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DENVER — After shutting down a year and a half ago for what was supposed to be a three-month renovation project, Ernie’s Bar and Pizza will soon reopen in North Denver.
The restaurant originally opened in 1943 and its proprietor, Sterling Robinson, told Denver7 that toward the end of 2017, they realized the restaurant needed to be renovated.
“About a year and a half ago, we suffered hail damage and, again, this was around the time we were going to close down for a couple months — at the most — and because of the damage we ended up investing a lot more than we anticipated,” Robinson said.
He said the damage required the restaurant to get a new roof and new building permits. Robinson said with all of the growth happening in Denver, the permits took some time to secure.
Now, with the proper permits in hand, Robinson said the restaurant is working on completing a $1 million renovation that not only includes a new roof but new pizza ovens and a newly exposed barrel ceiling as well.
“Really, the heart and soul of the project was to understand the building and to bring back the beauty of what Ernie’s was,” he said.
Robinson said they plan to reopen in 120 days and wanted to share this message with faithful regulars who have been waiting and wondering what was happening:
“Thank you for your patience first off and foremost. We understand that the neighborhood wants us back and we want to be back as soon as possible, but we also want to do it the right way so please stay tuned and we have some exciting things in the future.”
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