After 70 years of ownership, the DiPietro family is stepping away from Edgewater Inn. And the owners of Local 46 are stepping in.
Niya and Grant Gingerich are under contract to purchase the longtime pizza parlor and bar from Carolyn DiPietro and her daughter Haley, who have run it since 2012. Carolyn’s parents, Josephine and Ben DiPietro founded “the Edge” in 1953 at 5302 W. 25th Ave. in Edgewater.
“We couldn’t think of a better way to serve the community again than taking over this long-standing, beloved place and being able to carry on the legacy, while also gently bringing new little pieces to it as the community supports and shows us what they want to see,” said Niya.
The Gingeriches owned Local 46, a neighborhood bar at 4586 Tennyson St., from 2012 to September 2022, when it closed to make way for redevelopment.
They plan to keep Edgewater Inn the same, with a few updates to the menu. They’d also like to open a version of Local 46 in a back bar space that’s been closed since the pandemic.
The Gingerichs have been looking for a new space for quite a while and had originally planned to relocate a mile away at 3930 W. 38th Ave. But they ultimately decided the cost of renovations was too high.
Niya told The Denver Post she came across the opportunity to purchase Edgewater Inn while having a slice of pizza and a beer at the bar, one month before Local 46 closed.
“I used to get pizza there from high school all the time and just decided to pop in one day after years of not visiting,” she said.
She got chatting with Haley about the sale of the business, and decided it was the perfect fit. The Gingerichs take over management on Jan. 4, and will become official owners of both the business and the real estate on Jan. 20, Niya said.
Carolyn DiPietro declined a request for comment. Her parents, Josephine and Ben, who passed away in 2005 and 2012, respectively, ran the pizza joint for decades, filling it with Coors and Broncos memorabilia, along with plenty of stories.
Edgewater Inn’s menu will still feature its staples, like The Sweetness pizza, a sausage pie with a plethora of meats, and The Howdy pizza with Italian sausage, peppers, mushrooms, jalapenos and black olives, which has been on the menu since it opened. The bar will also continue to serve healthy pours of beer in its famed schooners — large goblet-looking glasses — and Niya said they plan to create some fun cocktails with the glass, like a Guinness float.
“Of course there’s always a certain expectation that a lot of longtime followers will have,” Niya said. “We want to be delicate and respectful to the transition to make sure people know they’re still embraced because we know people have a hard time with change.”
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The Gingerichs have gotten rid of the restaurant’s fryer, though, so don’t expect to see the long list of fried appetizers Edgewater Inn has offered over the years. And they’ve added some more salad options, white pizzas and fresh appetizers like bruschetta or meatballs.
The couple will keep the back bar open for late night service but plan to begin construction on their new version of Local 46, which will include a biergarten where the parking lot now is, in the spring and hope to open in late 2023. They have not officially decided on a new name, but plan to keep the word “Local” in the title.
“The best part about Edgewater is, you’re not going to see anything [higher] than two stories over here, so we’re excited to be a part of a community that’s protected with these zoning codes to ensure it remains charming,” Niya said.
