Downtown Denver’s long-empty former Bubba Gump building at 1437 California Street finally has a new landlord. The hulking two-story space, dark for months across from the Colorado Convention Center, just sold for $1.8 million to a local operator who is betting there is still life in big hospitality real estate downtown. Brokers say the buyer plans to bring the building back as a hospitality venue within months.
Deal details
As reported by Bisnow, the property closed this week for about $1.8 million, roughly $700,000 below the listing price in the marketing materials. Denver property records indicate the buyer is a Denver-based LLC tied to Amnon Ben Ari, according to that coverage. The seller was represented by NAI Shames Makovsky.
Space and listing
Marketing materials show the building includes roughly 12,500 square feet across two floors plus about a 6,000-square-foot basement, close to 18,500 square feet in all. The LoopNet listing for the NAI Shames Makovsky brokerage highlights the site’s turn-key restaurant build-out, light-rail access, and direct sightlines to convention-center foot traffic. That turnkey angle stands out in a downtown where move-in-ready restaurant blocks have become increasingly scarce.
Tenant history and recent legal trouble
The address was home to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. from about 2007 until the Denver location closed in November 2025. As reported by BusinessDen, the closure was quickly followed by landlord litigation alleging unpaid rent, and the property went on the market after decades in one family’s ownership. Local outlet Westword noted that the downtown spot was the chain’s last Colorado location.
Who bought it and what’s next
NAI Shames Makovsky’s Dorit Fischer told Bisnow that the buyer is a bar-and-restaurant operator who hopes to open at 1437 California St. in roughly six months. Bisnow also reports that city documents show the previous owner secured a certificate of demolition eligibility that runs through October 2030, giving the new owner a wide range of options on whether to renovate or start fresh.
Why the sale matters
The deal is a small but telling data point in downtown Denver’s slow rebound. Oversized hospitality spaces are still risky, with office vacancies and changing work habits keeping weekday foot traffic on shaky ground. As CPR reported earlier this year, downtown office vacancy rates remain elevated, so transactions like this get extra scrutiny from anyone trying to gauge whether convention and event demand can once again support large restaurant footprints.
For now, the sale hands a local operator a high-profile corner and a ticking clock: reopen, repurpose, or tear it down before that demolition eligibility window closes.
