Wazee Supper Club, the “granddaddy of LoDo,” is closing

The Wazee Supper Club — a landmark Denver restaurant that became known as the “granddaddy of LoDo” — will close this winter.

The Wazee will be replaced by Morin, a contemporary French restaurant, which will open in the late spring, according to a press release.

The Wazee — a LoDo mainstay where customers (including former President Barack Obama) scarfed pizza during a 40-year history — opened in lower downtown Denver when the area was a desolate former commercial and industrial hub.

Denver’s Culinary Creative Group — the team behind Señor Bear, Bar Dough, and Highland Tap and Burger restaurants — will partner with Denver developer and preservationist Charlie Woolley on Morin.

The Morin team, Juan Padro, Max Mackissock, and Katie O’Shea, plan to maintain and restore as much of the landmark building as possible.

“”This space was something I really admired,” Padro told The Denver Post. “We are not going to touch the outside of the building, we will make some changes inside. We want to honor the space and bring it back to some former glory, make a really nice space that is really of the neighborhood.”

Padro wouldn’t disclose how much the group paid for the property, telling The Post that “there is still some bank stuff that needs to happen.”

When Detroit natives Angelo and Jim Karagas founded the Wazee Supper Club in 1974, the surrounding area was a desolate haven for urban pioneers and artists who occupied lofts in brick buildings that were reminders of Denver’s storied past.

The Wynkoop Brewery, developed by future Denver mayor and Colorado governor John Hickenlooper, and other businesses followed, and by the time Coors Field opened in 1995 the area had morphed into a destination area where clubs, restaurants, bars and other businesses lined the streets.

“For decades, this restaurant and neighborhood have acted as a hub for business people, tourists, politicians, athletes, students, and residents alike,” Padro said in a press release.

Wazee tempted customers with a menu that featured pizza, calzones, appetizers, soups and greens, burgers, all served up in a space where large windows offered street views and flooring was a black-and-white tile checkerboard.

In 2014, during a stop in Denver, former President Obama dined at the Wazee with five Colorado residents who had written to the White House and shared their stories of struggle in an economy still recovering from a nationwide recession.

Following the meal, he strolled LoDo, shaking hands and eventually playing pool with Hickenlooper.

In 2015, Roadhouse Hospitality Group, owned by the Shipp brothers, took over renovating the Wazee while retaining some of its most significant features.

The new restaurant is named after Mackissock’s mother, and will offer a menu of classic dishes  as well as riffs on French cuisine with seasonal and French ingredients, the press release said.

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