Jesse Morreale, owner of the beleaguered El Diablo restaurant at First and Broadway that was temporarily shut down by Denver, is crossways with the city again.
This time the Department of Excise and Licenses is investigating RockBar, Morreale’s ’70s joint at 3015 E. Colfax Ave., for allegedly operating an outdoor patio “in violation of its temporary modification permit issued in September 2011, and in violation of its February 2011 Stipulation regarding the suspension of its hotel and restaurant liquor license for the unlawful sale of an alcohol beverage to an underage person,” according to the Third Amended Order for Hearing.
The hearing on the renewal of RockBar’s dance cabaret license is set for 6 p.m. Sept. 19 at the Department of Excise and Licenses, Dept. 206, 201 W. Colfax Ave.
Morreale, who’s already embroiled in a air max thea femmes fierce fight with the city over its allegations that his historic First Avenue Hotel building is unsafe (which forced El Diablo, the restaurant in the building, to close for two weeks), questions the coincidental timing of his latest dust-up with a City agency.
Tom Downey, director of Denver’s Department of Excise and Licenses, burst out laughing when I told him of Morreale’s assertion that he was not notified prior to the Third Amended Order for Hearing that he was in violation of his liquor license.
Downey said that RockBar had a temporary modification to its liquor license, which expired on Feb. 5, 2012 — a date that was chosen by Morreale – and that RockBar continued to serve liquor on the patio past that date.
“We didn’t send out the police and arrest them for serving on the patio without a license,” Downey said. “We let them know through our inspectors and others that they were in violation.”
Also in the messy mix is an alleged violation filed by the Americans With Disabilities Act over accessibility to the RockBar patio, Downey said. The timing of Morreale’s RockBar problems with the city and his troubles at First and Broadway are unrelated, Downey said.
“I have received no requests nor nods and winks from anyone in the city,” he said. “The complaints we received about all of this was from the neighborhood associations. We did not initiate this renewal hearing by request from anyone in the city. This is happening because the neighborhood association is quite upset by the actions of the RockBar.”
For Morreale’s part, he says he is mystified by excise and licenses’ order for a hearing.
“The only times we ever used the patio was when the patio was licensed,” he insisted. “We have no violations, we have no accused violations. There is some very questionable and suspect timing happening with all this stuff. We’ve (received) no real justification or explanation, it doesn’t make any sense.”
As they say, stay tuned.
Charlie Palmer closing Denver restaurants
On Aug. 31, the Charlie Palmer Group will close Charlie Palmer’s District Tavern and Wazee Wood Fire Pizza in the old Il Fornaio space on Wazee, its sole project in the Denver area.
“It was our intention to settle in and become part of LoDo, and, while we were unable maintain the volume needed to remain open, one thing we know for sure: It’s a great neighborhood in a great city and we enjoyed the time we spent there,” Palmer said in a statement. “At this time, I’d also like to publicly thank our local employees for their great service, particularly the invaluable part they played during the recent changes that garnered praise for their performance as well as the food including our ‘best pizza’ win.
“We appreciate those who have embraced and welcomed us to the community from the start and invite you to come in and bid adieu during our last few days.”
Bites bits
The surprise stand-out during LoDo Bites, the strolling, sipping air yeezy 2 and snacking event held among 26 restaurants on Tuesday, was Chloe, the nightclub-restaurant inside the old Ruth’s Chris space on 14th and Market.
The Francois Safieddine-owned lounge, which is known more for its drinking and dancing than dining, knocked it out of the park with the variety of fine fare it offered to LoDo Bites participants. Chloe, in fact, became the big buzz around town among those of use wearing green wristbands.
The menu listed in the LoDo Bites program was enticing enough — albondigas, lamb sliders, garlic shrimp, chicken shawarma and watermelon margaritas — but when the kitchen couldn’t keep up with the demand for those items, it started improvising with bruschetta, beef and shrimp skewers and more.
Other noshes worth noting: The slightly sweet french fries at Bistro Vendome, the strawberry gazpacho shooters at 1515 Restaurant, and the chilled corn soup with lobster caviar at Charlie Palmer’s District Tavern (who knew it would announce its closing two days later).
Artful burgers
Red Robin’s Burger Works on the 16th Street Mall is hosting Chadwick, an acclaimed live performance artist, from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday at the restaurant (16th and California streets).
The event will include food (for purchase), music and a live painting performance of an iconic Denver scene by Chadwick using his signature tribal/urban style. The resulting painting will become the central piece of artwork for the 16th Street Mall restaurant.
Eavesdropping on a woman who called her friend to thank her for persuading her to refinance her house and save several hundred dollars a month: “With the money I’m saving, I can hire a pool boy. Oh, that’s right, I don’t have a pool.”
“But you can still hire the pool boy!”
Did you hear that I have a new column, “Mile High Life,” in Colorado Community Media’s 17 weekly newspapers circling Denver? Be sure to like my Facebook page! Also, here’s where you go to get my column emailed to you Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I’m now the social-media liaison for the Mile High Chapter of the Colorado Restaurant Association, so read my latest restaurant news there. My email: penny@blacktie-llc.com.
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