Joseph Colacci had long since stepped away from running the daily operations of his family's iconic Blue Parrot restaurant in Louisville.

But a minicrisis was brewing.

The restaurant faced pressure earlier this year to change the name of its popular "wopburger," a fixture on the menu since Mr. Colacci's Italian-immigrant parents opened the establishment in 1918. Some people began complaining that the name is offensive to Italians, pointing to the use of wop as an ethnic slur.

The Colacci clan initially yielded to the pressure, deciding to rename the sausage-filled sandwich an "Italian burger." After receiving numerous phone calls from longtime customers and friends, though, Joe Colacci made an executive decision.

"He called me one morning and said, 'We're not changing it, we're leaving it as it is,' " said his daughter, Joan Riggins, who owns the restaurant with her brother. "And that was that. He still had his hand in the business that way. If I needed some good wisdom, I'd always turn to him."

Mr. Colacci, who owned the restaurant for six decades and became a fixture in the local business community, died Aug. 16 at his home. He was 90.

The lifelong Louisville resident had an entrepreneurial spirit, starting several businesses throughout his life, including a pool hall, a gas station and a restaurant of his own.

But he was perhaps most known for his association with the Blue Parrot, which his parents opened after moving to Louisville from Italy.

Mr. Colacci is credited with the decision to begin serving spaghetti daily instead of just on Friday and Saturday nights. Mr. Colacci is remembered as an extremely caring person - although sometimes he had a gruff exterior. While his relationship with his children and other family members was strained at times, they grew closer later in life.

"He was very stressed as a father, and it was a little hairy at times," Riggins said. "But in his way he loved us very much, and we started to understand that and the stress he faced raising us as we grew older."

Despite stepping back from running the Blue Parrot years ago, he remained a fixture on the other side of the counter. Mr. Colacci was there almost every morning to scan the restaurant's financial ledgers and discuss town politics over a plate of sausage and eggs or a cup of coffee.

"He always took time to spend time with my kids when they came by, and he was always asking about everyone's families," said Paul Weissmann, a Blue Parrot bartender for more than 18 years. "He always treated everyone with respect."

Mr. Colacci had been active until the last few weeks of his life, golfing and trekking to Black Hawk to gamble. But his health began deteriorating, and he recently remarked that he felt he had outlived himself.

Mr. Colacci is survived by his second wife, Dixie Colacci, as well as four daughters and a son.

Services were held Tuesday. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Joseph Colacci to the American Cancer Society, 6857 Paiute Ave. Niwot, CO 80503.

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