DENVER — American Elm restaurant is back open for the first time since two employees were shot to deathwhile working last month.
Denver7 spoke with loved ones of the victims who are still left with so many questions as the murders remain unsolved.
"It's tough just because we don't, we don't have any answers or anything," said Andrew Dahler, Emerall Vaughn-Dahler's husband, "The most frustrating part is that there had to have been somebody that saw something or, or something that appeared to be suspicious."
Emerall Vaughn-Dahler and her co-worker, Ignacio "Nacho" Gutierrez Morales, were shot and killed while working at the restaurant on April 24.
Ignacio was the prep cook and Emerall was the general manager at American Elm, which is located in Denver's West Highland neighborhood. The Denver Police Department said the case is being investigated as a double homicide.
According to the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner, Vaughn-Dahler died from "multiple gunshot wounds" and Morales died from a single gunshot wound.
Denver Police has not released many details and say the case is still under investigation. So far, no suspect has been publicly identified.
A place that was once filled with great memories with his wife and step-son Michael, is now a place Andrew says he's not sure he'll ever be able to return to.
"Sometimes we'd actually go there when she was towards the end of her shift. So we would kind of sit, Michael and I would sit down and wait for her to finish and we'd have our dinner, she'd join us," he said.
The restaurant announced it will be open through Mother's Day weekend from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, May 12 and Saturday, May 13. They will be open for brunch at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 14, and offering dinner service.
"It's gonna be really tough, because it's Mother's Day is Sunday, and then her birthday is actually the next day," said Dahler. "I'm not looking forward to this weekend, to be honest. Because it's going to be really tough to sit here and sit here and think about those types of things."
Dahler said he's not sure if he will ever be ready to go back to the restaurant now that is has reopened.
"Having been in that industry before, I understand that you have to kind of take advantage of every dollar and every moment that you can, especially with a Mother's Day weekend. But without having any answers and knowing that that area is safe, it seems a little sudden," added Dahler.
"I'm not sure if I'm gonna go, if we'll return, but I do hope them the best as far as going forward," said Daher. "We want... we want justice for Emerall, we want justice for Nacho. We want them, we want both of our families to be able to start our grieving process."
American Elm will then be closed Monday, May 15 thru Wednesday, May 17. Starting Thursday, May 18, the restaurant will re-open for service 7 days a week for happy hour, dinner and weekend brunch. Hours of operation will be Monday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
A GoFundMe collected nearly $151,000 for Ignacio and Emerall's loved ones.
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers announced an increased reward of $5,000 for any information that could lead to an arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call (720) 913-7867. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
