Danielle Lirette
Does Denver just not like Southern food?
Tupelo Honey, the only Denver installment of the Southern-themed chain from Asheville, North Carolina, will close its doors for good on Friday, Oct. 16, just shy of its 10-year anniversary. Word from the staff is that the space wasn’t getting enough traffic to justify the property costs.
“Traffic just isn’t the same,” said a bartender who didn’t give his name. “Offices are still closed. Sixteenth Street isn’t really there yet.”
When the restaurant first opened in 2017 just behind Union Station, it was the chain’s first branch west of the Mississippi. (It’s since added a satellite in Idaho.) The kitchen was helmed by James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: Pacific Chris Kobayashi, who moved to Colorado from Paso Robles, California, to lead the effort.
At one point, CNBC named the brand among chains that could become the next Shake Shack, with company leadership planninf to open up to five new restaurants a year across the country.
That hasn’t happened, and this year the company has started closing select locations instead, mostly through attrition as leases run their course. In July, Tupelo’s restaurants in Franklin and Chattanooga, Tennessee, both closed. In August, it was Nebraska. Just prior to the Denver news, a Tupelo location in Arlington, Virginia, closed, too. However, another 30 locations remain, primarily in the South.
Tupelo Honey is only the latest in a string of Southern-themed restaurant closures in Denver. Earlier this week, Bluegrass Coffee & Bourbon Lounge announced plans to close its two locations in Arvada by the end of the month after 11 years, one in Olde Town and the other in the Candelas neighborhood.
“This is incredibly bittersweet, but we have made the difficult decision to close The Bluegrass, with our last day being October 31st,” Drew and Sheena Gordon posted on Instagram. “Life and business have taken us in new directions, increasingly out of state, and as hard as it is, we know it’s time.”
For eight of those years, Bluegrass had a Whiskey Wednesdays program at both locations featuring tastings and talks from whiskey distillers and experts, providing opportunities to connect with fellow whiskey aficionados.
Back in June, the “Southern-inspired” restaurant Church & Union closed in Downtown. It was the fourth iteration of the brand from Top Chef alumnus Jaime Lynch, and the first out of the Southeast, where there are locations in Charlotte, Charleston and Nashville. It was open for only two years.
But it’s not all doom and gloom for lovers of Southern fare. Of the relative newcomers to the scene, Rougarou in Five Points is an unabashedly Southern-focused restaurant and bar that has thrived in Denver and garnered multiple accolades along the way. That includes most recently a Michelin Bib Gourmand nod this year, a national finalist selection for Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar by Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards and a nomination for Best New Bar in the James Beard Awards — not to mention Best New Bar in Westword’s latest Best of Denver list.
What’s your favorite spot for Southern food in Denver? Let us know at editorial@westword.com, and we’ll compile the results into an upcoming list.