Frank’s Chophouse closes after two years of Concept Restaurants ownership

BOULDER — Frank’s Chophouse, formerly the Boulder Chophouse on Walnut Street in downtown Boulder, has shuttered only about two years after it was taken over by the prominent Boulder-born restaurant group Concept Restaurants Inc. 

“After much time and consideration, we’ve made the decision to close Frank’s Chophouse. We greatly appreciate the support and love we’ve received from the community since opening in 2020,” the restaurant posted on its Facebook page this past weekend. 

Frank’s Chophouse’s last day was Sunday, Oct. 23. 

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The restaurant, named after local hospitality luminary and Concept co-owners Frank Day, opened during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic after the closure of the Boulder Chophouse. 

Several temporary closures ensued, before a full reopening last year, which Chophouse general manager Sam Blundell described to Boulder Magazine at the time as “extremely positive.”

The Boulder Chophouse was a longtime favorite among city diners, and Frank Day, who operates Concept Restaurants alongside his wife, Gina Day, attempted to maintain some of the original restaurant’s attributes. 

Concept representatives did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.  

The Frank’s Chophouse closure comes amid some high-profile reopenings of Pearl Street Mall-area restaurants that occupied similar stratas of prominence in the Boulder gourmet dining scene. For example, Brasserie Ten Ten, a popular French eatery in downtown Boulder, returned to service in August after about a 26-month, COVID-19 hiatus.

The Days have been active in the hospitality scene in Boulder and beyond for decades. 

Among the groups they’ve owned or helped start are Rock Bottom Restaurants Inc., Old Chicago, Walnut Brewery and the ChopHouse & Brewery; Colorado’s first microbrewery, Boulder Beer; iconic Boulder watering hole The Walrus; upscale lodges Hotel Boulderado and the Table Mountain Inn in Golden; Downtown Boulder Inc., a nonprofit organization focused on promoting downtown Boulder; and the Day Family Foundation.

Frank Day is a 2003 Boulder County Business Hall of Fame inductee and was named an Entrepreneurial Innovator in 2004 by the Boulder Chamber. Gina Day is a 2018 Boulder County Business Hall of Fame inductee.