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Denver’s Little Italy: Preserving North Denver’s Italian History
Oct 2, 2026
Denver’s Little Italy: Preserving North Denver’s Italian History
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0:00
North Denver has changed a lot over the years, but if you know where to look, you can still see pieces of the Italian community that helped shape the neighborhood.
0:07
Today, I'm talking with Jenna Pecha, social media chair for the Little Italy Historic District, and someone with deep roots right here in North Denver.
0:16
Jenna and a group of community members are working to establish a thematic historic district, recognizing and preserving the homes, businesses, churches, and gathering places that tell the story of Denver's Little Italy.
0:27
We're going to talk about what Little Italy once looked like, what's still here today, and why preserving that history matters. So pour yourself a glass and join us. Here's my conversation with Jenna Pecha.
0:39
So I grew up on 36th and Vallejo. And, um, I was kind of too little to, uh, remember this, but my mom used to take us to all the bakeries and, you know, uh, butcher shops that were around there. Yeah.
0:54
Um, and then we were very involved at Mount Carmel Church. So, uh, I pretty much remember growing up at my house and Mount Carmel. And w- we were there, parents were there like 30, 30-plus years. Sure.
1:08
And then unfortunately, we moved out in 2016, but still there's still a very, um, strong connection for me here. So when you were growing up, then what, what was the neighborhood like? Um, I, I think it was
1:19
pretty much the same it is now. I mean, there's definitely some, uh, different architecture going on, a lot fewer Italian businesses. But, um, my mom says it was kind of a little rougher area when I was growing up.
1:32
Uh-huh. I didn't notice it. Yeah. You know, we rode our bikes out in the front yard and, you know, we kind of... We weren't allowed to go alone anywhere, but, um, we walked down to church, we came back. Sure. And
1:46
I, I think it was a lot, much the same as it is now, just a little more Italian back then. I, yeah, I hear you. Yeah. So I've, I've lived over here in the neighborhood about 30 years now. Mm-hmm.
1:58
And it's always been home. It's always North Denver- Yeah... regardless of what's going on, and I've never felt unsafe. Right. So. Exactly. Yeah. And I went to high school in, um, Federal Heights.
2:11
Um, and I remember when my friends found out that I was living here in North Denver, they were like, "Oh my gosh, you live there?" [laughs] Yes, it's kind of a big deal, but. Yeah, yeah.
2:20
When I opened a winery here at 46th and Pecos, it, it just blew people's minds. Yeah. [laughs] For what they... Who knows what they were thinking- Yeah... about it back then, so.
2:31
So you're, you, you, do you run the Little Italy Historic District? So, uh, I am the person behind the social media accounts. Okay. And we also have a website. Yes.
2:42
Um, and I am one of the people on the committee for the historic district. Okay. When did the historic district start up? So it technically started in 2016- Okay...
2:53
uh, with a totally different committee, except my mom was on that committee. Okay. And she asked me if I would handle the social media, and I said sure.
3:00
But, um, that movement, uh, didn't really go anywhere, and I'm not sure what happened, but it fizzled out. Okay. Um, but my mom and I were always talking.
3:10
She was always very invested in that and wanted it to continue, wanted someone to pick it up. So, um,
3:17
I kind of took the, the, um, social media and just turned it into a, like a catalog of, you know, kind of what used to be around here, sharing what the Italian history was 'cause, um,
3:30
you know, you kind of had to be Italian or, like, be a hi- an historian to know it used to be Little Italy. Sure. So, um, I think in 2022 we, we decided we would revive it.
3:44
We did a ton of research, tried to figure out what needed to happen, um, what we needed to have in place if it could happen. And then, uh, December, January, we finally went public with it. Nice. Yeah. Well, that's good.
3:58
What... So when you say Denver's Little Italy, what, what exactly... I mean, where is that exactly? Well, um, it's, it's a huge boundary. I think it, it... I'm not really sure the exact boundaries.
4:09
People tell you different things all the time. Sure. But it's huge. It comes into Sunnyside. Um, they call it the Highlands now, and then up into Sunnyside, and I think even, like, in Potter Highlands.
4:20
But the, the boundaries that we have, uh, set for this district are 32nd to 38th and then, uh, Lipan to Zuni, which has the most concentration of the historically relevant Italian properties. Okay.
4:37
And then, what are some of those properties, businesses- Yeah... churches? [laughs] Yeah. So, um, we have the, the four anchors that are, that were Italian and still are. There's Mount Carmel Church- Yeah...
4:50
Potenza Lodge, um, Gaetano's, uh, Restaurant, and then, uh, Le Chugas, um, which is not owned by Italians anymore, but they still retain a lot of the recipes from their Italian predecessors. Yeah.
5:03
And then there are a lot of places that are no longer Italian, but the buildings were once Italian.
5:10
For example, there was Little Pepino's on 34th and Osage, which is now a sushi restaurant, but the building's still there.
5:17
There is, uh, Cerrone's, which is now just a residence, 36th and Osage, and there's a stone house next to it, which is also an Italian landmark.
5:26
Um, we found so many properties that were historically Italian that we have over 50 now just in that- Wow... within that little area. That's, that's basically all of them. And there's...
5:37
I mean, there's some across 38th, and people have said- Sure... "Well, you can't, you can't forget this one," but you kind of have to stop at some point. Right. Yeah. So the...
5:46
'Cause the boundary you drew up is for this new, for this- District... this new district, yeah. Yes. And it's actually, um, it's a special type of h- historic district w- in Denver. Yes. Yeah.
5:57
Can you explain what that is exactly? Yeah. So this is a thematic historic district, and it allows you to have bigger boundaries without, um, having to include every single property within that boundary.
6:10
So a traditional historic district, um, is usually quite small because the properties are usually right next to each other. Mm-hmm.
6:17
But, you know, we have Mount Carmel way down here on Navajo, and then Potenza Lodge is way up here on Shoshone, so it's like you need to have a bigger boundary, but there's also a lot of properties within there that wouldn't necessarily need to be included in this district.
6:32
There's also the fact that North Denver's pretty diverse. There were Irish immigrants and Latino immigrants, and so it's, um, there's a lot of that still in there. Yeah. So we didn't want to
6:43
exclusively say this is just Italian.
6:47
So the thematic district allows us to have the bigger boundaries and be able to choose the properties that are thematically relevant to Italian or Italian history, and then only those would be included in this district.
7:00
And so those properties or tho- uh, those property owners, do they, do they have to opt in- Yes... to be a part of the historic district? So it's not a mandatory thing if- No. Okay. It is not.
7:11
Um, so yeah, they do need to, uh, opt in, and they, they have the option to not be part of the district, but if they decide later on, they can become part of it.
7:22
So, um, basically, uh, City Council wants to see 100% opt-ins, um, for each property in order to, for it to go through. But if they opt out, it's not necessarily a, a bad thing.
7:37
It's just that property wouldn't be on our list of included properties. There's a... I know there's a process to go through to get this, uh, approved by the city. Mm-hmm. But w- So what's the ultimate goal?
7:49
Um, the ultimate goal is to just recognize on paper that this part of North Denver was historically Little Italy, and just to, to recognize and, uh, you know, make sure that people beyond the Italians of North Denver remember and know- Yeah...
8:05
that it was, it was a big Italian enclave.
8:08
Um, and also, to protect the, the properties because we're seeing a lot of new development in the past 10, 20 years, and a lot of these, um, perfectly, perfectly good properties are being, uh, demolished. Right.
8:22
And the character of the neighborhood is, is going away. So it'll be... It's also to protect, you know, the character of the neighborhood and recognize our heritage there. Definitely.
8:34
Yeah, that was one of the, the reasons my wife and I, um, we- we lived in West Highland. Mm-hmm. At, at 35th and Mead. Mm-hmm. Um, and when we were looking for another house, we, we came over here to Sunnyside. Mm-hmm.
8:51
But part of the reason we love North Denver is because of the great Italian and Latino, uh, heritage here. Yeah. So- It really is an awesome neighborhood, uh, culturally.
9:02
And it even, I've noticed the, the Latino influence, which is, like, huge, is even that is kind of dwindling because of all of the, the gentrification going on. Yeah. So it, it's not, not a good thing. Yeah.
9:14
So we wanna hang onto some of the... We wanna hang onto the heritage of the, of the neighborhood. Right. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, so and you said you, you identified 50-plus properties that could be included in the district.
9:26
So what, what is it uniquely about those properties that, um, that make it el- make them eligible? Um, so usually, it's, uh, if they house, uh, some sort of Italian business that was really, like, uh, a big deal. Mm-hmm.
9:41
Really, any Italian business was a big deal, but, um, and then, uh, we, we're also including homes.
9:47
So if those, uh, if an influential Italian in the community lived there, uh, the homes are also eligible for inclusion in the district.
9:57
So in a thematic district, you, you have a set theme, and any property that adheres to that theme is eligible.
10:04
So in this case, it's just, um, historically significant, um, properties to, uh, the Italians in the area from, like, 1900 to 1960, pretty much the heyday of Little Italy.
10:18
So any business, any residence that had an influential Italian there- Mm-hmm... is, would be eligible. Okay. And, uh, and so it's not j- architecture? Does that have anything to do with it or...? Um, no, not, not really.
10:32
Okay. Because it's like, it's also such a broad, uh, time period. Yeah. But, um, the, the architecture is definitely, uh, something that will be included in the application, but just as a general description.
10:44
Yeah, so what's the process you're going through right now? So you just start, you just, just started- Yeah... at the beginning of this year, right? Yes. Okay. So, um,
10:55
right now, we're kind of in the information-gathering, uh, stage.
10:59
Um, we've, again, identified 50-plus properties through our own research, but we are looking into a grant through Historic Denver so that we can hire an historic research consultant to do all the research on the properties we have identified and possibly find even more.
11:17
Okay. And then they will, um, put together the context on each property and ultimately compile the application. Okay. Um, so that's gonna cost a pretty penny, but that's why we're applying for the grant.
11:32
Um, and then we just need to do community outreach. We've done a couple of meetings already. Um, there was the first initial community meeting in February, and we got a lot of support from that.
11:43
And, uh, we had a walking tour, and that was in, um, August with the Dante Alighieri Society of Denver. Yeah. It was very well-received. Um, but mainly, we need to get the, the property owners on board- Right...
11:56
the vast majority. Okay. Yeah. So, okay, yeah, 'cause if you get 50 property owners on board, then that helps the application to go through when it gets- Yeah... presented to the city and to the- Yeah...
12:08
the, to the board. Right. Exactly. Yeah, the City Council. And we don't wanna have, like, 50 properties and shrink it down to, you know, only five property owners wanna be in the district. That would-
12:18
Kind of missed the point. Right. Yeah. So support's been good so far? Yes. Is- So the Italian community, for the most part, is totally in favor of it. Yeah.
12:26
Um, there have been a few people that they're, you know, "This should've been done a long time ago. It's too late," and, and you know, you get that sometimes. Um, property owners have been, uh, um, kind of 50/50.
12:38
There's been- Mm-hmm... a couple people which, um, they're, they're a little concerned about, uh, having a, an historic landmark owning one of those. Right, 'cause that would be the alarm bell to go off. Yeah.
12:49
You hear historic district, then, "Uh, oh, I can't do-" Yeah... right, I can't make any changes to my house without- Exactly... approval. Yeah.
12:55
But that's not necessarily the case, though, with this, the thematic- Well, it's-... historic district. Yeah... it actually is about the same as a, a regu- having a regular historic landmark. Um- Is it, okay...
13:06
because each property is, like, individually designated as a landmark, but as part of the district. Okay. So, um,
13:15
they, they would be eligible for tax credits and grants to help with, um, upkeep, but ultimately there would be some red tape for them if they wanted to make any exterior changes.
13:26
But it's also to help preserve the character of their property. Sure. So, but I can understand why some people would be wary of that. Yeah.
13:35
Are there, are there any misconceptions, then, about the proposal that- Yeah, there-... to clarify? [laughs] Yeah. There have been a few.
13:42
Um, I think a lot of people, uh, think that we're trying to create, like, a business district or some kind of a tourist destination, and, you know, their, their argument is that there are no Italian businesses there anymore, so it's, it's not Little Italy.
13:55
But, you know, we're, we're not trying to bring Italian businesses back or- Mm-hmm... say this is, like, this is a t- uh, we're not trying to say it's a tourist thing.
14:05
It's just a historic district to preserve the properties that are there.
14:09
And, you know, eventually if it, if Italian businesses end up coming back, that would be great, but, uh, for right now our goal is to just preserve the, the properties we have left.
14:18
So community support is important- Yes... for you. Yeah. And yeah. What, so what can people do that wanna, that wanna help out or- Yeah... things?
14:27
Well, uh, right now we have, um, some, uh, template letters of support on the website. It's, uh, littleitalyofdenver.com/blog.
14:37
And then the, they can write a letter of support if they're in support of it, either using a template or themselves, and, uh, send it to
[email protected]
. Okay.
14:49
Uh, we are going to need some help eventually, um, with canvassing, going door to door to each property owner and, uh, getting them to either sign something that says, "Yeah, I, I wanna be part of this," or whatever.
15:02
Um, so if, if they're interested in that. Um, otherwise, the, the letters of support are the best way to do it. Um- And letters of support can come from anyone, really. Anybody. Yeah. Right.
15:13
I mean, it would, it would be more impactful from, uh, people living in the neighborhood, but- Sure... obviously we'll- we, we can take them from anybody. Yeah. It's good for them to see the- Y-...
15:22
especially the Italian community coming together on this. And even if, if they had, uh, uh, some family history here. Yes, exactly. That's important to put into the- Right... into the letter.
15:31
And we do, yeah, we do encourage that if they do- Sure... like memories, anything of Little Italy. [laughs] What kind of memories? Do, what, what do you ha- do you have any good memories? I mean, like- Yeah...
15:43
standout memories? [laughs] Things that have happened in the past. What do you got? Yeah, actually I, I do. Uh, a, a lot happened at Mount Carmel. Yeah?
15:53
Because, uh, ever since I was a kid we would, uh, we would volunteer for the three days at the feast.
15:58
So it was like that, that one weekend in July we were just there at the church, and, uh, it's almost like we lived there. Yeah. That was always a lot of fun. And then I remember, um, Carboni's on, like, 38th and Lipan.
16:11
We would often stop th- stop there after school and get sandwiches for dinner or something, and Nick Lenardo would, uh, be behind the counter. Yeah.
16:19
He had this tin bowl full of Dum Dums, and he would always offer it to us kids, and we would only take, like, one.
16:25
And he'd say, "No, get some more," and he'd give us a handful, and our mom couldn't say anything, so we were happy. Yeah. But yeah, it was, uh, that was- [laughs]... the main thing I remember.
16:35
These aren't memories of mine. They've been told to me. Mm-hmm. But my, uh, uncle owned a gas station at the corner of 40th and Tejon. Oh, wow. Okay? Which is a restaurant today. Yeah. Okay.
16:48
And it's been a restaurant for as long as I, I've been around. Mm-hmm. But at one point, this would've been 1950, early 1950s, and, uh, and w- he owned a gas station.
16:58
So my cousin, uh, worked there as a teenager, really, you know, pumping gas, washing cars on the weekend. Mm-hmm.
17:05
And, um, I have this great picture of my uncle and his brother, um, and someo- and there was three of them standing outside the front of the restaurant. Yeah. And my uncle was a chain smoker.
17:17
So they're outside in front of the pumps, and he's got a cigarette right down by his hip. [laughs] He's hiding it [laughs] down there while they took this picture. [laughs] Right in front of the gas pumps.
17:26
I just think it's, it's classic. But- [laughs] Yeah... um- That's cool... and so lots of stories he's told me about, uh, oh, the... I just went blank on the, the Marigold was a restaurant. Marigold. Yeah.
17:39
Yeah, I've heard of that one. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, that's just some of the stuff, but, uh- Yeah. It's the same with me. I've, most of the memories I've, they've been told to me. Mm-hmm.
17:49
'Cause I was either too young to remember, or I was like, I didn't care about this stuff back then. I was, you know, a kid. Yeah. Wasn't worried about this or that.
17:57
But, um, my mom said that she used to take my brother to Frangie's, which used to be at the cheese place at Lopreno's that people could buy cheese from.
18:08
And, you know, she would just make over my brother 'cause he was this little, cute little baby, Italian baby, and- Yeah... yeah, just things like that.
18:17
If we don't preserve the history now, what do you think North Denver loses? Well, I think it, it's definitely gonna lose a lot of its culture, and eventually, like, the history is just gonna be gone.
18:29
Again, you're, you're gonna have to be a historian or really interested in that kind of stuff to even- Yeah... know what went on here. I mean, we saw it... We've seen it just happen, especially from, like, 2010 to 2020.
18:44
We lost a lot, a lot of history, a lot of businesses. Things just get demolished, and then nobody knows what used to be there. Right.
18:51
And especially once, um, the older generation passes on, we're really not gonna know what happened or what, what went on here. So, um, I, I think that the Italian community will just be scattered, and
19:06
nobody's gonna remember anything, which is really sad. Yeah, that would be very sad. Yeah.
19:10
Be- and when I look at the places you mentioned, so, like, Mount Carmel, the Italian church, uh, has been there for a long time, and it's gonna stay. It'll be there. Yeah. And, and then you look at Gaetano's.
19:24
It's, it's lasted the test of time- Yeah... and continues on. Um, and then Leucas continues on. Uh, Loprino's, uh, is not going anywhere. [laughs] Yeah, that's true.
19:37
And so, uh, there's several other locations throughout the neighborhood.
19:41
So, uh, so 20 or 30 years from now, what would you love someone walking through Denver's Little Italy to still be able to see, recognize, and, and even understand?
19:52
Well, um, I, I would hope that those places are still there, and, uh, it is kind of a dream of mine for Italian businesses to come back to the area and for people to actually come there and see what was Little Italy.
20:07
The... We're not making a tourist attraction, but it would be kind of a cool thing to have a big lit sign that says Little Italy of Denver and for people to come and, and see what we had once.
20:19
Um, but ultimately, if we can just protect these things and just, even if it's just a plaque- Mm-hmm... that says Italian Historic District, and people can find it online or somewhere, that's, that's enough.
20:33
Just to know, put it on paper. So we talked about how people can get involved. The website is littleitalyofdenver.com? Yes. Uh, littleitalyofdenver.com. There's, like, a whole section on Italian North Denver. Yeah.
20:45
So it has a little bit of the history and kind of what, what we still have here and what used to be here.
20:51
Uh, it's not a comprehensive list by any means, but, um, if you go to the blog page, uh, that has the entire Little Italy District project, um, it includes the list of properties if anybody wants to see it.
21:05
And if anyone has any information on any of those properties or they know a property that's not listed that should be, um, they should definitely contact us. And, um, if they...
21:17
There's also, uh, resources for property owners, like what it means to own a historic landmark, um, links to the, the entire process.
21:26
So it's, it's, we're trying to be very transparent to let, give people as much information as possible- Yeah... so they can learn, learn what they wanna know. That's awesome. Yeah. Well, I'm excited for you- Yeah...
21:37
and, and the process and how much, how much longer do you think it, it will take? Well, I'm, I'm hoping, uh, by this time next year we'll have a district.
21:45
So we're, we're gonna hopefully apply for the grant the end of this month, and, um- All right... after that, it's just a matter of them working on the...
21:53
While they're working on the application and the context, we'll be doing the outreach in the community and kind of come together, hopefully maybe by spring- That's awesome... and submit it for approval. But- I love it...
22:05
you know, that's, that's a hopeful timeline. We'll see what happens. Yeah. If people wanna get involved, they're welcome to email me, and they can share it with their family and friends, too. Get the word out.
22:15
Well, thanks, Jenna, for coming down today. Yeah. Thank you again for having me. Yeah, you're very welcome.
22:20
[gentle music] Thanks again to Jenna Pacha for joining me and for helping tell the story of Denver's Little Italy.
22:26
One thing that really stuck with me from our conversation is that preserving a neighborhood isn't just about saving old buildings.
22:33
It's about saving the stories of the families, businesses, churches, and people who made North Denver what it is.
22:39
If you have a connection to Denver's Little Italy, old photos, family stories, memories, or information about one of these historic properties, Jenna and the committee would love to hear from you.
22:49
You can learn more and get involved at littleitalyofdenver.com. Thanks for listening. I'm Paul Bonaquisti. And remember, there's always another story waiting at the tasting bar, and put some altitude in your glass.
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