After changing hands many times, the building that has held Hart’s Corner in Lakewood for more than 85 years has been revamped and on Monday reopened as a family diner.
“It took a lot of tender loving care,” said Nick Moutsos, the manager of Hart’s Corner.
Leo Hart purchased the property in 1925 using $50 he had won in a poker game. He turned an abandoned root-beer stand into a small soda shop, later adding burgers to the menu.
Moutsos’ parents, M.E. and Georgette Moutsos, purchased the property in 1977 and ran the business for 18 of the past 34 years.
Hart’s Corner, at the corner of West Mississippi Avenue and South Sheridan Boulevard, has been a bar for much of that time. Just before it closed for remodeling in December, previous business managers attempted to turn the bar into a small nightclub.
Getting nostalgic about the circa 1925 Hart’s Corner, which still had hitches for horses out front, Nick Moutsos decided it was time to start running the business again.
That meant turning down generous offers from buyers.
“We wanted to bring back the neighborhood flare — return it to a gathering place where families could come in and enjoy very good food,” Nick Moutsos said.
Although the facade of the original soda shop is hidden deep behind extensions added over the course of nearly a century, the layout of the building has remained intact. Inside, original log walls have been restored and now are lined with pictures reminding customers of the historic past.
Not that all of them need a reminder.
Gregory Mestas, 57, first visited Hart’s Corner with his dad when he was about 10 years old. He said he has tried to stay away from the bar in recent years.
But returning on Monday brought back his good memories.
“He’d have his beer, and I’d have a pop,” Mestas said. “We’d just sit and build a lot, a lot of relationships and connections.”
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372 or yrobles@denverpost.com
