AURORA – “Elvis, table for one.”
Stop by Rosie’s Diner at twilight as the neon switches on and you half-expect to see The King stroll in for fried chicken and gravy and a peanut butter shake.
In fact, Elvis has a permanent seat reserved for him at Rosie’s, as do Marilyn Monroe and James Dean.
“You do go back in time here,” said Sam Delaghani who co-owns the diner with Mario Camacho.
Unlike many diner-like restaurant concepts, Rosie’s is a real diner constructed by Paramount, the last surviving diner manufacurer, and shipped in pieces to Aurora. There are coin-operated jukeboxes on each table that crank out tunes from the ‘50s to the present day. Delaghani worked to track down sources of American candies to sell at the front counter, classics such as Bit-O-Honey, Sugar Daddy, Sixlets, O Henry! Bars, candy necklaces, Skybars and Cherry Mash, not to mention lots of Betty Boop memorabilia.
Twice a year the place takes on a definite “Happy Days” vibe when shiny vintage vehicles fill the parking lot for car shows. Photos of many customers’ cars line the walls at Rosie’s.
Delaghani moved to the United States in 1985 from Iran when he was 20. He said he grew up in Teheran listening to Elvis and the Beatles. One of his first jobs was at IHOP. “It was open 24 hours and learned a lot about serving breakfast and running a restaurant,” he said. After studying business at Colorado State University and the University of Colorado, he became the sales manager for a food company that serviced many restaurant accounts.
Mario Camacho moved to Colorado from Guanajuato, Mexico in 1990. Musically, Camacho came of age in the ‘80s so while he appreciates Elvis, “I really liked Michael Jackson,” he said.
They met while working for the Blackeyed Pea restaurants and went on to open nine stores for a Mexican restaurant chain. When Jus Cookins restaurant in Aurora moved to a new location, Delaghani and Camacho bought the place and renamed it Apple Creek Restaurant and Grill.
When Rosie’s Diner became available in 2008, they snapped it up and split the management responsibilities.
“He’s more of the taste guy,” Delaghani said, pointing to Camacho. “I run the kitchen. He gets to be in charge of everything else,” Camacho said.
Camacho is so into food that he built a backyard oven in his backyard at home where he roasts lamb and makes pizzas for family and friends.
Rosie’s three-meal-a-day menu boasts all the classics we’ve come to expect at a diner ranging from Denver omelets and pancakes, to chef salads and patty melts, to liver and onions and baby back ribs served with a cold beer. Many customers come in just for the traditional soda-fountain shakes and sundaes.
“From the start we got away from the frozen foods that were served at a lot of diners,” Delaghani said, whose rule has been “if it’s on the menu, we are never out of it.”
As kitchen manager, Camacho banned lard and started using only canola oil to fry chicken, catfish and onion rings.
He also insisted that most items be cooked from scratch including corned beef hash, pies, green chili, potroast, meatloaf, beer batter, bread pudding, Spanish rice and salsa. “It just tastes better,” he said. A recent seasonal special featured French toast made with slices of house-baked pumpkin bread.
“In Mexico my parents had a taco stand when I was little,” he said. The enchilada sauce served at Rosie’s Diner comes from Camacho’s mom. “The secret is to fry the enchilada sauce to get the right flavor,” he said.
The duo said they aren’t above tinkering with the classics. After seeing an Irish Benedict on a menu in Maine, Delaghani suggested it for Rosie’s menu which already included an Irish burrito stuffed with corned beef and cheese. On St. Patty’s Day alone, Rosie’s Diner typically sells more than 800 pounds of corned beef with cabbage.
In late summer they serve pan after pan of their famous peach cobbler made with fresh Colorado fruit.
“From day one at Rosie’s I have loved coming to work every day,” Delaghani said with a smile. Most of the kitche
n staff are longtime employees, Camacho said, “and about 90 percent of our servers have been with us since we took over.”
One server named Anita is renowned for her memory. “She never uses a pad. She’ll have a table for ten and remembers everything everybody ordered and their names,” Camacho said, adding that customers on the weekend will wait so they can have Anita as their waitress.
Both Delaghani and Camacho said that they bought Apple Creek and Rosie’s Diner with an eye toward the future. “This is our retirement,” Delaghani said, pointing to the four walls of Rosie’s around him. “We plan on being here a long time. We want our customers to grow old with us.”
As for Elvis, Marilyn and James Dean, “We tell people that those guys come in very, very late in the day,” he said.
Rosie’s Diner
14061 E. Iliff Ave., Aurora
303-752-3663; rosies-diner.com