In Denver, Frank's Is Out, Barbecue Is In

It's never a happy occasion to report on restaurant openings in Denver. But they say that when God closes a door, he opens a window, and in this case that's true if both the door and the window are restaurants. According to Denver Westword, as of yesterday the unique local restaurant known as Frank's Kitchen is permanently out of business. It was a sudden closing, as the not-yet-three-year-old establishment, run by husband and wife Frank and Dina Berta, had become rather popular around the Whittier neighborhood. Recently, there were even plans for a bunch of new events at Frank's after a well-attended car show.

But the tough news was posted by Dina Berta on the restaurant's blog, Frank's Kitchen Diary. Going through the process for obtaining a beer and wine license, they came to the realization that "frankly, we're tired and did not want to keep going...this was no longer what we wanted to do with our lives." So they listed the restaurant on Craigslist, and now it's been sold.

Virginia restaurateur "Jammin'" Joe Van Dyke now plans to open a barbecue joint in its place, to open later this summer. The loss of an eatery like Frank's with such a comfortable atmosphere and wide range of offerings, from banh mi to teriyaki turkey burgers, is unfortunate. But we remain hopeful that Van Dyke's new place will rise like a phoenix from the ashes of the late Kitchen, and thrive from there to serve Whittier well.