Racines, a 36-year-old Denver dining institution, is saying goodbye a bit earlier than expected. In April, Racines was one of the first coronavirus-related restaurant closures in the city, as the restaurant announced it would close in January 2021, expecting to reopen after the lockdown. But owners Lee Goodfriend and David Racine announced on Tuesday that the longtime restaurant will close permanently six months earlier than expected. In an interview with The Denver Post, Goodfriend said she and her co-owner would both be at risk for the virus, and the task of reopening with a resurgence of COVID-19 cases was too daunting, especially since they already sold the location at 650 Sherman St. “I never thought that our restaurant would be shut down so abruptly,” she said.