Prolific Boulder restaurateur Frank Day died Wednesday at 93 “after a brief illness,” a representative of Day’s Concept Restaurants Inc. confirmed to BizWest.

Day, who was inducted this spring into the Denver & Colorado Tourism Hall of Fame, and his wife, Gina Day, have been active in the hospitality scene in Boulder and beyond for decades.

“He touched the lives of many, and his absence will be deeply felt. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, colleagues and all who knew him,” Concept said in an email. “The family will provide further information in due course, and we ask that their privacy be respected during this difficult time.”

Among the groups the Days have owned or helped start are Rock Bottom Restaurants Inc., Old Chicago, Walnut Brewery and the ChopHouse & Brewery; Colorado’s first microbrewery, Boulder Beer; iconic Boulder watering hole The Walrus; upscale lodges Hotel Boulderado and the Table Mountain Inn in Golden; Downtown Boulder Inc., a nonprofit organization focused on promoting downtown Boulder; and the Day Family Foundation.

“Frank was the lion of Boulder’s drive into the modern-day hospitality industry, leading in innovation, risk-taking entrepreneurism and business acumen,” Boulder Chamber CEO John Tayer told BizWest in a text. “And he loved the business, conceiving of new concepts and making deals to his last days. We all owe a debt of gratitude for the path he set that helped to give Boulder its unique hospitality flair, blending new hotel and restaurant concepts with historic charm.”

Day is a 2003 Boulder County Business Hall of Fame inductee and was named an Entrepreneurial Innovator in 2004 by the Boulder Chamber. Gina Day is a 2018 Boulder County Business Hall of Fame inductee.

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