Oblio’s Pizzeria Comes Of Age
You Go For The Pizza. You Go Back For Community
By Cara DeGette, Editor, GPHN
Everybody eats at Oblio’s. Children, the parents of children, construction workers, other restaurant owners, teachers, hairdressers, mortgage brokers, magazine writers, book lovers, orthodontists, landscapers, musicians, real estate mavens, plumbers. Heck, even the governor of Colorado eats at Oblio’s.
Here’s a story that Gov. John Hickenlooper recently shared with the Greater Park Hill News, highlighting just how much he likes Oblio’s:
“When [my son] Teddy was young and in his first years of elementary school, we headed into Oblio’s for dinner on a snowy night,” Hickenlooper said. “In the restaurant were two of his classmates and their families, which turned out to be a boisterous reunion for the kids and a great way to get to know some of the parents. Oblio’s plays that role in the Park Hill neighborhood, where new residents connect with residents of longer standing. It’s a haven for neighbors and brings life to the neighborhood.”
This month, Oblio’s turns 20 years old. When original owners Danny and Dawn McKay opened the restaurant at 22nd and Kearney, the business block was in disrepair, rampant with criminal activity. There was a phone booth across the street from the restaurant, used by drug dealers to conduct crack cocaine deals.
“You wouldn’t want to bring your family here after dark when we started,” said Tommy Gilhooly, who started working at the restaurant in his early 20s. “I mean, families did come to the restaurant, but it was very sketchy.”
One day Gilhooly and a pal decided to take back the corner. With a hacksaw, they chopped down the pay phone. They told the guys who were loitering around, that it was time to move on. And yes, Gilhooly says, it was kind of scary.
Gilhooly and his wife, Nicole – who also started working at Oblio’s in her early 20s, eventually bought out the McKays. Over the years, more than 250 people have found employment at the restaurant, most of whom are local youth. Through the years the restaurant has donated tens of thousands of dollars to local charities. The surrounding, once-floundering business block is now flourishing. For 12 years, General Manager Suzanne Kiani has been an anchor at the restaurant.
The menu has changed some, though many of the recipes have been updated over time. Every item, Gilhooly says, shares the same not-so-secret ingredient: “Everything is made with love.”
In honor of the occasion of Oblio’s Coming of Age, Greater Park Hill News reached out to longtime locals, fans and patrons, to weigh in with their stories and salutations. Here are a few:
“Danny and Dawn McKay founded Oblio’s, basing the name and some of the decor on musician Harry Nilsson’s recording “The Point” ( in which a boy named Oblio is the only round-headed person in the Pointed Village). Danny and Dawn ran the restaurant almost single-handedly for several years. There was no sidewalk patio in the early years. I remember the creativity of menus on record album covers, Sunday morning breakfast, and some stimulating political conversations. My wife and I supported the McKay’s original application for a beer and wine license.”
— Dave Felice, GPHC board member
“I was serving on the Greater Park Hill Community Executive Board years ago when shortly after Oblio’s had opened, the owner, who was applying for a liquor license came to our board asking for our support. At that time there were 10 of us on the Executive Board, and the general attitude at that time was against new liquor licenses in the community. When we voted, I was the only one of the 10 members who were in favor of Oblio’s getting a liquor license. Oblio’s did get the liquor license from the City of Denver. Every time we went there for dinner, I always got a free glass of wine. Our best wishes to Oblio’s on their 20th Anniversary for a wonderful Park Hill place to have dinner. Here’s to another 20 years.”
— Lyle Hansen, GPHC board member
“Oblio’s is truly the prototype of a local tavern, right out of an Andy Hardy movie – human scale, personal and comfortable, serving a walkable community. The Kearney district has evolved into a vibrant, diverse business district and Oblio’s has played a huge role in that. Our family has always been treated well there. I’ve always appreciated Tom Gilhooly’s commitment to the Park Hill Community (even though he ran against my daughter for city council!).”
— Jack Farrar, Park Hill Bookstore
“Oblio’s is the kind of neighborhood joint you think only exists in sitcoms. Lucky for those of us who grew up in Park Hill and for those who live there today, it’s real. It’s our Cheers, our Central Perk, our Moe’s Tavern. It truly is a place where everybody knows your name and your order. It’s brick and mortar, heart and soul. When they first started building Oblio’s my parents and I would walk by and check out the construction, watching our future favorite pizza place come to life. It’s crazy to think that 20 years have passed since then. For my family and me it’s been 20 years of laughing in the corner booth, impatient first bites of piping hot pizza, and sparring with spoons over the last few bites of the deep-dish cookie. Once or twice over the years when a sudden snowstorm knocked the power out, my dad would trek through the snow to the dark restaurant where a few brave souls kept the gas pizza ovens burning for hungry neighbors. We went to Oblio’s after soccer games and before high school dances. For special occasions and ordinary ones. I moved away from Denver three years ago, but still, every time I call my parents to plan a trip home, the question is the same, “So, which night are we going to Oblio’s?”
— Olivia Rudeen, lifelong fan and customer
“You go to Oblio’s for their pizza and bread sticks … you go back to Oblio’s for the pizza, bread sticks and community. The Gilhooly kids are a bright, shining refection of warmth and love … just like their Mom and Dad Gilhooly.”
— Park Hill Elementary teacher Amy Maes
“Tommy and the Oblio’s crew have been sponsors of our Park Hill Family Bike Rides since 2004. Ending our summer rides with All You Can Eat Pizza is such a fun, community-building event.”
— Joseph Brady and Jacqui Shumway
“My family and I have been going to Oblio’s nearly every Friday night for the past 10 years that we have lived in the neighborhood. Our children have grown up there. Tommy and Nicole Gilhooly and Suzanne Kiani have become like family to us. They are such a Park Hill treasure. At the end of each week we look forward to seeing our friends from the neighborhood and enjoying the great food at Oblio’s.”
— Ryan Hunter, GPHC board member
“Oblio’s is all about family. Whether that is the families that come in every week to enjoy a drink and some pizza, or the family of servers and cooks in the back of the restaurant that I am proud to call my co-workers and close friends, or Suz and Tommy running everything to make sure everyone is happy and taken care of, just like a mom and dad do, even though it can get stressful at times. But isn’t that what family is all about?”
— Josie Brady, East High student
and longtime Oblio’s empoloyee
“One of my warmest memories of Oblio’s is back near the time we relocated Cake Crumbs to Park Hill. Sean and I would often work later into the evening, always with our boys. They’d be hungry at dinnertime and we’d send them to Oblio’s for pizza while we wrapped up for the day. It never failed, Suzanne would get them set up and let them start dinner without us. She was so sweet with the kids. They loved their young independence, a warm memory for all of us. Once Sean and I could join the boys for dinner, without fail Suzanne or Tommy would treat us to the warm cookie and ice cream – ironic to treat the bakers to dessert but there was always something special about that dessert. Oblio’s is a staple stop for every young Park Hill family. A true neighborhood gathering spot we’re all lucky to have around the corner.”
— Denon Moore, co-owner of
Cake Crumbs Bakery
“Oblio’s and Tommy have really been a great asset to the neighborhood. They are always willing to help school fundraisers and community events such as the Home Tour. Hope they are around for another 20 years.”
— Nina Kuhl, Realtor,
Cherry Creek Properties
“Congratulations, Oblio’s! For two decades you’ve been home to date nights, post-game parties, family get-togethers and so much more. Cheers to your continued success as a fixture in the community.”
— Denver City Council President
Chris Herndon
dan mckay
September 29, 2016 @ 2:09 pm
Tommy Gilhooly was not the founder of Oblios. the newspaper fogot to fact check.