Danny Crooks
Danny Crooks says he never wanted Steamboat to close on his shift. The once-outspoken Crooks is now uncharacteristically soft-spoken, clearly humbled and hurt by having to line up a closing concert series and look for a new building at the same time. “It sounds kind of corny, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it,” says Crooks, who’s managed Steamboat since 1989 and owned the business since 1996. “It breaks my heart.” Crooks’ support group is his family: both his nuclear family (wife Leslie and son Sean of Piggiehat) and his extended family (the hundreds of local musicians who he’s fed weekly at his famous musician-only barbecues). “They’re trying to be strong for me, but you can tell from the looks on their faces and in their eyes how heartbroken they are.”
This article appears in September 24 • 1999.