L’Atelier, a nationally recognized French restaurant on Pearl Street, is closing in the next six weeks as chef/owner Radek Cerny prepares to move to Denver.
The well-known chef, after running into trouble with the city of Boulder over underage drinking at the restaurant, said he has opted to leave.
“We’re not happy with Boulder,” Cerny said. “They shut us down for four weeks.”
The Beverages Licensing Authority (BLA) suspended L’Atelier’s liquor license for 20 days last fall after the restaurant, for the second time in less than a year, was caught serving minors. The eatery could have remained open serving just food, but it opted not to.
The first offense resulted in a $363.56 fine. The restaurant was also cited in 2012.
“We have the feeling they should make different rules, because some small businesses, if you shut them down for four weeks, they will not recover. They will just go out of business,” Cerny said. The suspension took place during the University of Colorado’s Parents Weekend, a major event for the business. Cerny speculated the restaurant lost around $80,000 during the closure.
“My clientele is 60-plus (years old.) They’re treating us like we’re on the Hill,” Cerny said.
But Mishawn Cook, staff liaison for the BLA, said the restaurant faced sanctions because it had more than one citation within a 12-month period.
She said all businesses with the same liquor license are held to the same standards. “The crux of the issue for them is that they had a second violation within a one-year period,” she said.
Because of the second violation, L’Atelier was additionally suspended for the days it was able to avoid on the previous charge, she said.
Cerny, originally from Prague, has a long history in Colorado, starting with the now shuttered European Café in Boulder. Cerny has opened several restaurants over the years including the Radex in Denver, Cherry Creek’s Papillon Cafe and Niwot’s Le Chantecler, now Colterra. Cerny opened L’Atelier in Boulder in 2003. The restaurant quickly began generating rave reviews and won a ranking by ZAGAT, the international restaurant guide, as one of America’s Top Restaurants in 2011.
L’Atelier helped solidify Downtown Boulder’s reputation as a fine-dining hub, joining the ranks of such high profile eateries as Frasca and The Kitchen.
L’Atelier’s move to Denver comes as the fine dining industry in Colorado and nationwide grows. According to the Restaurant Industry Forecast of 2014, restaurant employment in Colorado is projected to grow 13 percent between 2014 and 2024.
The famous chef is hopeful he will continue his success when he returns to Denver, opening at 2011 E. 17th St. Though six L’Atelier employees will lose their jobs as a result of the closure, others are opting to make the move south with Cerny.
L’Atelier celebrates its last Valentine’s Day in Boulder with 250 people already holding reservations. Lunch during the regular week has been taken off the menu to allow preparation for their re-opening as Atelier by Radex in Denver near the end of March. Cerny said several local restaurateurs are interested in the Boulder location, but he declined to comment on who might be taking over the site.
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