King Of Denver Diner Empire, Pete Contos, Dead At 85

DENVER, CO – Pete Contos, owner of an empire of diners and godfather of Denver's restaurant scene has died, the Denver Post reported Monday. Contos was 85.

The newspaper reported that an employee of one of Contos's restaurants confirmed the death Monday morning.

Contos was the proud owner of the always-open Pete’s Kitchen and Pete’s Satire Lounge, in the 1900 block of East Colfax Avenue.

Contos came to Denver from Greece in 1957 and bought the Satire Lounge, a 24/7 "greasy spoon" seven years later, Westword reported in 2011. He was also the owner of Pete's Gyros Place, 2819 E Colfax Ave.; Pete's Greek Town, 2910 E. Colfax Ave.;Pete's University Cafe, 2345 E Evans Ave. and Pete's Central One at 300 S. Pearl St.

the Denver Post reported Contos was inducted into the Foodservice Hall of Fame in 2006.

The plaque dedicated to him said the following:

“Over the years, (Contos) has quietly lent a helping hand to people in need, whether it’s paying medical bills, lending money to buy homes or financing an education. He is known to help former employees to start their own business and regularly does such humanitarian deeds as serving holiday dinners to the elderly and neighborhood people," the Post reported.

No funeral services or obituary were yet posted as of Monday.

Mayor Michael B. Hancock tweeted that Contos was an "institution" and praised the restaurateur's "great food ... great conversations, business acumen and support for the Denver community."

READ MORE in the Denver Post.