Reader: Bayou Bob’s Gone? All the Great Spots Are Closing.

After more than thirty years of serving Cajun cuisine in downtown Denver, Bayou Bob’s dished out its last bowl of shrimp on August 31.

Bob Hoffpauir’s restaurant got its start in a food court on Stout Street, and in 1995 moved into its final home at 1635 Glenarm Place. But after almost 25 years in that spot, Hoffpauir revealed that it would be closing for good in a Facebook post that pronounced: “We are old, tired & the fish are biting.”

The closing of Bayou Bob’s leaves a gap in downtown’s independent restaurant scene. Says Dominic: 

All the great spots are closing down.

Recalls Gloria: 

I ate at the food court location about two or three times a week while I was pregnant. My daughter is now 31. Feeling nostalgic about this yummy place closing.

Comments Vern:

We used to go there after seeing drag races at Bandimere Speedway! They had awesome crawdads and more authentic Cajun food. Also, the first time we tried Blackened Voodoo beer. A sad loss of a longtime restaurant.

Replies Bobbi:

It is sad, but it was overpriced and not authentic. Became a tourist place more then a place for authenticity. I feel for the people who worked so hard and long to keep up the pace.

Concludes Sheila: 

Nothing survives “new” Denver.

There’s no word yet on what will replace Bayou Bob’s. Just down Glenarm on the 16th Street Mall, the former home of Marlowe’s is slated to become West of Surrender this fall; Marlowe’s, too, lasted more than three decades before closing late last year. Last Labor Day, the Paramount Cafe shuttered just a few feet away on the Mall; that space is still empty.

On September 2, we’ll post our Restaurant Roll Call for August, recapping all the openings and closings around town last month. Several longtime favorites have given up the ghost this year, but Denver is still welcoming plenty of new restaurants.

What did you think of Bayou Bob’s? Where do you go for Cajun food? Post a comment or email your thoughts to cafe@westword.com.