What happens to Tom’s Diner? Who knows?
After meeting upon meeting, the applicants working to designate Tom’s Diner as a Denver landmark have withdrawn the application. The owner has a deal to sell the diner to a development company, with the building to be replaced by an 8-story apartment building at East Colfax Avenue and Pearl Street.
The demolition permit apparently was going to be pulled today. The permit lasts for five years. A ray of sunshine is that the applicants and Historic Denver (and some involved architects) still are working to make something click: Owner Tom Messina would get his retirement money, the developer could do something with the diner and the site and still make money, and the community would not lose another building of an intriguing style, in this case Googie. We’ll see where this goes.
The background of this architectural style has been well documented after the controversy started over the diner’s fate, so no more on this now. But I have to say, The Denver Post reporter on this story termed it “kitschy,” which just shows the newspaper’s architectural depth. After all, why would history matter? Also, if you can open up the comments on today’s story, always a challenge, there are suggestions that the applicants got paid off to drop the issue, again reminding us that Denver is now A City of Greed.
P.S. I hope this photograph of the diner can now be tucked away, rather than pop up again if the building is scraped. Now if there is some sort of architectural / development meeting of the minds, the diner image will be back, happily.
Below are links to the coverage of the diner and its future:
https://www.denverpost.com/2019/08/15/toms-diner-historic-status-demolition/
https://www.westword.com/restaurants/toms-diner-will-get-non-historic-designation-august-16-11450264
Chandler in Denver 
While leaving the diner in place and intact an eight story building can be placed on the parking lot. At eight stories as allowed by zoning the building can easily accommodate 101 apartments. This fact has been distorted by the pro demolition consultants.
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I’m sure they would. And I thank you for this information; if anyone walks around that parking lot, as I have, there is plenty of room for a building that can connect to the diner …. and I would think would still make money for the developer. The comments on today’s Denver Post story were quite annoying, accusing the applicants as being paid off for withdrawing the application. The “tear it down” crowd doesn’t get it — but they might get money. Ugh.
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