El Diablo/Sketch Food & Wine Temporarily Re-Open at Rockbar

“Pop-up Restaurants” to continue food service during discussions with City to re-open historic building

DENVER – The popular El Diablo Restaurant and its sister restaurant, Sketch Food & Wine, will temporarily re-open at Rockbar located at 3015 East Colfax Avenue between Milwaukee and St. Paul Street. Rockbar is part of the restaurant group owned by restaurateur Jesse Morreale who also owns El Diablo and Sketch.

    
     Beginning tonight, Rockbar will be serving food and beverage favorites from El Diablo’s menu and, in addition, donations will be solicited to help the more than 100 employees of El Diablo and Sketch who have been negatively impacted by the recent closing by City inspectors of the historic hotel that housed the two restaurants at 1^st and Broadway.

     After operating for more than three years with approvals from various building and safety agencies of the City of Denver, city inspectors last week surprised the restaurant’s owners, patrons and employees when they closed the historic building that housed El Diablo and Sketch. Morreale and his representatives are making all possible efforts to try to work with the city to re-open the space in a timely manner and get the employees back to work.

     “There’s been a lot of misinformation being put out there about this situation,” Morreale stated. “The facts are this: the building has operated safely and without accident for over three years with the City of Denver’s approval, including approvals by the City’s building, health, excise & license, and zoning departments, the Denver Fire Department, and other agencies of the City. It is unfortunate and frustrating that the City has now inexplicably decided that the building is unsafe, but as we have done in the past, we have been and will continue to meet with the City and do our best to prove that the building continues to remain as safe as it has been since we opened.”

     “We are losing revenue and the City is losing tax revenue, but most importantly to me, well over 100 employees are out of work because of the City’s decision to close the building. We respectfully ask the citizens of Denver to join us at Rockbar to support El Diablo and Sketch Food & Wine, but primarily to help out the employees who have not been able to work for the past week due to the City’s decision.”