It’s the story that won’t go away.
Veteran Denver real estate developer Jim Sullivan and former Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan are among the owners of the Centennial building where BenchWarmers Tavern & Grill resided until it abruptly closed after less than a month.
As I reported last week, BenchWarmers shut down its Colorado operations July 29 after chief executive Kevin Foote was arrested for a parole violation for leaving the state. He remains in Boulder County Jail pending an Aug. 23 hearing.
Before the closing of all three restaurants in Erie, Centennial and Aurora, plus the Erie headquarters, the Erie Police Department launched an investigation to determine whether the company’s principals, Foote, Mitchell Right and Carolyn Cali, committed fraud when several contractors weren’t paid.
Because of unpaid sales taxes, the Colorado Department of Revenue and the city of Aurora seized the assets after the closures.
Sullivan said that Foote, who also was involved in the defunct Erie eateries Uptown Erie Cafe and El Paso Cantina owned by his wife, Cali, signed the lease although there is no documentation to prove he is an owner in the company. News reports about the Erie restaurants identify Foote as Kevin Cali.
Where Sullivan got snookered was when he gave Foote a $100,000 check for tenant finishes on the building. He suspected something was up when the July 1 rent check never arrived.
“He said I’d get it on Aug. 1 because he didn’t want to borrow from one of the other restaurants,” Sullivan said. “The guy said all the right things; it just wasn’t true. In the 40 years I’ve been doing this, I’ve never seen anybody this slick. I’m really kind of street smart, and I was blindsided by this.”
Shanahan could not be reached for comment.
Samba saga.
It looks like the long-shuttered Samba Room is one signature closer to starting work to reopen the Larimer Square restaurant despite the parent company’s recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The popular place has been closed since May 10 because of a lawsuit filed by Comedy Works, the tenant below the restaurant, because of a leaky pipe from allegedly faulty construction when the restaurant opened eight-and-a-half years ago.
The leak in Samba Room’s floor was dripping into Comedy Works’ ceiling.
“Comedy Works sought and received an injunction from the courts that required Samba Room to shut down and repair the leaks,” said Joe Vostrejs, chief operating officer of landlord Larimer Associates. “The cost is going to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Anna Jordan, the Samba Room general manager who’s still on the company payroll, said that parent company E-brands in Orlando, Fla., has assured her that the Denver location will open again during the company’s reorganization.
“I got a call from the president of E-brands saying they want our location to reopen,” Jordan said. “Once that signature happens, construction should start and take six weeks.”
Hair affair.
Matthew Morris, Denver salon owner and finalist on Bravo’s “Shear Genius” reality series, is throwing a hearty party to celebrate his business’ fourth anniversary during a fashion and hair show from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday at Cluster Studios, 3881 Steele St.
Morris, who says business has exploded since his television appearance, will reunite with “Shear Genius” co-stars Janine Jarman and Fateemah Ampey for the event.
“Doing something like that, you can’t pay for it,” Morris said about the TV time, which helped boost business by 30 percent.
Tickets: 303-715-4673 or e-mail info@matthewmorrissalon.com. The celebration will benefit Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers.
Eavesdropping
on one woman to another at the jewelry counter of the Denver Art Museum: “Look at that gorgeous ring!”
“Oh, I could never buy that; I couldn’t shuck corn in it.”
Penny Parker’s column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Listen to her on the Caplis and 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.
