As the Queen song goes... "Another One Bites The Dust." Day by day, anymore, it seems like we keep losing historic restaurants across the State of Colorado. The end of February will be no exception as another one closes their doors for good on February 25th.

50+ years ago at 816 Main Street in Louisville, there stood an Italian restaurant called Colacci’s. Back in 2008, the location was taken over by Chef Jim Cohen, who founded the Empire Lounge and Restaurant in its place.

Featuring a simple menu that would rival a trendy NYC establishment with items like steak and frites and roasted mushroom risotto, in addition to comfort food favorites like mac 'n cheese and chicken wings, the Empire is part of a historic area of downtown Louisville, also occupied by several other restaurants, bars and shops.

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The Empire opened in 2008 and was run by its founder's daughter, before a partial ownership change and the arrival of a new head chef in 2019. They've been known to have some pretty amazing French Onion soup, if that's your kind of thing.

Now that they've announced their closing on February 25th, the staff of the restaurant is hoping to see longtime regulars come out and send them off after nearly two decades in the historic Louisville location. Which, by the way, the building itself was designated as a historical landmark in 2022, and will now be available for lease or purchase by the new owner of whatever business comes into it next.

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