Denver restaurateur Frank Bonanno stepped in to take over operations at Evergreen’s famed El Rancho when it reopened after a very contentious and public ownership battle in 2022.
Now, Bonanno is out.
“Bonanno Concepts will no longer operate El Rancho Colorado as our vision and values differ from the rest of the current investor group,” the company, which owns Luca, Mizuna, Osteria Marco and other restaurants, told The Denver Post. “We wish them the best in their new approach and look forward to refocusing our attention on our Denver-based restaurants.”
In 2022, El Rancho closed amid the ownership battle, and the Colorado Department of Revenue seized the property for failure to pay more than $90,000 in taxes. Commercial real estate developers Jack and Sherry Buchanan of Northstar Ventures and Travis McAfoos of Piedra Peak Properties partnered to purchase the famous destination in 2022 and enlisted Bonanno Concepts to help reopen and operate the restaurant and brewery.
Bonanno served “comfort food and celebratory Western fare” alongside the restaurant’s homemade beer. He also added his controversial but mandatory 22% Creating Happy People fee, which can be found at all of Bonanno’s concepts, to all customer checks.
It’s unclear who will be taking over operations. El Rancho did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.
“…El Rancho ended its relationship with Denver-based Bonanno Concepts, which includes the termination of their CHP fee (mandatory tipping),” the restaurant posted on Facebook this week. “You’ll continue to see familiar faces – Sam, Cap, Maggie, Jimmy and others – along with our largely local staff who are excited to welcome you back, introduce our new chef, and show off our new menu (coming soon) featuring locally- and regionally-sourced, fresh foods. We’ll offer lighter menu options for the warm days ahead in addition to the Western faves you know and love.”
El Rancho, located at 29260 US-40, originally opened in 1948 as a cafe and trading post, and because of its prominent location on U.S. 40, it became a popular gift shop and post office. In the 1970s, once Interstate 70 was built, the cabin-inspired building functioned as a lodge and conference center. To this day, it maintains its own exit from the highway.
“…El Rancho is excited to honor our heritage and celebrate being part of the community for over 75 YEARS (76, to be exact),” the Facebook post continued. “It’s been a bumpy ride, no doubt – brings to mind the bumpy wagon and stagecoach rides that early pioneers took to get to this neck of the woods in the first place! We live in the mountains. We can handle a few bumps…”