GV’s Benedict’s Restaurant welcomes back the former mayor

BY FREDA MIKLIN GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER

On May 24 Governor Polis released the official rules for the reopening of dining inside restaurants starting on May 27. The Villager reached out to Bob Melton, owner of Benedict’s Restaurant at 8181 E. Arapahoe Road in Greenwood Village, and asked him what he thought of the guidelines and what he planned to do.

Melton told us that he was ready to open up the dining area on the 27th and had already removed tables to create the required social distancing, but would require his wait staff to wash their hands between every table they serve, not just every 30 minutes as the rules require. He explained he would not have the same staff members who cleaned tables after diners ate be the ones who set clean dishes and silverware for the next party, to ensure no cross-contamination. Masks will be required of customers when they enter and leave the restaurant (not while they are eating, of course). Benedict’s will be open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch, just as it was before we ever heard of the coronavirus. All staff will wear masks at all times.

We asked Melton if he planned to set up tables in his parking lot, as the guidelines and recently passed rules in Greenwood Village would permit. He said he might have considered it if his parking lot was flat, but since it’s sloped, it’s not possible. On May 28, Benedict’s welcomed one of its longtime well-known customers for unch, former Greenwood Village mayor Ron Rakowsky. He was accompanied by his wife Margaret and Joey Kleeman, a recent graduate of the University of Colorado with a degree in finance and the youngest of the five boys of former GV City Council Member Gary Kleeman and his wife Katie. We asked Mayor Rakowsky if he enjoyed his lunch out. He said, “The food was great, just as it always is, and being here was a welcome and very pleasant return to normalcy.” Fmiklin.villager@gmail.com