Jay Bianchi Resurrects Quixote's True Blue Near DU

When Jay Bianchi walked into Angel's Landing near the University of Denver, he experienced déjà vu. The spot reminded him of the original Quixote's True Blue that he opened on East Colfax Avenue in 1996, then moved around town, eventually closing it in 2016.

While he wasn't really looking to open a new venue, he was approached about buying the space. Inspired by the déjà vu, he jumped on the opportunity to turn Angel's Landing into yet another incarnation of Quixote's.

The building at 2014 South University was Merchants Mile High Saloon and the Border Restaurant and Lounge before becoming Angel's Landing.

Bianchi says the layout of the new Quixote's location is similar to the original spot.

"It kind of had the stage in the same area," Bianchi says. "The bar is right straight back. It feels like the bartenders can participate in the music, and it just feels like it was the first Quixote's, except someone took a bicycle pump and pumped it up. It's the same shape, basically."

Bianchi says that since the 220-person venue already had a good setup and sound system, he didn't have to do much except add a fresh coat of paint and bring in the Grateful Dead posters and memorabilia from storage.

So far, he says, the place has a split personality, adding that it has a college-night type of feel that starts at 11:30 p.m., when a swarm of students show up, "which is awesome, because they're all happy and they're all spending money, but it forces me to create in a different way. So we're doing most of our shows between 7 and 11 p.m., which is good for some of the older crowd."