Sweet smells of apple, cherry and cream fill the air, as 73-year-old Sue Albert rolls out dough. It鈥檚 late December. She鈥檚 selling her beloved pies for the holidays 鈥� using recipes from her restaurant, Fat Albert's.
鈥淛ust like home,鈥� Albert said, chuckling.
Albert has to fill more than a hundred orders by Christmas. It鈥檚 a big job, so she enlisted the help of a few volunteers. She has to run a tight ship, though, as just the sight of the batter is quite enticing.
鈥淗ey I saw that!鈥� Albert quips as a volunteer sticks their finger in an empty mixing bowl and licks off the excess.
She鈥檚 doing this work in a local community kitchen because she shut the doors of her restaurant last August after 42 years.
鈥�(It鈥檚) like losing a child,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n essence, Fat Albert's was a baby of mine鈥t was the right decision, but you know, hard.鈥�
Albert, and her late husband Roger, opened Fat Albert's on March 1st, 1982, in West Greeley. It was a small family restaurant, with wooden tables, Irish decor and St. Patty鈥檚 T-Shirts hanging from the ceiling.
鈥淚t was all oak and brick and, you know, kind of laid back, not a lot of glass,鈥� said Brian Payne, the manager of Fat Albert's after Roger Albert passed. 鈥淚t was kind of dark inside, cozy, you know, oak booths and a very small bar, maybe eight or nine bar stools.鈥�
Fat Albert's was a community staple for family gatherings, milestones like birthdays and anniversaries, and regular dinners out. Payne said it became the local hangout for the Greeley Police Department, since Roger Albert used to be a cop. When the Denver Broncos trained at the University of Northern Colorado, offensive lineman Keith Bishop and right guard Paul Howard were regular visitors.
鈥淭hey'd come out and eclipse the sun when they'd sit down at the end of the bar and have a couple of drinks,鈥� Payne said. 鈥淭he coaches would do bed checks at 10 o'clock and then come close the bar.鈥�
The pandemic hit Fat Albert's hard. Sue Albert couldn鈥檛 raise menu prices or underpay her staff. She put in some of her savings to help the restaurant stay afloat. When their accountant called, she knew she had to say goodbye.
鈥淢y heart was broken more than my pocketbook, so to speak,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was a creation that's brought a lot of joy, and now it's not there anymore.鈥�
The Alberts鈥� son, John, grew up working in the family business and took on a larger role after his father passed away in 2005. He two weeks ahead of the closure, stating, 鈥淚t has been our greatest honor to be part of your lives, from celebrating your special moments to simply sharing a smile over a favorite dish.鈥�
鈥�(It鈥檚) like losing a child. In essence, Fat Alberts was a baby of mine鈥t was the right decision, but you know, hard.鈥�Sue Albert, former owner of Fat Alberts
鈥淲e had people lined up out the door every day before we opened, waiting two, two and a half hours just to come in,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey were trying to buy, like, signs off the wall and T-shirts. I'm like 鈥楽orry we're out. And I'm not giving you the signs off the wall because they mean things to us.鈥欌€�
Customers were craving one more slice of pie or another Monte Cristo. He said the sandwich, which was dipped in tempura batter and deep fried, was the star of their menu.
鈥淭he last two weeks we were open, that's all people wanted,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd like a normal busy Friday, we would sell 35 monies, 40 maybe. And those two weeks, we did 700, and we were not prepared.鈥�
Fat Albert's isn鈥檛 the only longtime restaurant that recently bit the dust. Sundance Steakhouse and Saloon in Fort Collins and Sports Station American Grill in Loveland both closed last year after being open more than 40 years. Johnson鈥檚 Corner restaurant in Johnstown was open for 73 years, it shuttered in January.
Despite the closure of community staples like these, Northern Colorado restaurants are actually growing. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that in Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties, there were more than 2,300 food and drink shops in 2023 鈥� over a three percent increase from the previous year. They also employed more than 45,000 people 鈥� up more than 500 jobs from 2023.
Yet that doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean they鈥檙e thriving.
鈥淧eople will say, 鈥極h, this restaurant is busy. They must be back to normal. Everything must be fine,鈥欌€� said Sonia Riggs, president of the Colorado Restaurant Association. 鈥淲hat people don't realize is what's happened since 2020, right?鈥�
Government loans have ceased, she said, and there鈥檚 been inflation and supply chain interruptions. Expenses like labor, equipment and food have gone up while . The association states that only after paying those costs.
鈥淧eople say all the time, 鈥極h, restaurant (owners) are driving around in Porsches and really fancy cars and are rolling in money,鈥欌€� she said. 鈥淲e all know that's not true, especially nowadays鈥t鈥檚 like death by a thousand cuts.鈥�
While big chains have the ability to absorb a profit decrease or buy in bulk, mom and pop shops can鈥檛. 鈥淲e're seeing additional burdens being added to small businesses that are just hard for them to pay for and administer,鈥� Riggs said. 鈥淭hey just don't have the manpower, the money to be able to do it.鈥�
In addition to costs, habits have changed. A restaurant consumer insights survey found that customers spent , and they鈥檙e visiting them less often.
鈥淭hink about what types of life experiences happen in a restaurant, like engagements, celebrations, getting together with old friends,鈥� Riggs said. 鈥淭hat's what's at stake here.鈥�
Greeley resident Dave Adams relates to that. He and his wife Regina would go to Fat Albert's every Friday for date night.
鈥淚f you showed up at the normal dinner hour, 6:00-6:30, there could be a 30- to 45-minute wait,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e always waited鈥 like to patronize the 鈥榣ittle guy.鈥欌€�
Adams was heartbroken when he heard that his 鈥渃omfortable shoe of a restaurant鈥� would be closing. No other eatery in Greeley compared to it, he said. He and Regina went there four times in the last two weeks Fat Alberts was open.
鈥淚 didn't want it to happen, but, you know, it's kind of like death and taxes,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou don't want those to happen, but it's pretty much inevitable.鈥�
Fat Albert's was like his real-life version of Cheers, Adams said, where everyone knew your name and every need was taken care of well. He believes the Alberts stayed in business as long as they did, not just because of their food, but because of their character.
鈥淩oger and Sue worked so many long hours, and they didn鈥檛 take a day off,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey touched a lot of lives. They did a lot of good in the community. They鈥檙e going to be missed. I鈥檓 going to miss them a lot.鈥�
Stephanie Nealy-Higman relates to Adams鈥� sadness. She grew up in Greeley and went to Fat Alberts with her grandparents every Saturday night for dinner, as well as for birthday celebrations.
鈥淚f you talk to anyone that is from Greeley, I guarantee you they know of Fat Albert's, it was a staple,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t had so much character to it, you couldn't go get what they had anywhere else...it鈥檚 just something you鈥檒l never forget.鈥�
Nealy-Higman believes there鈥檚 been a generational and cultural shift around eating out. Younger people are looking for cheap and instant, she says, while those who are older like to frequent local establishments. She doesn鈥檛 think there鈥檚 the same appreciation for going out to dinner.
鈥淭hey think that the fast food chains are the best food that they've ever had, and they are just missing out on what actual, really great, higher quality, maybe even homemade food is,鈥� she said.
Adams said the busyness of Americans, young or old, has also impacted daily habits.
鈥淭hey're just going and going and going, and the same comes true with their meal,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey just go in, eat, get out, go home. The family dynamic and unit has changed such that taking the time to relax and enjoy a meal doesn't exist anymore.鈥�
Adams has seen more fast food chains move in as more mom and pop restaurants move out. He thinks people are choosing convenience and price over personal touch. 鈥淢ost people have this notion that bigger is better. You can go to any of the big chains, you know, like the Olive Garden,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey have a good food, but you don't feel like it's home.鈥�
Even though Fat Albert's has closed, Sue Albert and her son John believe food is still in their future.
鈥淚鈥檓 pretty stubborn, I don鈥檛 like to give up,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I don't know. I don't know if I'll get back into it or I'll just help him with whatever he does.鈥�
The Alberts are doing , and might sell them for Easter as well. As for the restaurant鈥檚 old building, John Albert said he heard from the maintenance crew that it may be turned into office space.
This story is part of a collaboration with Rocky Mountain PBS.
