After sitting on the corner of Arapahoe Avenue and 20th Street in Boulder for more than three decades, Daddy Bruce’s Bar-B-Que will be serving up its final meals next week.

Owner Bruce Randolph Jr. sold the landmark eatery and the land it sits on Friday, almost 32 years after he first bought the property and opened his restaurant to honor the original Daddy Bruce: his father, the late Bruce Randolph.

The property and building were bought by Rockrimmon Real Estate, which will look to lease it. But since the Daddy Bruce name was not included in the sale, the restaurant will go into retirement along with its 85-year-old owner.

Randolph said business was beginning to slow, and with bills piling high he felt it was time to move on.

“I began to feel a deep recession here in the food business,” he said. “There was an accumulation of bills and no income coming in. You could sit here and let them turn the lights out on you, or you got to make a decision.”

Neither Randolph nor Zane Blackmer of Rockrimmon Real Estate discussed the final price of the property.

Sitting next to a piano in the small dining area of his restaurant, Randolph is a Boulder landmark himself. With his seat next to the door, every customer passes him and has the chance to listen to the former priest and barber tell one of his many stories.

There’s the one about how Randolph, while working at a barbershop in Denver, once cut Martin Luther King Jr.’s hair. There are the many trips he has made to places such as Israel and Mexico.

But most of his stories revolve around his father, who opened the original Daddy Bruce’s Bar-B-Que in Denver. Randolph Jr. — who still refers to his father as Daddy Bruce — said he was inspired to open his own restaurant in Boulder because of his father, who was famous in Denver for using his restaurant to help feed the homeless.

“Jesus fed 5,000 people, so he was going to feed 5,000 people,” Randolph said. “Daddy Bruce was a giver.”

While he may have been inspired by his father, Randolph’s restaurant did stray from the original Daddy Bruce’s in several ways. Randolph said his father liked bigger restaurants, not the type of cozy corner building he has.

“Daddy Bruce would have gone crazy in a small restaurant like this,” he said.

Randolph said four things were responsible for his longevity in Boulder. First, his strong religious beliefs. Second, he said, he makes good food. Third, he considers his restaurant’s location one of the best in Boulder, with Boulder High, the University of Colorado and Naropa University all within walking distance. Fourth, he said, he paid his taxes on time.

Blackmer said he is not sure how long the restaurant will remain in business or what type of business will replace Daddy Bruce’s, but like many customers, he has simply enjoyed working with Randolph.

“It’s been a blessing getting to know Bruce Randolph Jr.” he said. “I’m glad to be at least a small part of his life as he retires.”

Contact Camera Staff Writer Mitchell Byars at 303-473-1329 or byarsm@dailycamera.com.