Africana Restaurant & Cafe has closed after 43 years, as a result of unpaid taxes and is now in the possession of the state of Colorado, according to a notice hanging on its door this week.
A notice of public sale by the order of the Executive Director Colorado Department of Revenue states that the restaurant owes $24,734 worth of unpaid taxes. When properties are seized, they are typically auctioned off to recover the amount due. Josh Rosenblum with the city’s Department of Finance previously told The Denver Post that this process is usually a last resort.
Africana Restaurant & Cafe, 5091 E. Colfax Ave., has been serving traditional Ethiopian cuisine, like injera bread, kifto, or raw beef mixed with spices and butter, and veggie and meat combo meals seasoned heavily with East African spices, for more than four decades.
The restaurant didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Africana isn’t the only restaurant to close as a result of unpaid taxes recently. Chocolate Lab was also forced to close its Hilltop space in July.