dine-in restaurants and bars," he said. "Delivery, takeout and drive-thru will still be available."
"Now, more than ever, it is important that we all do our part to stop the spread in Colorado," he wrote on his Facebook page as a note accompanying the press conference.
During that event, Polis acknowledged the difficult times ahead for both restaurant owners and employees, and pointed to state assistance such as the Colorado Work-Share Program, which allows employers to split employee salaries with unemployment benefits as a way to prevent layoffs.
Earlier today, Mayor Michael Hancock had already imposed an eight-week dine-in ban for bars and restaurants within Denver city limits, which also begins at 8 a.m. on March 17. Hancock's order allows restaurants to sell food for pick-up or delivery, too.
We'll continue to update our list of metro Denver restaurants offering pick-up, drive-thru and delivery services. In the meantime, with so many places ordered to close tomorrow, calling ahead or checking the business's website, Facebook page or Instagram feed might be the quickest way to get your favorite eatery's latest status.
Keep Westword Free... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Denver with no paywalls.
