After 18 years of serving seafood, the kitschy, tourist-friendly Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. throughout from the Colorado Conference Middle is now closed and being sued for again lease.
The restaurant at 1437 California St. referred to as it quits final week, based on its landlord.
“Sadly, we’ve got completely closed,” says an indication on the entrance door, which options its smiling shrimp mascot. “Thanks for permitting us to serve the Denver group.”
The restaurant chain got here to Denver in 2006 and deliberate to remain awhile: It signed a lease for 20 years and eight months, by January 2027. After a build-out, it opened in 2007.
The restaurant’s first struggles got here in 2016, when development of two motels close by resulted in fewer clients, based on Kent Cherne, whose father bought 1437 California St. round 1960. Cherne, whose funding agency owns it now, says he lowered lease because of this.
Cherne additionally helped the seafood restaurant when the pandemic struck in 2020, when income fell in 2024, and when his tenant was struggling once more in early 2025, based on a lawsuit that Cherne Funding Co. filed towards Bubba Gump and its dad or mum firms Nov. 10.
“From April by November, Bubba Gump was late every month in paying the quantities it owed, and the funds due on Oct. 1 and Nov. 1 haven’t been obtained,” based on the lawsuit, which estimates that Cherne diminished lease by $335,000 over 10 years.
Cherne’s agency is suing for October and November rents, together with late charges, taxes, curiosity and unpaid wastewater charges, based on this week’s lawsuit. It doesn’t checklist greenback figures.
Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. will get its title from the 1994 movie “Forrest Gump,” through which Tom Hanks’ titular character befriends the shrimp-obsessed Benjamin Buford “Bubba” Blue. After Blue dies in fight in Vietnam, Gump finally opens Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. in his reminiscence.
In 2010, the real-life Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. was bought by the Landry’s restaurant group out of Texas. Landry’s proprietor Tilman Fertitta is at present the U.S. ambassador to Italy.
“This location was licensed to the Kelly Group, who in the end closed the placement,” Landry’s Chief Working Officer Scott Marshall mentioned. “There are not any plans to reopen that location.”
The Kelly Group, of California, didn’t reply to requests for remark. There are actually 20 Bubba Gump places in the US and 10 extra exterior the U.S.
In the meantime, 1437 California St., which is thought for its western-facing murals of Teddy Roosevelt and boxing nice Jack Dempsey, is up on the market after 65 years with one household.
“If my dad was nonetheless alive, he would most likely nonetheless be fairly connected to it, however that’s not the case with me,” Kent Cherne mentioned. “I acknowledge the challenges in attempting to handle it myself and I feel it’s simply time to let it go to anyone else and transfer on, attempt to discover one other use for it.”
At 6,250 sq. toes throughout two flooring and a basement, it’s one giant restaurant house.
“Fairly frankly, with the instances that we’re in now, I don’t see anyone dashing to place a restaurant in downtown, so I’m not holding out a whole lot of hope.” Cherne mentioned.
Extra doubtless, it is going to be transformed into one thing else or torn down, its proprietor added. Denver’s Landmark Preservation Fee decided final month that it’s demolition-eligible, metropolis data present, and Cherne mentioned a teardown “wouldn’t hassle me.”
“It has served its usefulness to my household. My dad purchased it again in about 1960, it was a parking storage, and there have been another companies in there since,” its proprietor recollects.
“Eighteen years,” he mentioned of Bubba Gump. “It was a very good run, however each canine has its day, I suppose. There are usually not a complete lot of companies which are strong and simply preserve going eternally.”
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