The two-story, 21,900-square-foot El Rancho Brewing Co. building sits on 4.4 acres at 29260 Highway 40. (Photo courtesy of Hilco Real Estate)
After less than a year and a half, prominent Denver restauranter Frank Bonanno is out at El Rancho.
The restaurant along Interstate 70 near Evergreen announced on its social media pages last week that it is no longer being operated by Bonanno and his restaurant group, Bonanno Concepts.
“El Rancho ended its relationship with Denver-based Bonanno Concepts, which includes the termination of their CHP fee (mandatory tipping),” the post read.
CHP refers to Bonanno’s “Creating Happy People,” a 22% service fee that’s added to all customers’ checks and divided between front and back-of-house employees. The service fee is used at all Bonanno restaurants.
“We just have different philosophies from the partnership group and they felt they could do it better than us and we were more than happy and wish them the best of luck,” Bonanno said on Monday.
Bonanno said that the CHP fee was one of those philosophies he and El Rancho’s owners, Travis McAfoos and Jack Buchanan, disagreed on. Although Bonanno noted he ended the CHP fee at El Rancho in late March, before he left as operator.
The social media post states a new chef joined the 76-year-old staple restaurant and will bring a new menu. It did not name that chef, but said the restaurant will offer “lighter menu options for the warm days ahead in addition to the Western faves you know and love.”
Bonanno joined El Rancho as operator in November 2022. He was brought on after McAfoos and Buchanan bought El Rancho and its real estate at 29260 Highway 40, effectively saving the decades-old restaurant.
Before McAfoos and Buchanan, the Vincent family owned El Rancho. Paul Vincent, a member of that family, listed the business and property for sale in August 2022 to prevent a foreclosure. The restaurant had been in trouble for some time, BusinessDen reported, with lawsuits over unpaid debts and a dispute between Vincent and the restaurant’s former manager.
Shortly after listing the property two years ago, Vincent filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to halt the foreclosure and give McAfoos and Buchanan time to finalize the $2.8 million sale. The sale allowed Vincent to pay off the $2.75 million owed to creditors.
El Rancho reopened with Bonanno Concepts leading the kitchen in January 2023, but the arrangement dissolved this month. McAfoos did not respond to requests for comment.
It seems patrons have mixed feelings about the news. One person commented on the Instagram post “Good. Had no interest in going with them involved.” Another said, “You will be better off without him!”
Others expressed the opposite. “Loved El Rancho as it was,” one commenter wrote. “People complaining about so many things in Evergreen, sad. Bonanno changed the restaurant for the better.”
Last fall, Bonanno sold LoDo’s Milk Market to Denver-based Sage Hospitality. Bonanno told BusinessDen that sales at the 17,000-square-feet food hall, which he opened in 2018, never bounced back after the pandemic.
Bonanno now has seven concepts: Salita, French 75, Salt & Grinder, Vesper Lounge, Osteria Marco, Luca and Mizuna.’
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comment from Frank Bonnano.
The two-story, 21,900-square-foot El Rancho Brewing Co. building sits on 4.4 acres at 29260 Highway 40. (Photo courtesy of Hilco Real Estate)
After less than a year and a half, prominent Denver restauranter Frank Bonanno is out at El Rancho.
The restaurant along Interstate 70 near Evergreen announced on its social media pages last week that it is no longer being operated by Bonanno and his restaurant group, Bonanno Concepts.
“El Rancho ended its relationship with Denver-based Bonanno Concepts, which includes the termination of their CHP fee (mandatory tipping),” the post read.
CHP refers to Bonanno’s “Creating Happy People,” a 22% service fee that’s added to all customers’ checks and divided between front and back-of-house employees. The service fee is used at all Bonanno restaurants.
“We just have different philosophies from the partnership group and they felt they could do it better than us and we were more than happy and wish them the best of luck,” Bonanno said on Monday.
Bonanno said that the CHP fee was one of those philosophies he and El Rancho’s owners, Travis McAfoos and Jack Buchanan, disagreed on. Although Bonanno noted he ended the CHP fee at El Rancho in late March, before he left as operator.
The social media post states a new chef joined the 76-year-old staple restaurant and will bring a new menu. It did not name that chef, but said the restaurant will offer “lighter menu options for the warm days ahead in addition to the Western faves you know and love.”
Bonanno joined El Rancho as operator in November 2022. He was brought on after McAfoos and Buchanan bought El Rancho and its real estate at 29260 Highway 40, effectively saving the decades-old restaurant.
Before McAfoos and Buchanan, the Vincent family owned El Rancho. Paul Vincent, a member of that family, listed the business and property for sale in August 2022 to prevent a foreclosure. The restaurant had been in trouble for some time, BusinessDen reported, with lawsuits over unpaid debts and a dispute between Vincent and the restaurant’s former manager.
Shortly after listing the property two years ago, Vincent filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to halt the foreclosure and give McAfoos and Buchanan time to finalize the $2.8 million sale. The sale allowed Vincent to pay off the $2.75 million owed to creditors.
El Rancho reopened with Bonanno Concepts leading the kitchen in January 2023, but the arrangement dissolved this month. McAfoos did not respond to requests for comment.
It seems patrons have mixed feelings about the news. One person commented on the Instagram post “Good. Had no interest in going with them involved.” Another said, “You will be better off without him!”
Others expressed the opposite. “Loved El Rancho as it was,” one commenter wrote. “People complaining about so many things in Evergreen, sad. Bonanno changed the restaurant for the better.”
Last fall, Bonanno sold LoDo’s Milk Market to Denver-based Sage Hospitality. Bonanno told BusinessDen that sales at the 17,000-square-feet food hall, which he opened in 2018, never bounced back after the pandemic.
Bonanno now has seven concepts: Salita, French 75, Salt & Grinder, Vesper Lounge, Osteria Marco, Luca and Mizuna.’
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comment from Frank Bonnano.
