Grand Junction Restaurant Closing After Four Decades of Business

After close to four decades of service to Western Colorado, this Grand Junction fast food restaurant at 1st Street and White will close its doors forever on Memorial Day.

I used to go to this restaurant when I was a little kid. Just the other day I sat down with an advisor to start planning for my retirement. This Burger King has been around most of my life. Like many Grand Junction residents, I'm heartbroken.

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Closing on Memorial Day

The crew at the Burger King at 233 North 1st in Grand Junction received the phone call last Saturday, May 22, 2021. While it came as no surprise, the crew and customers had hoped the restaurant would continue to tread water through these rough times.

Why Are They Closing?

Obviously, COVID didn't help matters. Then again, a year of road construction on White Avenue to the north of the restaurant probably didn't help, either.

The sign below was posted in the window this morning.

Already Underway

While leaving the restaurant this morning, it was noticed the tall sign and marquee located just off of 1st Street had already been taken down.

Popular Hang Out For Many of Us

If you go back in time about ten years, most of the radio people in Grand Junction used to hang out at Talley's on Main Street close to the Avalon Theatre. When it closed, most of them packed up and moved to either this Burger King on 1st Street or Pufferbelly just down the road.

For the last few years, I've visited this place at least three times a week. Other radio crew, our engineer Jared, for example, visits almost as frequently. The same goes for Ed. Our former morning-man, Tom Freeman, practically lives at this place. I never understood why he didn't just move in.

Fun Place Back in the 80s

I can remember visiting this location while on my way to a dance at West Junior High back in 1983. That's right, I said West Jr. High, not West Middle School. This place was jumping back in the 1980s.

This is a Special Place

According to Scrapehero.com, there are a total of 7,257 Burger Kings located across 3,201 cities. This Burger King on 1st Street is the only one I go to. The people here are awesome. The manager has been with the company for somewhere around 30 years, with over 20 of those years at the 1st Street location. There's a crew member working mid-days who I would swear has worked there 20 years.

Many of these crew employees are avid listeners of our station. In this industry, we call them P-1's. Personally, I think it's far more intimate than that. These employees attend all of our concerts, events, remotes, and are usually up to speed with everything going on at the station. We've come to know them very well.

Farewell

It always breaks my heart to see a business close. My great-grandparents were born in the Grand Junction area, and the Jordan bunch has witnessed countless changes to the valley. I had hoped this restaurant location would be around another 40 years.