13 MARCH 12-18, 2026 westword.com WESTWORD | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | true with Racines. I was more nervous when that opened.” Racines opened in 1983 in an old Ford dealership in the Golden Triangle, and was busy from the start. “But as successful as it was,” Goodfriend says, “we lost a huge amount of money that first year. About $100,000, which in those days was a hell of a lot of money. We didn’t realize it in the moment, because we saw all the people coming through, and our cash fl ow was okay. But that was our wake-up call to pay better attention to the details. We got everything under control, but it was a good lesson in balancing the cost of food and labor with pricing and waste and all that.” Now, Goodfriend looks back on their fi rst restaurant as their “hippie stage,” and the second as being a little more sedate, a little more grown up, both out of necessity for fi nancial survival as well as just the differ- ence between the owners as people in their late twenties versus their mid-thirties. “With Goodfriends, we were more into partying and drinking after work. With Racines, not so much. You either grow up, or you can’t stay in the business.” By 2003 Racines had more than estab- lished itself as a local favorite, and was going strong. Goodfriends was still rolling along, and the trio had added Dixons in LoDo. And then came the hitch in Racines’ giddy-up: They lost the lease on their Golden Triangle location. “The property sold, and the new lease we had to sign had a demolition clause in it,” recalls Goodfriend, “so I knew they were going to exercise that. We started look- ing for a new home as soon as we signed.” It was Staples who found the new location, which was only for sale because the reluctant owner of the property was a fan of Racines. So Racines closed for the fi rst time in twenty years, and the owners constructed new digs at 650 Sherman Street. Back in the early 2000s, Denver was hungry to see the return of one of its favorite spots, and the signage on the new build referenced the public’s impatience: “We’re building as fast as we can!” read the banner announcing the return of Racines in 2004. “We were lucky that people in Denver continued to go to Goodfriends and Dix- ons and then came back to Racines when it reopened,” Goodfriend says. “It meant we could pay back those millions we were borrowing to make sure we could bring everyone back.” And come back they did. Anyone living in Denver in 2004 can attest to the lines, the wait times, the trouble getting a table at Racines when it reopened. “Thank goodness there was no Yelp back then,” laughs Good- friend. “People were upset with us, and they had a right to be. We were overwhelmed. Most of our staff was back, but we were all rusty. I think people knew we were trying our best. Most people.” Sure, you have to be of a certain age to really appreciate what Racines, Goodfriends and Dixons meant to Denver diners...and why so many people still miss all three, but especially Racines. “It’s funny,” says Goodfriend. “I vol- unteer at Urban Peak a couple days a week. Ninety percent of people I talk to have never heard of Racines. But they’re young, all of them. Twenties or even thirties, and most of them are like – Racines? What’s that?” By 2020, Goodfriends had been closed for a dozen years (its space fi rst became Annie’s Cafe, and is now the Spice Room), and Dixons had also shuttered. Staples had passed away, and Racine and Goodfriend were getting ready to retire, giving Racines one last year. Then COVID hit, restaurants were ordered to close...and Racines never reopened. Today, the site where it relocated two decades ago holds a giant apartment complex. “I miss the people,” Goodfriend admits. “Watching the families grow up. It was a re- ally cool part of owning a restaurant. You’d see these young parents come in with these babies, and before you know it, they’re kids trying to sit still at the table, and then they’re grown up. We were around long enough to see whole generations of families grow like that. I just love the history and the commu- nity and the fabric of it all.” The three restaurateurs who lent their names to three great restaurants were around long enough to create a forty-year- plus legacy. They fed families. They fed Denver. They fed the culture, too. And now you can get a taste of it all in the Denver Public Library archives. Email the author at [email protected]. The nachos at Racines were legendary. RACINES
