Frank Bonanno is out at El Rancho restaurant
And so is his mandatory tipping fee, which is known as “creating happy people”
Denver restaurateur Frank Bonanno stepped in to take over operations at Evergreen’s famed El Rancho when i t reopened a fter 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 a nd look forward to refocusing our attention on our Denverbased restaurants.”
In 2 022, E l Rancho closed a mid the ownership battle, and the Colorado Department of Revenue seized the property for failure to p ay more than $ 90,000 i n taxes. C ommercial real e state 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 h elp reopen a nd operate the restaurant and brewery.
Bonanno served “comfort food and celebratory
Western fare” alongside the restaurant’s homemade beer. He a lso added his controversial but mandatory 22% Creating Happy People f ee, which can be found at a ll of Bonanno’s concepts, to a ll c ustomer checks.
It’s unclear who will be taking over operations. El Rancho d id n ot r espond to a request for comment prior to publication.
“… El R ancho ended its relationship w ith Denverbased Bonanno Concepts, which includes the termination of their CHP fee ( mandatory t ipping),” the restaurant p osted o n Facebook this week. “You’ll continue t o see familiar faces — Sam, C ap, Maggie, Jimmy a nd o thers — along with our largely local staff w ho a re e xcited to welcome you b ack, i ntroduce our new chef, and show o ff o ur n ew m enu ( coming soon) featuring locally- a nd r egionallysourced, fresh foods. We’ll offer lighter menu options for the warm d ays ahead in addition to the Western faves you know and love.”
El R ancho, l ocated a t 29260 US- 40, o riginally opened i n 1948 a s a cafe and trading post, and because of its prominent location o n U. S. 4 0, i t became a popular gift shop and post o ffice. I n the 1970s, o nce Interstate 7 0 was built, t he c abin- inspired building functioned as a lodge and conference center. To this day, it maintains its own exit from the highway.
“… El R ancho is e xcited to honor our heritage and celebrate being part o f the community for over 75 YEARS ( 76, t o be e xact),” the Facebook post continued. “It’s b een a bumpy ride, no d oubt — 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…”