The Rise and Fall of Baby Doe’s Mineshaft Restaurant
Long before Casa Bonita became Denver’s only nationally known themed eatery, Baby Doe’s Matchless Mine was a popular spot that transported diners back to the late 1800s. Located at 23rd and Bryant, overlooking I-25, the restaurant was styled after a mineshaft and inspired by the story of Elizabeth “Baby Doe” Tabor, the second wife of mining mogul Horace Tabor, who made a fortune in the silver mines of Leadville.
Part of a chain with similar locations across the country, Baby Doe’s Matchless Mine revived the colorful, and sometimes scandalous, tale of Baby Doe through opulent dining rooms outfitted with Gilded Age décor, vintage mining memorabilia, and family photos. Denver’s Baby Doe’s closed in the early 2000s and was eventually demolished, yet the real Matchless Mine in Leadville remains. And just a note: the Tabor family legacy is completely unrelated to the modern TABOR amendment.
