The city of Denver shut down the original Quiznos restaurant at 1275 N. Grant St. for non-payment of taxes, according to notices posted on the restaurant’s front door.

First opened in 1981, the restaurant’s street sign still notes “The first location … 1981.”

Signs posted on the door show the owner is behind $12,341 in sale taxes, and another showing $812 due for an occupational privilege tax.

The restaurant’s owner is listed as Dominik Mendoza, who apparently owns several Quiznos locations including a recently redesigned one in Hobbs, New Mexico, under the company name CF Lifestyles Investments LLC.

Mendoza could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday.

But a Quiznos spokesperson said Thursday the closure is not permanent. 

“The restaurant has closed temporarily while ownership is transitioned to a new franchisee,” according to the statement via email. “As the original Quiznos shop, the location holds a special place in the brand’s story and is a beloved community staple. We look forward to having the location reopened soon and welcoming back guests.”

According to a May 2022 story on verdictfoodservices.com, Denver-based REGO Restaurant Group, “the owner of the Quiznos and Taco Del Mar restaurant brands,” entered into a development agreement with Dominik and Monica Mendoza and CF Lifestyles “to build restaurants across Denver.”

The store’s previous franchise owner, Adam Sinnard, told BusinessDen in 2020 that the property tax bills were crushing, as the site’s assessed value had shot up 160% in recent years – resulting in a $25,510 annual tax bill.

“Trust me, I was the last one who wanted to be the guy who let the first Quiznos close,” Sinnard told BusinessDen after he renewed the restaurant’s lease on Grant Street.

The restaurant’s phone number no longer works, and Google shows it’s “temporarily closed.”

A spokesperson for the City and County of Denver’s Department of Finance said the action the city took is called a “distraint warrant.”

Those “only happen as a last resort, which is when it is made public only by posting on the door of the business,” Josh Rosenbloom, spokesman, said. “Before we issue them, we do everything we possibly can to ensure businesses can keep going without such a warrant including reaching out by phone, mail, email and in person and in most instances we’re willing to discuss any issues folks have as well in person, over the phone, or virtually.

“We want Denver’s businesses to succeed and that means offering the best customer service we can to them.”

Denver Gazette Audience Development Specialist Stephen Barr contributed to this story.