El Señor Sol Closes Downtown Location in Former Zang Brewing Co. Space

The lone red-brick building that stands at 2301 Seventh Street (across the street from the Denver Aquarium) has housed many businesses over the years, but was well known as the last home of the Zang Brewing Co., which operated as a restaurant long after the Denver beer company, founded in...

By Mark Antonation

February 21, 2017

Image: The space that held El Señor Sol is now for lease.

The space that held El Señor Sol is now for lease. Mark Antonation

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The lone red-brick building that stands at 2301 Seventh Street (across the street from the Denver Aquarium) has housed many businesses over the years, but was best known as the last home of the Zang Brewing Co., founded in the late 1800s, which became a restaurant after it stopped brewing beer. In the early 2000s, El Señor Sol took over the space, serving both Mexican fare and bar food under the Zang name for a short period before ditching the old brewery's label entirely. But after a long run, El Señor Sol has vacated the building and a "For Lease" sign hangs over the front window.

El Señor Sol was founded in the early 1990s by Felipe Duran and his family, and there are several branches currently operating around metro Denver, though even the company's official website can't seem to keep track of just how many. The home page boasts "8 delicious locations," but another description encourages guests to "visit us at any of our 7 locations around the Front Range." The Locations page of the website lists six addresses, one of which is the now-closed downtown Señor Sol. So that's five by our count, in Arvada, Littleton, Centennial, Evergreen and Golden, making the Señor Sol empire shine a little less brightly than at its peak.

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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