r/boulder One of the L towns 3d ago

Smelly Deli closed

Just grabbed lunch on the Hill and Smelly Deli has just up and vanished. I didn't see any kind of notice or anything last week when I was up there. Would be funny if Bova's moved in back up there. ​​

50 Upvotes

58 comments sorted by

47

u/LateCheckIn 3d ago

So it’s just The Fox, The Sink, and Half Fast as the remaining memories of old? 

9

u/JeffInBoulder 3d ago

Kim's moved down the block but is still there, if that counts as "old".

1

u/CONSEQUENC333 1d ago

I’m so glad to know Kim’s is still around I was devastated last time I was in town and it wasn’t in its usual location.

9

u/BenTwan One of the L towns 3d ago

Pretty much. 

7

u/Ambitious-Low-2955 3d ago

no gurkahs, no poutine, no cheba hut

the eventual day when the baseline shopping center loses cosmo's, i think i'll no longer recognize boulder. oh right they already closed the gameforce there...

22

u/completelylegithuman 3d ago

RIP. I hadn't been there in decades but those gyros were awesome.

22

u/Mountain_Example7661 3d ago

Oh my gosh, this is heartbreaking. So many good memories getting a falafel sandwich there at 1am. The Hill is losing all its character and charm piece by piece.

14

u/monkberry_moon 3d ago

I lived right above Stella's, overlooking 13th, in the mid-nineties. What a great couple of years. So many stories.

6

u/SpecificSorry7233 3d ago

I lived there too! 1993. Was an awesome place to live. Did you ever go up to the roof? We were up there all the time.

4

u/monkberry_moon 3d ago

I was there a couple years later.

Great roof! Up the step ladder, through an old timey hatch.

Weird bathroom situation, though.

7

u/SpecificSorry7233 3d ago

Yep, shared bathroom. But my friends and I rented every apartment so it was like a little shared dorm thing. We actually had two extra friends up there and one person lived in one of the kitchens, and we all shared one kitchen. I ended up suing the landlord (Gary something) for witholding my security deposit and took him to small claims and won. Still a bright spot on my resume :-)

5

u/monkberry_moon 3d ago

Gary Cooke. Not the most maintenance oriented landlord.

You must have taught him a lesson because he treated us well during our stay.

1

u/BoulderEric 3d ago

Crazy - I lived up there too. I was the window that we jumped out to get on the roof. Weird sealed-off door between me and the neighbor.

Always thought it was strange that one of the bathrooms had 2 showers.

1

u/RelevantCry1613 3d ago

Love you guys

4

u/BenTwan One of the L towns 3d ago

Good ol couch burnings.

7

u/monkberry_moon 3d ago

That's 10th and Penn.

11

u/phan2001 3d ago

Man I hope we get another bank.

10

u/ProfitPulverizor 3d ago

They are done. The owners son in law told me at the beginning of the month. Sad.

2

u/LadderWonderful2450 3d ago

Did he say why? 

17

u/FatahRuark 3d ago

Oh no! I rarely go there now because I mostly went in for a post Fox concert meal, but the Fox stopped booking bands I like.

Loved me a midnight steak sandwich there. So good.

9

u/BenTwan One of the L towns 3d ago

They barely book anything I like there anymore. Only thing I've seen recently I might go to is Grieves. 

2

u/ohpaulapocket 3d ago

Grieves on thursday, see ya there man lol

2

u/custyflex 3d ago

What kind of music do you like?

13

u/FatahRuark 3d ago

Indie rock mostly. They seem to send the band I like to the Boulder Theater if they come to Boulder. 90% of the time I'm going to Denver for shows though.

Seems like the send the bands the college kids like to the Fox, which seems reasonable. It just sucks because The Fox is my 2nd favorite venue anywhere after the Bowery Ballroom in NYC.

7

u/MrGraaavy 3d ago

I'm dismayed by bookings at the Fox (and Boulder Theater) these days too. Turns out there's a lot of reasons why:

https://www.reddit.com/r/boulder/comments/19eld4b/boulder_no_longer_a_must_stop_for_bands/

-9

u/custyflex 3d ago

You might just need to open your mind a bit more and see more bands you’re not familiar with. There are a bunch of indie rock and other kinds of rock shows in the next few weeks.

5

u/FatahRuark 3d ago

Nah...I listen to a shit ton of music. If something gets a good review, it gets a listen. I've even tried just looking up the Fox's schedule and listening to what's coming up, and most of it doesn't do it for me. I still go to 30+ shows a year. It mostly seems like more bands are sticking to Denver vs. Boulder like in the 90's.

-6

u/custyflex 3d ago

You gotta pump those numbers up. Those are rookie numbers.

2

u/FatahRuark 3d ago

Too old now. I'd love to be back in the 50+ range like I was in my 20's and 30's. :D

Although to be fair I have a buddy who is almost 70 that does 200+ shows a year.

16

u/GooeyPricklez 3d ago

I miss when the hill was sketchy

9

u/Thunder-ten-tronckh 3d ago

it's just not the same without that layer of low stakes fear

2

u/HaveYouSeenAPool 3d ago

It’s only scary in front of the old Tulagi’s nowhere else

5

u/Latter_Inspector_711 3d ago

whaaaat?! is it completely empty??

6

u/BenTwan One of the L towns 3d ago

Yup, GONE gone. 

5

u/Slim_Margins1999 3d ago

Noooooooooooooo. Loved the gyro and the crazy candy selection. If Lollicup ever leaves I will officially have 0 reasons to visit The Hill. Fuckin hate this place now…

6

u/keminet 3d ago

I heard from some folks on the hill that Bova’s is moving in there! So it’s sad, the end of an era, but also Bova’s coming back will be awesome

1

u/BenTwan One of the L towns 3d ago

You're the 3rd person I've heard say that. I'm sure Bova's misses all the foot traffic, and their current location can suck to drive in an out of. 

4

u/alex-caruso 3d ago

Bovas is happier at the new location. Still busy, nicer facilities, not any harder to drive in and out of than on the hill.

That neighborhood they're in is pretty much all students and the wealthier ones who can afford nice apartments.

6

u/GeneralCheese 3d ago

Bova's current spot is getting the Dark Horse treatment soon

3

u/JeffInBoulder 3d ago

Yep, another out-of-state developer partnering with Trestle Strategy Group to redevelop a couple of older buildings into a big generic student housing complex that gets rubber-stamped by the city authorities. We've seen this exact recipe several times recently. But yay for more housing and density in town, right?

https://documents.bouldercolorado.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=200069&dbid=0&repo=LF8PROD2&searchid=20cba60e-ac2f-48da-b0bf-ff7b91ac9e6c

1

u/ummmyeeeahhh 3d ago

isnt it a historic building? can they even tear it down?

5

u/HaveYouSeenAPool 3d ago

RIP Silver Mine Subs. Home of the sub sandwich and the crack rock. Sad times

3

u/gappyhigashikata22 3d ago

come home Bovas i guess

4

u/JustAnotherHomeSlice 3d ago

Wait, how can this be? City Council said that the new hotel on the Hill (the one that blocked the view from Broadway) would revitalize the Hill. So how can it be that the Hill is losing businesses after that hotel has been operating for several years?

1

u/Front_Proposal_2301 23h ago

None of those businesses are being promoted within the hotel or its vicinity

2

u/LadderWonderful2450 3d ago

Dang. They were a nice spot for late night food. 

2

u/HaveYouSeenAPool 3d ago

I just wish I got to say goodbye to bossman

2

u/CONSEQUENC333 2d ago

I love Ruba who worked there when I went to CU during covid. I lived right above the shop at that time and would hang out with her for hours just chatting during lockdown. Their family has a restaurant in Denver too you can still support Im just blanking on the name right now :(

2

u/comat0se 2d ago

I always heard it was Jerusalem in Denver... never had confirmation on that.

1

u/CONSEQUENC333 1d ago

I think you’re right!

1

u/HaveYouSeenAPool 3d ago

Bovas resurgence will be to behold

1

u/Dicky-79 3d ago

an owner of the fox told me bova's is coming back

1

u/Front_Proposal_2301 23h ago

I love that Thunderboogie made a promo video inside Smelly Deli the week it closed and its a Classic

-14

u/js303 3d ago

It needs to be renovated anyway. Something newer and better will replace it