The owner of Parisi said they will be back, they just don’t know how long it will take to reopen.

DENVER — A popular Italian restaurant in Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood will be closed indefinitely after an electrical fire.

The owner of Parisi, located at 4401 Tennyson Street, said the fire broke out Tuesday afternoon in a crawlspace between the ceiling and the restaurant’s roof.

“An ember was released from our smoke stack from our pizza flue and landed on the membrane of our rooftop,” owner Christine Parisi said.



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“They had to dump gallons upon gallons of water into the restaurant — every crevice,” she said.

“I’m gutted right now,” the owner said in a social media post. “This place (building and biz) is like my firstborn… lots of cleanup, then we should have better details.”

“It’s been more than a business. This is my heart, and my heart is broken,” she said.

Parisi has been serving homemade pastas, pizzas and Italian entrees in a fast-casual setting since 1998 — and Christine says the restaurant has grown into something far bigger than a place to eat.

“Since then, we have seen those families have children, their children grow up, their children come and eat with us,” she said.

She wasn’t at the restaurant when the fire broke out on Tuesday. She found out through a flurry of calls from her son.

“I finally got a hold of someone here, and they said there is a fire — come as quick as you can,” she said.

The owner said she will reopen, but she isn’t sure how long it will take. On Thursday, she said the space will be completely emptied for fire remediation. She asked for anyone with large boxes to bring them to the restaurant so they can organize and store salvageable items.

Most of the kitchen equipment appears to be in decent shape, but due to mitigation requirements, everything must be moved to a warehouse for analysis before it can be returned.

“Because of the mitigation requirements, we have to move everything out into a warehouse where they will analyze everything before it can come back here,” Parisi said.

Christine says the community response has been what’s keeping her going.

“Outpouring from friends and family and people that have worked in this place over the years — it’s beautifully overwhelming,” she said.

“Whenever it dips, if I look on Instagram, I start to read some of the comments from people I haven’t heard from in years, and they say we are here for you if you need anything — and to me, that is what I need,” she said.

Parisi also has a fine-dining restaurant called Parisi Sotto in an underground space below the main restaurant.

Christine was able to save most of the restaurant’s food, which is being stored in a refrigerated truck outside. 

Starting Friday, she is inviting industry workers first, followed by the general public, to stop by and purchase what they can before Saturday. She says the sale isn’t a fundraiser — any proceeds will be deducted from her insurance claim.

“It is just so tragic to have this much waste created by this,” she said.

Despite everything, Christine says her optimism is non-negotiable.

“It’s a special place, and I will work my darnedest to get it reopened,” she said.