The past two years have been pretty bad for Jason McGovern.
Owner of Crush Pizza + at 1200 W. 38th Ave. in the Highlands. Tap on and Crush Wing +5001 E. Colfax Ave. But tap at South Park Hill, which they opened last October. At present
On April 10, they closed Crush Wing + Tap permanently, and April 30 was Crush Pizza + Tap’s last day of service after 10 years.
“A lot of extenuating circumstances went into this decision,” McGovern said. “Primarily, our sales have been down quite dramatically in the first three months of the year, actually, and I don’t know what to attribute. We opened our wing location, and I was under the impression that Crush Opening a second location under the brand will give a boost to our pizza brand.
McGovern said that Crush Pizza + Tap had sales down $50,000 a year for the first three months of 2022 and that things never really took off at Crush Wing + Tap.
Courtesy of Crush Pizza + Tap
Crush Pizza + Tap has been at its Highland location since 2015.
McGovern said, “There are very few restaurants, especially single owner operator restaurants like mine, that can deliver that type of top-line revenue reduction.” “The restaurant owners are tired. Unless you have a wildly successful restaurant, margins are tough, dollars are more expensive, plus inflation, food costs, the labor pool is worse, and there are a lot of apathetic customers. ,
McGovern opened Crush Pizza + Tap under the name Denver Deep Dish at 819 Colorado Blvd in 2012. He grew up in Congress Park in the ’80s when pizza delivery first became popular, working at Papa John’s in high school, and said he always knew he wanted to build his own pizzeria.
They relocated Denver Deep Dish to their Highland location in 2015 and renamed it Crush in 2018.
“I invested all the dollars I had in my pocket in both restaurants,” McGovern said. “That was my retirement and 10 years of blood, sweat and tears.”
McGovern leased both of its 2,000-square-foot spaces and is currently working on a settlement with the landlord, he said.
At 45, McGovern is ready for a fresh start. He said he has no psychic desire to own or run a restaurant and plans to bartend around town a couple nights a week.
“Mentally, it’s been a roller coaster,” McGovern said. “But I think after 10 years, it’s my time, although it’s hard to end a 10-year relationship. I want to do things that don’t require a lot of judgment, as I’ve been in the last two years.” I am making or breaking too many decisions.
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