Reader: Downtown Is Not Empty, People Just Chose to Eat Somewhere Other Than Avelina

Avelina opened in 2016 at 1550 17th Street, when that part of town was seeing a restaurant boom. "We allowed the place to become a special-occasion place — we never wanted that. Totally our fault," said Kevin Jennings of the North Carolina-based Urban Food Group, which owned Avelina, its only Denver venture. But that's just one item on a laundry list of issues Jennings cited for the reasons Avelina closed last week.

"The minimum-wage increases have been unbearable," Jennings added. "Our sales have never recovered following COVID. ... Our landlord was completely unwilling to attempt to assist with a resolution."

And then there was this: "Liberal policies are making urban areas worse. I appreciate the wanting to do good, but these policies only end up with the population all experiencing a lower quality of life."

After Molly Martin shared Jennings's litany, readers served up some other explanations for Avelina's failure to thrive on the Westword Facebook page. Says Phil:

Maybe the place just was not good, whiner.

Responds Atheist:

States “it’s totally our fault.” And then completely blames everyone but themselves.

Adds Sam:

I'm downtown all the time and never even heard of this place. Sounds like I didn't miss much.

Replies Dave:

 I've dined here, twice. Both times just "whelmed," not over, not under. Don't give yourself away by describing the original clientele you'd rather serve: "Office building, full of attorneys." Last I checked, private companies were free to return to their offices and work, but some (like these attorneys) made the decision to keep working from home. That's not a blue policy. That's the policy of a private company, now. You only appeal to the 1 percent who could afford to eat there, regularly, but it sounds more like a failure to adapt to changing conditions, in an already-tenuous environment. The backhanded slap to liberal, blue policies, is actually to the other 99 percent who really couldn't afford to eat there because they fit in the same income bracket as the living wage earners you feel forced to pay.

Offers Melissa:

Even when I worked five days a week downtown, I rarely ate out for lunch. It's not the employees' responsibility to save your business.

Suggests Hoang:

Closed because it was pretty mediocre, to be honest. Downtown is not empty, people are just choosing to eat elsewhere.

Recalls Loren:

 I had a very expensive martini at their bar...once! The place was empty. That was years ago...oh, but blame the libs !

Adds Don:

 Sure Covid, downtown office building occupancy, and mininmum wage play a role in restaurant dynamics. No doubt. But if this business owner’s claims were true, scores of other downtown restaurants would’ve already closed this past year and very few new ones would be opening. Yet this North Carolina group owner wants to blame his restaurant’s failure on “liberal policies” and not the perils of restaurant Darwinism or his own management decisions. Weak. Very weak. Take your propaganda back to NC.

Disclaimer: I’d been to Avelina once, and only once. It was pre-Covid. It was pre-global inflation. And pre-Biden and pre-Johnston. And there is a good reason for not returning. It was a quite disappointing experience for the money. We actively decided not to go back. But yea, liberal policies are to blame. That works on Fox. But not for those with basic logic skills.

Notes Richard:

When you succeed, capitalism is great, when you fail, it’s government that failed you.

Concludes Lenn:

Good riddance greedy fuck!

Did you ever eat at Avelina? What did you think? What do you think of the downtown restaurant scene? Downtown in general? Post a comment or send your thoughts to [email protected].