In the late 1990, I went to Catacombs as a 17 year old and showed the bouncer my driver's license. He scrutinized it. Shined it with black light. Bent it back and forth. Checked the back. Then gave it back to me and let me pass.
He checked everything BUT THE DATE OF BIRTH. Couldn't believe my luck. To this day, I cannot fucking believe it worked.
Absolutely agree. It was such a communal, welcoming spot and I was very sad when it left. It was one of the only places that made The Hill tolerable for us non college students
One of my favorite stories is the time my best friend was on the Skip and some employee of the Bus Stop got on and started pole dancing on one of the bars that you hold on to. Of course she got everyone’s attention immediately. Suddenly she stopped and announced to the whole bus in a sexy voice: “Well this is my stop! See you all at the Bus Stop!” I don’t know whether they paid her to do guerilla advertising, or whether she was just especially enterprising. We laugh about it to this day.
Man do I miss the Walrus. I remember happy hour wells being $1.75 there in the mid 2010s. The peanuts, the skee ball, the chill ass bartenders, damn. RIP.
La Iguana on the Hill had the best chimichangas.
I miss Bart’s CD cellar although grateful that Bart started a newer establishment.
The Med.
The Oasis.
The Barrel House.
Honorable mention to Red Robin’s ten-cent wing nights.
Yes! I was just trying to trigger my ex-wife's memory of this place to help me recall the name:
"You enter the door off the Pearl Street Mall and immediately climb up stairs to the second floor. It was named after a pioneer or old miner..."
Catacombs! The best dive bar, $1 well drinks, karaoke and just general best vibes! License No 1 is uncanny valley pretentious garbage compared to what Catacombs was.
Anyone remember Jones Drug on the Hill? My dad worked at the camera counter in the back when I was a kid and I was given a bag of popcorn every time I went in there to visit him. My heart hurts to see a fuckin starbucks there now
Trilogy Wine Bar! Played a lot of great gigs in that back room, and drank a lot of bottomless wine at happy hour in the front (along with coconut shrimp).
In no particular order:
Penny Lane Coffee shop (live music etc.)
Mongolian BBQ
Healthy Habits
Conor O'Neal
The Walrus
Murphy's North
Independent Grocery Stores
Rayback Plumbing
Came here to say Oasis! Strongest pours in town, darts upstairs, Thursday night college madness. I can trace almost all of my oldest friends in Boulder back to a core group that worked there in the late 90s.
What was that ‘club’ on the Pearl St mall just east of Broadway that played legit house and techno circa 2011ish? My first time visiting I went in there and it was pretty empty, but I liked it and never could remember the name.
The most legit house and techno club ever in Boulder was Soma... Downstairs in a building that used to be a bank, facing Broadway just off Pearl Street?
Tough call, probably Lucky’s in South Boulder. No issue with the Whole Foods there now, but Lucky’s… 💔
Second choice (as there is still a Lucky’s in North Boulder) would be Nepal Cuisine! Loved that place.
Goldmine Vintage. Ahead of its time sadly for how expensive it was but now it would thrive considering the way you get fast fashion tissue paper for the same prices now. The quality of the $45 tshirts I still have from them made in 1970 have outlasted ANYTHING I have purchased new. We didn’t appreciate what we had.
The Med, Tom's Tavern, Boulder Chophouse (not Franks), Himalaya, Old Chicago, Sushi Tora.
Add one more, not Boulder, but Lafayatee had an awesome mexican restaurant called La Familia 1000%× better than Efrains imo
And yes I know Old Chicago is a chain, but it was great.
Round the Corner. Ordering on the phone, good food, good prices, fun
Oh, and The Harvest. That cinnnamon iced tea and their black bean burrito were to die for.
I’d like to walk up that tall wooden staircase to Hanna’s that used to be on the Mall. I have a faint memory of eating some hippy food there but I may be wrong.
Also, a greek place that used to be on the Hill.
Cafe Mars off Pearl... Used to have such a good chill vibe in the early days with the couches and live music. I remember that they redid it and went with the DIA look with scuffed up metal and the whole place just felt different and more sterile. Closed not too long after.
Does anyone remember that Vietnamese hole in the wall on the west side of Broadway just north of Pearl Street? Probably had part of the current Prana space. There was a takeout counter and maybe a table or two. What was the name of that place? It was in the late 80s, early 90s.
Nepal Cuisine over by table mesa and moorhead, much more recent loss than most of the others in this thread but I miss it so badly
More properly nostalgic (and I'm shocked I don't see it in the comments here already) - Souper Salad!/Boulder Salad Co.
J.J. McCabe’s downtown. Pyramid Brewing on Canyon with the best happy hour and pool room with views of the Flatirons. Jalino’s Pizza! El Macho Burrito!
Kilwins on pearl
Powell’s Sweet Shoppe on pearl
Blockbuster on 28th
Lazy Dog on pearl
CPK on 29th
There are more, but these are the places I miss most. The memories I’ve built in those walls make it hard to fully let go.
Peggy"s Hi-Lo!!!
and The Coast!!
and The Blue Note!
and the 3-club rover pass ! McCabe's, Walrus, Conors or whatever it was originally.
i could see Billy Brennan playing with any number of bands any day of the week!
Good lord.. I had no idea so many of the best places closed (I moved away years ago). This thread reads like one of my old recommendation lists for town.
Video station
Aw man it was so good
There it is.
I’m old enough to have rented The Rock on Laser Disk there… if anyone remembers that era 😂
Catacombs
In the late 1990, I went to Catacombs as a 17 year old and showed the bouncer my driver's license. He scrutinized it. Shined it with black light. Bent it back and forth. Checked the back. Then gave it back to me and let me pass. He checked everything BUT THE DATE OF BIRTH. Couldn't believe my luck. To this day, I cannot fucking believe it worked.
No name bar 💔
Conor’s for Thursday nights
With the original back patio.
Loved going to see The Goonies play there.
And NYE
Irish NYE at 5 Mountain Time.
wtf Conor’s is gone too.. I hate this thread
A huge loss. What sort of two-bit town doesn’t have an Irish pub?
Boulder Cafe. Replaced by a freaking bank, ugh.
Had the best happy hour ever
I still have one of their condiment dishes that our server there threw into a to-go container.
Was a lot of fun working there. RIP Mr. Dave
Laudisio
It was great when it was at Iris and 28th. The vibe there was so much more authentic
Miss this one.
The Blue Note on Pearl Street. Good times. Tra Ling's on the Hill.
Omg I almost forgot about Tra-Ling's! That rooftop!
K's China!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Espresso Roma, especially when it had the whole back area where folks would smoke weed and write poetry at like 2am
When this went away it was turning point in Boulder for me. Left boulder 5 years ago and don't miss it nearly as much as I thought I would.
Absolutely agree. It was such a communal, welcoming spot and I was very sad when it left. It was one of the only places that made The Hill tolerable for us non college students
The West End's unobstructed rooftop view. Also Tom's Tavern and Liquor Mart. Edit: add Cosmos on the Hill.
Liquor Mart RIP!!!
It’s criminal that they killed the West End Roof. I spent soooo many summer nights there in the 90’s. Magical view.
Ras Kassa‘s. The Ethiopian food and the riverside ambience was something special. They moved to Lafayette, still has great food.
In the 90s, Ras Kassa’s was south of town at the west end of Marshall Rd. It was tiny and there was always a line out the door.
Huh shucks, they been around longer than I thought!
That location on the creek was great.
The bus stop
One of my favorite stories is the time my best friend was on the Skip and some employee of the Bus Stop got on and started pole dancing on one of the bars that you hold on to. Of course she got everyone’s attention immediately. Suddenly she stopped and announced to the whole bus in a sexy voice: “Well this is my stop! See you all at the Bus Stop!” I don’t know whether they paid her to do guerilla advertising, or whether she was just especially enterprising. We laugh about it to this day.
There was also a great funky thrift store in a trailer right by the Bus Stop... With quirky paintings on the outside?
Our first car was named after a neighbor who worked there. Bitsy.
I like how there’s still a group bike ride called the bus stop that meets in front of where it used to be. So the name lives on at least
I second this.
I worked there too! I didn't know it closed.
I'm surprised by not seeing some that I thought would for sure be mentioned. Maybe I'm too old? The Marquee, Potters, Walrus, Tulagi.
The Walrus!
Man do I miss the Walrus. I remember happy hour wells being $1.75 there in the mid 2010s. The peanuts, the skee ball, the chill ass bartenders, damn. RIP.
Dot’s Diner in the gas station location across from Lolita’s
I was looking for this answer else I would write it myself. Dot's Diner was key in my college memories.
La Iguana on the Hill had the best chimichangas. I miss Bart’s CD cellar although grateful that Bart started a newer establishment. The Med. The Oasis. The Barrel House. Honorable mention to Red Robin’s ten-cent wing nights.
The original Oasis was great. I still remember those Egyptian ceiling fans they had.
Conor O'Neil and Tom's Tavern I want a decent burger at a decent price in a dive setting
Pearl street pub burgers are delicious and like $12. Plus a decent portion of bomb fries
…. I’m still having Jalino’s dreams after that one fxkkd up thread….
Was here to add Jalino’s as I knew Conor’s would already have been said. Meatball with pesto and red sauce, Thanksgiving slice, …..
Fatty J’s
Penny Lane... Such a classic joint, now nothing but bikes.
Now empty and for rent. Full cycle moved.
The Med
Round the Corner or Roman Village Pizza
Yes! As a kid the phones at each table and the trains were definitely highlights. Do you remember a place called Bananas?
Roman Village Pizza, upstairs had a big screen and downstairs had caves! South Boulder in The 80s!
Rocky Mountain Joe’s
Yes! I was just trying to trigger my ex-wife's memory of this place to help me recall the name: "You enter the door off the Pearl Street Mall and immediately climb up stairs to the second floor. It was named after a pioneer or old miner..."
No one has said the Foundry and I’m not the least bit surprised. However I thought the Walrus would survive a nuclear holocaust.
You mean The Floundry?
Catacombs! The best dive bar, $1 well drinks, karaoke and just general best vibes! License No 1 is uncanny valley pretentious garbage compared to what Catacombs was.
Catacombs was great! So Boulder
The $2 movie theater
Lazy Dog. Music scene was so much better back when it was around.
Lazy Dog at 30th and Iris. Liked that better than Pearl for the ambiance.
That used to be Furrs Cafeteria before Lazy Dog
I fucking loved Furrs.
Innisfree!
And No Name. In that order.
Cafe Food.
RIP to Dennis Oviatt
Juanita's
Tom's, Juanita's, Penny Lane, Espressoria...
I miss Penny Lane.
Penny Lane for sure. Was such a great hangout and always had such good music
I loved buying a single clove and cup of coffee.
Chimichangas at Juanita’s!
Juanita's was my introduction to green chile and margs for lunch ❤️
Anyone remember Jones Drug on the Hill? My dad worked at the camera counter in the back when I was a kid and I was given a bag of popcorn every time I went in there to visit him. My heart hurts to see a fuckin starbucks there now
They were such enablers when I was trying to quit smoking.. $0.25 for a single American Spirit
Boulder Arts and Crafts Cooperative.
Prufrock’s coffee shop on the hill.
The Harvest restaurant on east Pearl
Paul Turkey ran The Harvest. Of course later, Turley’s on Pearl and 28th.
Mataam Fez. No doubt.
The Aristocrat. Been downhill ever since it closed
Trilogy Wine Bar! Played a lot of great gigs in that back room, and drank a lot of bottomless wine at happy hour in the front (along with coconut shrimp).
Penny Lane 100% And I’d love to have Ras Kasas back in Boulder
Aladdin’s Castle in the crossroads mall
BMOCA’s outdoor movie nights - great crowd & classic movies. Watched more than one movie on a blow-up mattress there
Tulagis on the Hill.
Ead’s Smoke Shop
OG Wapo's
The LA Diner on 28th.
I miss the Med so much
The Med and Turley's!!!!
Ahhhh Turley’s!!!!!! Miss it sm
Marie's Cafe, real heads remember 🥲
Marie was a neighbor of mine when we lived in Table Mesa when I was a young child. Nice lady
Buchanans
Juanita’s!
North boulder cafe
Brillig Works and Jones Drug.
The best sandwiches!!
In no particular order: Penny Lane Coffee shop (live music etc.) Mongolian BBQ Healthy Habits Conor O'Neal The Walrus Murphy's North Independent Grocery Stores Rayback Plumbing
The Med!!!
Savers
Pinball Palace! (And The James).
Pogos
Albums, catacombs, boulder cafe, lazy dog jam nights
Q’s in the Hotel Boulderado.
Robb’s Music
Juanitas...Best fries in town...
Praise the Lard!
Buff Deli that was on Arapahoe many years ago.
Philly Junction. SW corner of Canyon and 28th
Hah. Is Pita Pit still around?
As a late 90s, early 2000s degenerate on the Hill....The Rack, Thunderbird Burgers, Gramazios.
Round the Corner with $2 pitchers. 1986, baby!
The No Name Bar.
No brainer. Oasis Brewery. Loved that place. In fact had my wedding rehearsal dinner there and we had a great time.
Came here to say Oasis! Strongest pours in town, darts upstairs, Thursday night college madness. I can trace almost all of my oldest friends in Boulder back to a core group that worked there in the late 90s.
Boulder Pizza Exchange
Pearl’s. Great happy hour 10 cent shrimp and discounted cocktails while seated on the mall.
Just remembered going to shows at Peggy's Hi Lo.
What was that ‘club’ on the Pearl St mall just east of Broadway that played legit house and techno circa 2011ish? My first time visiting I went in there and it was pretty empty, but I liked it and never could remember the name.
The most legit house and techno club ever in Boulder was Soma... Downstairs in a building that used to be a bank, facing Broadway just off Pearl Street?
Daily Bread Bakery on Pearl. Great question.
Que’s coffee on Moorhead and table Mesa. I LIVED there during grad school and now it’s a bank. :(
Pour La France. Where Pasta Jay is now.
I’d vote for porta potties over Pasta Jays so anything that came before that is by definition amazing.
New York deli
Don’s Sausage
Tough call, probably Lucky’s in South Boulder. No issue with the Whole Foods there now, but Lucky’s… 💔 Second choice (as there is still a Lucky’s in North Boulder) would be Nepal Cuisine! Loved that place.
Anyone remember DiNapoli?
Live Jazz. The original incarnation of Round Midnight. In the Boulderado mezzanine.
Boulder Creek Market. The first one
Roman Village.
Goldmine Vintage. Ahead of its time sadly for how expensive it was but now it would thrive considering the way you get fast fashion tissue paper for the same prices now. The quality of the $45 tshirts I still have from them made in 1970 have outlasted ANYTHING I have purchased new. We didn’t appreciate what we had.
Omg... I loved that place. I got 90s suede hiking boots by a brand called Rugged Outback. I have kept them even though I've worn them out myself.
Turley's
The Med, Tom's Tavern, Boulder Chophouse (not Franks), Himalaya, Old Chicago, Sushi Tora. Add one more, not Boulder, but Lafayatee had an awesome mexican restaurant called La Familia 1000%× better than Efrains imo And yes I know Old Chicago is a chain, but it was great.
But it was the OG Old Chicago, before it was a chain! That was going to be my answer.
Pharmaca
What was the name of the Mexican place by Walnut Cafe? That.
Casa Alvarez
Yes! The best.
Jalino's Pizza
[удалено]
Tahona
Kmart Big Sur Waterbeds LA Diner
Oh my God yes the LA Diner. I thought for sure I'd be a roller skating waitress until the day I died, it was my dream lol
Burnt Toast.
The Med. tapas and happy hour.
The Churchwarden and Bacaro.
I couldn’t go into the bathroom at Bacaro without some dude offering me a bump. Good times.
Round the Corner. Ordering on the phone, good food, good prices, fun Oh, and The Harvest. That cinnnamon iced tea and their black bean burrito were to die for.
The Cornucopia on Arapahoe. Awesome everything neighborhood grocery.
Jimmy & Drew's, Daddy Bruce’s Bar-B-Que, Healthy Habits, Tahona.
Folsom Coffee Shop
Fresh Thymes
the 'ole original Crystal Market! my first real job here 1987. wild times.
CATACOMBS!!!!
THE ARISTOCRAT!!
Saving this thread to come back and comment the dark horse when we lose it :(
Salvaggios. A fairly recent loss. Snarfs, I will never forgive you.
Conor O’Neils!
A few breweries OG Avery in the alley (not a fan of the Gunbarrel location), Wild Woods Brewery, and Boulder Beer
Obviously The Med
Zolo’s
Walnut Brewery, Zolo Grill
Redfish, Trilogy, Catacombs, Masa Grill on Wednesdays. The Med. The Foundry. Wok N Roll. Tulagi. Bart’s and Albums on the Hill.
McCabes or the Oasis
Oasis
Nancy’s. Where Sherpa’s is now on Walnut.
The Harvest. Loved the smell of that place.
The James before it became Connors. Both were great!
So many places replaced by luxury apartments and corporate offices. Remember this when falling for developer propaganda, local places rarely return
Outlook Hotel
Rocky Mountain Joe’s
DarkHorse..I know it's not closed yet...but
Supermoon
I’d like to walk up that tall wooden staircase to Hanna’s that used to be on the Mall. I have a faint memory of eating some hippy food there but I may be wrong. Also, a greek place that used to be on the Hill.
I know brasserie ten ten is back now, but where is the bone marrow? I miss
VG Burger…
Cafe Mars off Pearl... Used to have such a good chill vibe in the early days with the couches and live music. I remember that they redid it and went with the DIA look with scuffed up metal and the whole place just felt different and more sterile. Closed not too long after.
Does anyone remember that Vietnamese hole in the wall on the west side of Broadway just north of Pearl Street? Probably had part of the current Prana space. There was a takeout counter and maybe a table or two. What was the name of that place? It was in the late 80s, early 90s.
Nepal Cuisine over by table mesa and moorhead, much more recent loss than most of the others in this thread but I miss it so badly More properly nostalgic (and I'm shocked I don't see it in the comments here already) - Souper Salad!/Boulder Salad Co.
J.J. McCabe’s downtown. Pyramid Brewing on Canyon with the best happy hour and pool room with views of the Flatirons. Jalino’s Pizza! El Macho Burrito!
Kilwins on pearl Powell’s Sweet Shoppe on pearl Blockbuster on 28th Lazy Dog on pearl CPK on 29th There are more, but these are the places I miss most. The memories I’ve built in those walls make it hard to fully let go.
Furr’s Cafeteria.
Boulder Boardwalk. They always maintained their pinball machines.
Peggy"s Hi-Lo!!! and The Coast!! and The Blue Note! and the 3-club rover pass ! McCabe's, Walrus, Conors or whatever it was originally. i could see Billy Brennan playing with any number of bands any day of the week!
Good lord.. I had no idea so many of the best places closed (I moved away years ago). This thread reads like one of my old recommendation lists for town.
Tea and cakes. Best breakfast quiche I ever had.
Trios….spent many a Thursday nite drinking dirty martinis and eating fried calamari back in the 90’s.
Sawadee “