LAKEWOOD • The woman sits at the barstool and takes it all in: the jukebox and old-time tunes; the tile floors and stainless steel walls commemorating Elvis and Betty Boop; the glass case of pies; the regulars down the counter, sipping coffee in the place they’ve known for decades. 

As for the unfamiliar face this morning: “I’ve driven by here like 90 million times,” she says, “and I finally stopped.”

It’s impossible to miss here along West Colfax Avenue, this gleaming rectangle of a building overlooked by a 36-foot neon cowboy and fiberglass horse above the door. This is Davies’ Chuck Wagon Diner. 

“How long has this been here?” the first-time visitor asks the woman pouring coffee. 

“1957,” Jennifer Diaz Pedrisco replies. 

That’s when Lyman Davies opened the diner to much fanfare, as described in a form prepared for the National Register of Historic Places. 

The diner was found to be a worthy addition ー a certain structure “believed to be the only extant example in Colorado,” according to that form, which further describes a “well known landmark” and “tribute to Americana and 1950s nostalgia.”

Generations later, it remains a place for “conversation, camaraderie and fellowship,” says Jeff Deaver, sitting here at the counter with other longtime regulars this morning. And the diner remains a place for filling up on breakfast classics, sandwiches and country fried steaks that have been staples since the beginning.

Back then, a steak dinner went for $2.85. That’s closer to $16 today. Same goes for the Chuckwagon Breakfast ー a plate of meat, eggs and potatoes that Davies sold for 99 cents. 

Nostalgia is indeed strong here, and nostalgia doesn’t always account for economic realities. Still waiting tables more than 40 years after her family took ownership, Deanna Jackson has heard gripes. 

“I’ve had a couple of people say, ‘This is a diner. They can’t charge those kinds of prices,'” Jackson says. “Well, whether you call it a diner or not, it’s still a restaurant, and there’s still a cost for everything.” 

That impossible-to-miss neon sign calls it a diner. As does a postcard handed out here, bearing the name of Jackson’s brother, the previous owner from 1984-2022.

“Diners: For decent food at modest prices,” reads the postcard, which briefly touches on broader history. Diners evolved from horse-drawn trolley cars into the prefabricated, stainless steel structures like Davies’ that spotted America’s roadsides in the years before and after World War II. 

The postcard continues: “Besides aging into a classic Colfax store, the Chuck Wagon Diner may well be one of the West’s few representatives of an American tradition.” 

The National Register of Historic Places form mentions an estimated 6,000 diners like Davies’ around the country in 1950. By 1979, their numbers were thought to be half ー and more prevalent on the east side of the country, where they were manufactured. 

Davies’ is thought to be one of the last produced by a New Jersey company that was known for fabricating “stylish and unusual diners,” the National Register of Historic Places form notes. Said to collectively weigh 46 tons, the diner was sectioned out and shipped by rail at the order of a man who, at that time in 1957, saw an ideal location here along Colfax Avenue. The road was emerging as the Denver metro area’s primary east/west corridor.

Lyman Davies apparently loved the diners he saw on the other side of the country. He also loved horses, raising them on his land off 32nd Avenue. That explains the fiberglass horse placed above the door. 

As for the neon sign: “Members of the family liked the western theme,” the Historic Places form reads, “and they designed a huge cowboy with his apron on, ready to serve hungry folks.”

To serve the masses.

“Within two weeks it was packed, especially at lunch time, when lines formed around the building,” the form continues. “Customers came from far and wide. Parked semi-trucks were lined up on West Colfax Avenue. … In addition to truckers and tourists, local residents and employees of Colfax businesses frequented the diner.”

Waitresses were required to know customers by name. All were welcome at all hours of the day and night, holidays included. 

That changed under Jackson’s family, starting in the ’80s. 

“That first year they went to close for Thanksgiving, there were no locks on the door,” Jackson recalls. “The place had never closed.” 

The hours were scaled back, but the pride in the place never waned. This was underscored amid a legal battle with the city of Lakewood.

Colfax was quickly modernizing in the ’80s, and the huge neon sign and horse were deemed unfit; they were cited for code violations. Ownership pushed back, along with loyal customers. 

Wrote one in a letter published by the local newspaper: “To my knowledge, that horse has not bucked, neighed nor soiled the city streets. Perhaps it’s too countrified or unsophisticated for our city fathers.”

Steve Burnett remembers his own message to officials: “You get rid of that and we get rid of you.”

The sign and horse stayed. So did Burnett and his friends, these fellow regulars sipping coffee along the counter this morning. 

What’s kept them coming back over the decades? 

“I really like sitting at the bar here, having conversations with strangers,” says Kris Anderson, a customer of 32 years. 

Says another, LeRoy Barton: “Just good people.”

“A bunch of real people,” says the man sitting next to him, Jeff Deaver. 

People who get to know each other despite their differences, Deaver adds with a chuckle. “There’s only one liberal who sits at the counter here. She takes her lumps and she’s back the next day.” 

It’s true, Burnett says: “This is the only place you can say what you want to say and not get in trouble.” 

But there’s something else that has kept him coming back 40-plus years. “It ain’t these guys, that’s for sure,” he says with a wink. 

These friends are all getting older. And maybe there’s something about this old diner that returns them to their youth. 

Nostalgia, indeed, is strong. 

Jennifer Diaz Pedrisco has learned that much in her family’s four years running the place. “I wasn’t really aware in the beginning until I started talking to the customers and how long they’ve been coming here,” she says. “They say things like, ‘My dad used to bring me here.'”

It’s not exactly the diner they knew as kids. Yes, the prices are up. 

“It’s like, Well, have you gone to the grocery store lately?” Jackson says. 

Business has been tough, she says ー not unlike restaurants all around Denver, where the industry’s notoriously slim profit margins are colliding with an increasingly harsh economic climate. (A local, influential restaurateur of 20-plus years, Lee Driscoll recently told The Gazette: “This I would describe as the worst restaurant cycle I’ve seen in my career. That’s why we’re seeing so many restaurants close. It’s tragic.”)

The future of Davies’ Chuck Wagon Diner? “I don’t know,” Jackson says. “No comment.” 

Not long ago she was reading a book about Denver’s lost restaurants, iconic places she knew as a kid. She hates to imagine this iconic place joining those pages of history. 

But places come and go, like people. 

“We’re all getting older. We’ve lost regulars,” Deaver says here on his barstool. “Gosh, just a couple of years ago, this counter was full with a crew.” 

This morning’s smaller crew has left to carry on the day. Deaver has to get going, too. 

He’s been talking with a stranger, a first-time visitor here, and now he says goodbye. 

“See you next time,” the stranger says. 

Deaver waves from the door. “I’ll be around.”

On the menu 

Among several “classic” breakfast plates ($12-$16), the Chuckwagon might be the most popular: a 7-oounce steak, eggs, hashbrowns and choice of pancakes or toast. Country fried steak is a time-honored tradition at Davies’ Chuck Wagon Diner – an afternoon go-to served with a roll and two sides ($15.50). The diner is also proud of its green chili, which smothers breakfast burritos stuffed with scrambled eggs, onions, green peppers, potatoes and choice of meat ($13.25). 

The breakfast menu includes long lists of omelettes, benedicts and skillets. Other specialties ($10-$15) include cream-stuffed French toast, chicken and waffles, huevos rancheros and breakfast takes on tacos, quesadillas and fajitas. 

More Mexican food has been added to the menu in recent years, including barbacoa and carnitas tacos. But burgers and sandwiches have been the afternoon staples (~$14), with standards such as turkey, club, California chicken and a Reuban. 

True to diner form: milkshakes, sundaes, banana splits and various slices of pies.

If you go 

Davies’ Chuck Wagon Diner located at 9495 W. Colfax Ave, Lakewood. Open 6 a.m.-3 p.m. every day. 303-237-5252, davies-chuckwagon.com

About the series 

Craving Colorado is a regular dive into the culinary character of the Centennial State. Send your recommendations to [email protected]