Merton Anderson and Jim P. Mola
Village Inn's Colorado Roots
In December 1958, brothers-in-law Jim Mola and Merton "Andy" Anderson launched their first Denver Village Inn Pancake House at 8855 East Colfax Avenue.
The history of the Village Inn restaurant chain, however, really begins in Colorado Springs.
Image appears courtesy of Pikes Peak Library District Special Collections. Photograph by Stewarts Commercial Photographers, © Pikes Peak Library District, 208-9667.
Anderson and Mola began their partnership after noticing the lack of pancakes houses along the Front Range. Anderson didn't have any restaurant experience, but Mola had spent 10 years operating Seymour's Cafe in Eugene, Oregon.
In November 1956, Anderson and Mola purchased The Village Inn, 217 East Pikes Peak Avenue, in Colorado Springs from J. N. McCullough, former mayor of Colorado Springs. McCullough had operated the restaurant for 10 years. In the sale, McCullough retained the ownership of the restaurant building while Mola and Anderson received ownership of the restaurant business, equipment, furnishings and the name "Village Inn."
The Village Inn was housed in a landmark Colorado Springs building: the 1880 site of the Grace Episcopal Church. Since 1929, the building had operated as a restaurant and had originally been called "Chapel Inn."
Roma Brown, Merton Anderson, and James P. Mola
Mola and Anderson held on to the East Pikes Peak Village Inn until September 1961, when they sold it to focus on the operation of the Village Inn Pancake House, Inc. By December 1968, 37 Village Inn restaurants had popped up in 20 states, and the firm was expanding at the rate of one new restaurant per month—all without a single closure. By the end of 1971, Village Inn had grown to 60 restaurants.
Bucky Bear Flips for Fundraiser
The chain's success may have been due to its franchising approach. All potential franchise holders were thoroughly screened, and those accepted took on nine months of college-level classroom work and training in company-owned Village Inn restaurants throughout Denver. A.F. Reesman, Vice President of Franchising, explained the breadth of the training in an August 21, 1971, Rocky Mountain News article:
"Before we turn a unit over to a man, we bring him into Denver and put him through the management training wringer, from kitchen to dining room to advertising to accounting."
Village Inn Dining Room
Also carefully planned were the look and location of the restaurants. Sites for restaurant buildings had to be situated in "high-volume areas with a mixture of travelers, business and commercial workers, and families living within a two-mile radius." Village Inn designers provided prototype plans for restaurant buildings (always standalone structures) and National Equipment Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Village Inn, provided each restaurant with all of its furnishings, "from ranges to menus to toothpicks."
Village Inn at 222 Columbine in Cherry Creek Tuesday September 18,2007 GEORGE KOCHANIEC , JR. /ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS **
Anderson and Mola eventually sold the Village Inn Pancake House, Inc. to a group of investors in 1977. In 1982, the company became the publicly-traded Vicorp Restaurants, Inc. The following year, the company purchased 59 Pop & Fresh Pie restaurants and renamed them as "Bakers Square."
Waitress Karissa Lickteig (cq) serves up a few lattes at the new Village Inn in Wheatridge, Colo, Monday February 18, 2008. Village Inn, has been a struggling Denver coffeeshop, is aiming for hipster cachet with its radical new redesign that includes n...
In April 2008, Vicorp Restaurants, Inc. closed 56 Village Inn and Bakers Square restaurants across the country, including four in Colorado. The closures were blamed on the slowing economy and a jump in food prices. Vicorp Restaurants, Inc. was sold to American Blue Ribbon Holdings in March 2009. As of 2018, Village Inn is part of American Blue Ribbon Holdings.
A strawberry pie from The Village Inn restaurant, Sept 18, 2007. (ELLEN JASKOL/ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS)
Want to learn more about Denver's restaurant history? Check out some of our previous blog posts on the subject:
- DENVER DINING OF YORE: THE WATROUS BAR AND CAFÉ
- DENVER DINING OF YORE: BOGGIO’S PARISIENNE ROTISSERIE
- DENVER DINING OF YORE: PELL'S OYSTER HOUSE
- DENVER DINING OF YORE: BLUE PARROT INN
- CELEBRATING DENVER'S LOST RESTAURANTS
- MENU COLLECTION CUTS THE MUSTARD
- MANUSCRIPT MONDAY: MENU COLLECTION
- BUCKHORN EXCHANGE
- MUDDY'S CAFE: AN IMPORTANT DENVER INSTITUTION
- ELVIS PRESLEY: HONORARY DENVER COP AND EATER OF STRANGE SANDWICHES
Comments
Interesting read! The Cherry Creek location closed and became Toast, which was managed (and possibly owned?) by a former DPL employee and her husband before it, too, closed.
Thanks for reading and commenting, NH!
My grandfather, Frank Rolla, purchased the original Village Inn and Pub Lounge from Mola & Anderson in September 1961. My family operated it for the next 20 years or so…It was a staple in the Springs area and the food was so much better than any of the pancake house franchises that it spawned.
Very interesting, C Rolla! Thanks for the follow-up on the original Village Inn in Colorado Springs!
What happened to the location, did your fam sell?
That’s so cool!!!
Fascinating. I had no idea Village Inn originated in CO.
Good things start in Colorado! Thanks for reading:)
I know it was a big thing in our family to go out to eat there. I remember they had lots of different flavored syrups. Fond memories of the strawberries and cream topped pancakes. The Belgian waffle was a big hit in our family too. Comfy booths. Also have fond memories of Round the Corner restaurant, which seemed to be a local chain. Was fun to order things by phone at your booth.
Sounds like a simply delicious memory, Keeg! Thanks for sharing.
And now we're curious about the Round the Corner restaurants...
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