Old Chicago closes Cheyenne restaurant!

Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom sign illuminated after closing on the final day - Optopolis

This was quite last minute, but it's true. Cheyenne's Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom permanently closed yesterday evening, at least an hour before their normal closing time of 10 PM on Sundays.

A glance at the history of it

According to Old Chicago's about page, Old Chicago dates back to its 1976 founding in Boulder, Colorado. They brag about their "tavern thin and classic thick crust pizzas" and their "110 local and legendary beers." Here at Optopolis, their pizza and broccoli-cheese soup (pictured below) were go-to items to eat in visits to the restaurant throughout the years.

"I think this was the first place I ever tried the broccoli and cheddar soup," recalls Optopolis while recording a brief video clip. "I don't think I tried anywhere else before that, as far as I remember."

The Laramie County Property assessor notes that Cheyenne's Old Chicago Pizza + Taproom building was built in the year 2004. What might come as a surprise to some is that Old Chicago wasn't the original plan for the building.

An article from The Associated Press indicates that Hooters was set to open in Cheyenne in June 2004, and the Cheyenne location would be Wyoming's first Hooters, a second one planned to open in Casper. It appears the Cheyenne location was quite short lived however; an archive of Hooters' locations saved on November 25th, 2005 does not list any Wyoming locations, let alone a Cheyenne one. An article from Wingspan published on February 13th, 2006 confirms that the Hooters had already closed at that point.

Hooters seen in Loveland, CO off of I-25 - Google Maps Street View

By April 27th, 2006, OC Cheyenne was in the works as confirmed by an archive of their website from that day. Google Satellite imagery dated May 23, 2006 reveals that construction was already underway on an expansion to the building's east side. As of October 16th, 2006, the restaurant was still marked as coming soon. OC Cheyenne ultimately featured indoor dining and a patio in addition to their pizza buffet. If you were unable to dine in, there were also to-go options available.

The icky ucky yucky. RIP Robin Munis.

In 2007, an unfortunate set of events took place. Robin Munis along with two other band members were performing inside of Cheyenne's Old Chicago when Robin's husband, David Munis, was said to have fatally shot Robin.

David Munis later took his life when armed police officers were closing in on him after finding his whereabouts northwest of Cheyenne. He was taken to a hospital in Laramie where he was pronounced deceased upon arrival. Over the years, memorial concerts have been held to commemorate Robin.

Cheyenne Old Chicago closes unexpectedly, permanently

A visitor to the Cheyenne location posted to the Cheyenne Rants, Raves, and Community Reviews etc. Facebook group stating some unsettling information, saying, "I felt so bad for the employees, some were crying and it definitely seemed like a shock for them. [The] only thing we were told [was that] corporate came in and said 'they are closing the doors.'" Someone who seems to be a now-former Old Chicago worker said in response to one commenter of this post, "I'm in search of a new job right now."

Permanently closed sign inside the door next to the patio - Optopolis

On a visit late last night (Sunday, April 14th) shortly before 10 PM (their normal Sunday closing time) it was confirmed here at Optopolis that the restaurant indeed closed permanently. Several "permanently closed" signs could be seen posted in the darkened windows in addition to two other signs saying "patio closed."

Someone in a truck that had pulled into the Old Chicago parking lot walked up to the door only to find this unsettling signage had been posted. When driving off, the driver didn't seem to be too pleased with his discovery. Someone who asked to not be identified shared with Optopolis that the restaurant closed just before 6 PM yesterday evening and that they did a last call for those customers still present in the restaurant--which seems to match up with everything else that has been said thus far.

View of Old Chicago near WyHy - Optopolis

This is not the first Old Chicago to close, and in fact, it's one of many that have closed recently. A quick Google search instantly reveals that locations in Bettendorf, Iowa; Southgate, Michigan; and Ankeny, Iowa have all closed over the last five months; a location in Midland, Michigan also closed last night as confirmed by a phone call to the Midland location.

Longmont, Colorado lost theirs in 2020 after Old Chicago's parent company, CraftWorks, filed for bankruptcy. In June 2020, SPB Hospitality acquired CraftWorks, which includes Logan's Roadhouse, Rock Bottom Brewery, and several other businesses in addition to Old Chicago.

Patio seen after the restaurant closed for the final time - Optopolis

The three Old Chicago locations to Cheyenne are in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley. OC's locations list also displays Old Chicago restaurants in 21 additional states including Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, and Texas.

Update 05-11 New closed sign, future unclear

Since the time of posting this article, a different closed sign has been put in the window of the Old Chicago. Not long after the initial publish of this article, the signage was also taken off the exterior of the building.

People have shown interest in various possible takeovers including Lazy Dog or Red Robin. However, the future of the building is currently unclear, and the building continues to sit vacant.

What are your thoughts of this closure? Now that there's an opening in the Dell Range corridor for a potential new dine-in restaurant, what would you like to see take over the Cheyenne Old Chicago restaurant? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Originally published: 04/15/2024 at 9:53 AM MT

Updated: 04/15/2024 at 10:26 AM MT to strikethrough Fort Collins; allegedly it along with Casper's locations also permanently closed last night.

Updated: 04/15/2024 at 1:25 PM MT to correct previously alleged information. Casper and Fort Collins are still open as confirmed by phone calls (and for Casper, a FaceBook post). Phone calls to Loveland and Greeley also revealed that both restaurants are still open as of today. A phone call to Midland, Michigan confirms that it DID close yesterday along with the Cheyenne store, RIP.

Updated: 04/21/2024 at 9:03 PM MT to add newly discovered information regarding the history of the space as Hooters among other details.

Updated: 04/22/2024 at 4:26 PM MT to add additional detail about Hooters. Also added information about Old Chicago.

Update: 05/11/2024 at 1:29 PM MT to add an update on the current status of the building.