“Regulars” at the Parkway Restaurant/Café include fire fighters, police and construction workers. Many, introduced to the restaurant as children, came in years ago with their parents. Now, this new generation comes back during the week for breakfast or lunch. The food is so good that they return on weekends with their families.
Some patrons compare the restaurant to a diner, while others say it has the feel of the Midwest. Located at 4700 Pearl St., it has thrived since 1987, but written records are non-existent. The regulars, and some newcomers, call it Boulder’s best-kept secret.
In Boulder’s early days, Pearl Street was a continuous thoroughfare that extended from the mouth of Boulder Canyon to today’s Municipal Services Center at 5050 Pearl St.. As late as the 1960s, 30th Street was a dirt road, and much of the land to the east was farmland.
That changed in the 1970s when Boulder’s population neared 67,000 and new businesses emerged on the outskirts of town. During that decade, George Nieto, a Chicago native, opened the Pearl Auto Body Shop in the then-new 4700 Pearl St. building.
In 1983, George expanded, next door, with Cheddars Restaurant. According to his advertisements, the restaurant specialized in “Mexican cuisine, seafood and charbroiled steaks.” Cheddars was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and even featured a cocktail lounge. It reopened under new management, and with the new Parkway name, in 1987.
That same year marked the end of the construction of the Foothills Parkway –– a new highway, west of 47th Street, that connected U.S. 36 with the Diagonal Highway. At the same time, it divided what now is “Old Pearl” into sections, cutting off the 4700 Pearl St. building and the surrounding industrial area from the street’s historic route into Boulder.
According to Oscar Borrego, the Parkway Restaurant’s current owner, “Cheddars had closed for taxes due and everything was left, even the food. [George] was good friends with Vicki Esparza –– a waitress at the Golden Buff Restaurant and Tom’s Tavern –– and he offered her the place.”
Vicki, as the new owner, ran the restaurant for 18 years, until 2005. Then, she sold to another owner who also kept the business for 18 years.
Oscar has run the restaurant for the past year. Born in the state of Durango in Mexico, he started working for Vicki in 1996 as a dishwasher. At the time, he was 19 years old and didn’t speak any English.
He hasn’t, however, forgotten his roots. Oscar calls his menu, “Mexican, with an American touch.” He manages a mostly part-time staff of 22 and can usually be found in the kitchen.
Oscar’s mother and grandmother taught him to cook, and most of his dishes are made from scratch. His specialty is chilaquiles –– corn tortilla chips simmered in salsa, topped with melted cheese, Mexican crema and queso fresco served with refried beans, two eggs and pico de gallo.
Both George Nieto and Vicki Esparza are now deceased. George’s obituary mentioned his “zest for life,” and it still seems to permeate the building. Many patrons remember Vicki, whose now-worn photo hangs behind the cash register. Oscar remembers her, too, and holds her as an example as he looks forward to serving yet another generation.
For more information, see breakfastboulder.com.
Silvia Pettem’s In Retrospect column appears once a month. She can be reached at silviapettem@gmail.com.
