Iconic Fort Collins restaurant Silver Grill Cafe sold

FORT COLLINS — Silver Grill Cafe, an iconic downtown Fort Collins restaurant famous for its cinnamon rolls, has been sold.

John Arnolfo, who owned the restaurant at 218 Walnut St. for 42 years, sold the business Friday to Alan and Jackie Jantzen of Loveland.

Arnolfo will remain as on-site adviser to the Jantzens, whom Arnolfo described as a “perfect fit” to shoulder the restaurant’s 88-year legacy.

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Esquire in January 2021 named the Silver Grill as one of “100 restaurants America can’t afford to lose,” citing the economic downturn and forced closures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Esquire also picked the restaurant as serving “the best breakfast in America.”

Silver Grill, which opened in 1933, ranks as the oldest restaurant in Fort Collins, with Arnolfo the restaurant’s longest owner during its history.

Arnolfo transformed a one-room diner into a go-to breakfast and lunch destination seating 200.

Alan Jantzen has worked in the restaurant industry in Fort Collins for 30 years, including as director of operations for Hot Corner Concepts, a Fort Collins restaurant group that owns The Moot House, both Austin’s American Grill locations, Big Al’s Burgers & Dogs and Comet Chicken.

He said in a press release that  Silver Grill will remain unchanged.

“It would be crazy to make changes to such a successful and beloved restaurant,” he said.

“John worked incredibly hard to make Silver Grill the most iconic restaurant in Fort Collins,” he added. “The biggest compliment will be if guests don’t even realize he sold it to us.”

Arnolfo said he looks forward to spending time with family and friends. 

“I’ll still have a role at the restaurant, but now will have more time to golf, fish, bicycle, travel and be with family and friends,” he said in a prepared statement. “I’m so happy it’s Alan and Jackie. They’re a perfect fit, dedicated to Fort Collins and experienced at running successful restaurants.”

Jackie Jantzen is a former restaurant server who works in the human-resources department at Group Publishing. She said the restaurant’s staff was key to the decision to acquire the business.

“In this business, staff are family,” Jackie Jantzen said in a prepared statement. “Staff are the key to making each guest’s dining experience personal and a major reason why Silver Grill is so magnetic.”

The Jantzens have set a goal of selling one million cinnamon rolls in the next five years. 

Although the Silver Grill’s latest iteration dates back to 1933, its history actually extends back to 1912 with the founding of the UNEEDA-LUNCH (“you need a lunch”) Cafe. The diner was renamed Silver Grill Cafe in 1917. The restaurant closed two years later but reopened in 1933 two doors from its original location.

Arnolfo and partner Mike Gress acquired the business in 1979, with Gress leaving several years later.