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.
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."
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.
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."
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."
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."
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.
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
Good things start in Colorado
Good things start in Colorado! Thanks for reading:)
I know it was a big thing in
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
Sounds like a simply delicious memory, Keeg! Thanks for sharing.
And now we're curious about the Round the Corner restaurants...
My dad still picks up a pie
My dad still picks up a pie from Village Inn and brings it to special family functions. When I think of Village Inn, I think of pies.....and back when they had smoking on onehalf of the restaurant and non-smoking on the other half. As if the smoke new the difference. We would accept the smoking seating if it was busy enough because you could sit faster. Ah, memories...
We remember the old days of
We remember the old days of "smoking" and "non-smoking" sections, too! And who could forget the pie. Thanks for reminiscing!
I just saw the Village Inn at
I just saw the Village Inn at Colorado Blvd. and Mexico closed. Does anyone know why and if something else is moving in there?
Hi Karen,
Hi Karen,
Village Inn's official website notes that this location is permanently closed. We'll keep an eye out on what will be moving in.
Help, Help!!
Help, Help!!
On 03/01/2019, my wife and I visited the Village Inn (#110788). Since it was "All you can eat Fish Fry" I took advantage of the Friday Special. Since I do love fish meals (great for one's health) I had one serving of fish, and made the server (Sydnee) of my love for fish, and requested another serving of fish. Upon completing this meal, I wanted another fish meal. After a very long wait for the additional fish meal, I was served a great fish meal.
Having enough of the three (3) servings, I checked out at the register, where there was a lot of confusion with the cashier (Nicolas) attempting to handle another customer's purchase. Finally I was waited upon at the register (still a lot of confusion going on), I inquired as to any senior discounts giving to seniors, the cashier did agree and gave me a $10.35 discount and informed me that my entire order with the discount would be $43.46. I did inquire as to the high amount and asked the cashier if the amount was correct. The cashier did inform me that it was correct. I did add a $6.51 tip for the server, the total of the bill was $49.97 and we departed the restaurant, at about 7:15 PM.
Upon arriving at my residence, I checked the receipt (40119) and noted that I was charged 3 AYCE Fish Frys @ $11.99, adding up to $35.97, it was then that I called the restaurant and spoke to the manager on duty (Kenny Baeza). The manager informed me that the server had made an error on her computer and that he would contact his supervisor (Rosh) and make certain that I would be credited with $23.98 back on my credit card. Kenny Baeza informed me that I should receive the credited amount by the 5th or 6th of March. Mr. Baeza informed me that he was going on vacation and would make certain the matter would be resolved when he returned.
Not hearing anything else about my issue, my wife and I went back to the restaurant on 03/08/2019 to have a lunch meal. During our stay, I requested the manager presence at our table to discuss the above issue. The manager (Alanna T.) was informed of the issue and she informed me that she would contact the manager Kenny Baeze and make certain that the issue would be resolved.
At about 5:30 PM, still not hearing anything from Kenny Baeze, I traveled to the restaurant and made contact with Mr. Baeze. The Manager indicated that he was very sorry that the issue was not resolved and would make certain that it would corrected soon. For my troubles, Mr, Baeze offered me a free meal today, I could not take advantage of his offer at this time, Mr. Baeze gave me his business card indicating I could have a free meal at the restaurant.
As of the writing of this message 03/15/2019, I have not received any credit to my account for the promised amount of $23.98. I am at a lost as to where to I now go to resolve this issue. I have always enjoyed my meals at Village Inn, however it does appear that there is a problem with resolving issues of customer complaints. I really want to return to the Village Inn restaurant in the future, but now I am worried that this issue may occur again and take away from any good dining experience that I have had in the past. Upon reading this message please advise me as to my next step with this issue.
Al Walls
I'm sorry to hear about your
I'm sorry to hear about your difficult experience, Al. Unfortunately, we are not affiliated with Village Inn and can only direct you to their customer service at https://www.villageinn.com/guest-relations/.
Folks ask me if we can
Folks ask me if we can purchase the salad dressing that the old Colorado Springs Village Inn served and possibly made or sold in stores....do you remember what kind it was?
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