The restaurant scene on South Pearl Street is undergoing its biggest change-up in years, as two longtime staples trade places and a pair of newcomers bite the dust.
After 29 years in business, the Pearl Street Grill, 1477 S. Pearl St., closed its doors on Dec. 30. The Denver Post reports that B W Holdings LLC, owner of the Pearl Street Grill, is trading that space to Sushi Den owners Toshi and Yasu Kizaki in exchange for the Izakaya Den space catty-corner from Sushi Den at 1518 S. Pearl. The swap is expected to take place within the year, with Izakaya Den opening in the old Pearl Street Grill space and B W Holdings opening a revamped and renamed Pearl Street Grill in the Izakaya spot.
The Kizakis, who own Izakaya Den, also closed their short-lived OTOTO restaurant (formerly Den Deli) at 1501 S. Pearl.
B W Holdings, a joint venture between the Breckenridge and Wynkoop breweries, also owns Amato’s Ale House, the Wazee Supper Club and the Cherry Cricket, among other Denver-area restaurants. While the company’s plans for the Izakaya Den space are still coming together, Pearl Street Grill general manager Tyler Vorenkamp told Westword that the new spot will have an updated concept that’s still in line with B W’s assemblage of “affordable neighborhood joints.”
Still to come on South Pearl is the debut of Restaurant Fourteen Seventy-Two, which is slated to open sometime in January at 1472 S. Pearl St., just north of Stella’s Coffeehaus. Co-owner Dave Chmura told DU Today in 2010 that the eatery will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and that the eclectic menu will include bison green chili, bouillabaisse Pacifica, meatloaf with curry sauce, bacon-wrapped asparagus, plantains and homemade ice cream.
Westword also reports that India’s Pearl, 1475 S. Pearl, has closed permanently, though the restaurant’s website says it is merely “closed for renovation through January.”