Three BenchWarmers are benched for good

Patricia Calhoun August 2, 2010 7:52AM

Just six weeks ago, Kevin Foote was opening his third BenchWarmers Tavern & Grill in a month, and offering this explanation of the origins of his mini-chain: "I was at a Colorado Avalanche game one evening with friends. We overheard some of the fans complaining about how cold they were and how it would be so much better to be watching the game in a warm environment with good food, cold beer, and beautiful women serving them!"

Make that serving time.

Last Wednesday, Foote -- who has a lengthy criminal record stretching back to 1993 -- was arrested on a parole violation and booked into Boulder County Jail. On Thursday, the BenchWarmers restaurants in Erie, Centennial and Aurora all closed. According to 9News, employees stripped the Erie location -- with a manager's permission -- because they hadn't been paid in weeks.

Don't look for BenchWarmers to open fifteen more locations, as Foote had promised back in June. Those plans are benched.

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Patricia Calhoun co-founded Westword in 1977; she’s been the editor ever since. She’s a regular on the weekly CPT12 roundtable Colorado Inside Out, played a real journalist in John Sayles’s Silver City, once interviewed President Bill Clinton while wearing flip-flops, and has been honored with numerous national awards for her columns and feature-writing.

Contact: Patricia Calhoun

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