After two years of planning and permitting, nightclub and restaurant owner Jesse Morreale is finally poised to open his latest eateryEl Diablo in the First Avenue Hotel on Broadway, a 1905 structure with Landmark Preservation designation.
“It ended up being a pretty complicated project overall, between the building and all the different occupancies and sorting stuff out with the city. It’s been frustrating, but at the end of the day, it afforded us the time to sort out our concept,” said Morreale, who also owns Sketch in the First and Broadway building, Tambien in Cherry Creek, La Rumba nightclub in the Golden Triangle, RockBar on East Colfax and still has a piece of Mezcal on Colfax, even though he lost control of the operation last year in a dispute with his partners.
Chief chef and business partner Sean Yontz will man the menu, which will include classic Mexican fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and late-night take-out till 4 a.m.
Morreale designed the interior for El Diablo, which is Spanish for the devil.
“It’s a combination of rustic old-world Mexico with the myths of El Diablo mixed with Chicano-Latino low-rider culture in the U.S.,” he said. “We had some ’60s Mexican light fixtures made that are out-of-control cool.”
Opening should be in four to six weeks, construction and the city willing.
Double the fun.
Stopped by the invite-only party Thursday at Wild Ivories, the dueling-piano bar in the old Buca di Beppo space at 1400 Market St. that opened to the public Friday.
A gal pal and I intended to stick our heads in to take a look-see at the jumping joint, but two hours later, we were still glued to our high-top seats.
Five of the regular line-up of eight performers co-own the operation, with three of the owners hailing from Sing-Sing, another dueling-piano bar underneath the Denver ChopHouse. Partners Caz Bzdek, Jeff Puszykowski, Jon Sherman, Tim Kirkland and Darren Weidenhamer financed the place with their own money.
For the uninitiated, there are cards on each table where you can request a song along with donating a couple of bucks for the effort.
A gaggle of gals tried to stump the band by requesting a Lady Gaga song, but Sherman stepped up with a rousing rendition of “Poker Face.” Others requested tunes from entertainers such as Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, Don McLean and Journey.
Down below the piano space, DJs will duel in an all-request format. The place is open for snacks, sips and shows seven nights, with lunch Monday through Saturday starting Wednesday. More info: or 303-623-7426.
Puzzling press.
Sure, getting some press in The New York Times is impressive, but would it kill the paper to fact-check?
Linda Alvarado, owner of Denver-based Alvarado Construction Inc. since 1976, was featured recently in the business section, but in the online version, the info box under her picture reads: president and C.E.O. of Alvarado Construction, Austin, Tex.
Look up the company profile on her website, and listed are the states with branch offices: New Mexico, Arizona and California.
The only reference on the New York Times online article to Colorado is her investment in 1992 in the Colorado Rockies, when the franchise was new.
Penny Parker’s column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Listen to her on the Caplis & Silverman radio show between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KHOW-AM (630). Call her at 303-954-5224 or e-mail pparker@denverpost.com.
