Mellow Mushroom closes Denver location after 15 years

Mellow Mushroom has closed its only location in Colorado, ending its presence in the state. The pizza chain's store on 16th Street Mall in Denver closed after operating for 15 years. The Tabor Center location started serving customers in 2010. A sign on the door thanks patrons and suggests they visit the company’s website to find the nearest open branch. The closest one is now in Lincoln, Nebraska. Before the Denver location, Mellow Mushroom had restaurants in Centennial and Lone Tree. The Centennial restaurant closed in 2017 after eight years, and the exact closure date for the Lone Tree location is unclear. Morris Purcel, who originally owned the franchise rights in Colorado, had plans for more locations. He wanted to expand the brand throughout the state. In 2018, Purcel sold the stores back to Mellow Mushroom's parent company, Home Grown Industries. Currently, the chain operates around 160 locations across 19 states and Washington, D.C. Mellow Mushroom first opened in 1974 near Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Panera Bread also recently shut down its location along the same mall.