When it opened in 2014, Salt & Grinder was part of an early wave of upscale sandwich shops that helped to usher in a new kind of deli scene in Denver. The New Jersey-style deli was created by longtime Denver restaurateur and chef Frank Bonanno, who was known at the time more for his fine dining restaurants, like Mizuna, Osteria Marco and now-closed Bones.
But on Sunday, the Bonanno Concepts restaurant group announced on social media that the decade-old lunch counter at 3609 W. 32nd Ave. in the Highland Square area had closed.
“Thank you for a decade of great Jersey sandwiches. It’s been an honor. I got to bring a taste of my childhood to my neighborhood. How great is that?” the post reads. “I’m ready for a different adventure now. Aren’t you? Because I have something delicious planned for November. Stay hungry. Stay thirsty. See you here. Love Frank.”
Bonanno Concepts has undergone significant changes in the past two years. It closed Green Russell and Russell’s Smokehouse, both in Larimer Square, in 2022 after 12 years due to construction in Larimer Square; it sold the five-year-old downtown Denver food hall Milk Market in 2023; and it took over and then relinquished management of the El Rancho restaurant in Evergreen in 2024.
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