New Rock Club Opens in Denver. Its Name? The Venue

Over the past few decades, the building at 1451 Cortez Street has housed a number of bars, including Bottle Caps, Brewski’s, Hiccups and, most recently, Buckin’ Harley’s, which opened in 2009 and closed a few months ago. After some extensive renovations, the space will now host The Venue (yes, that's the venue's name), which opens this weekend.

Brett Braun (former co-owner of the Wash), his wife, Pamela, and Everett Dickensheet are partners in the Venue, which celebrates its grand opening on Saturday. October 28, with a concert headlined by Jack Russell’s Great White. Dickensheet says they’re designing the 250-capacity spot to be something of a miniature Fillmore Auditorium as far as atmosphere goes. The new spot will include hanging chandeliers.

Dickensheet says everything in the place is brand-new, including a bigger sound and lighting system, tables, chairs and bar equipment. The stage is bigger as well.

They're planning on making it a venue for local rock acts, and Dickensheet says that by January, he hopes to bring in two or three national acts each month. The plan is to have live music three nights a week, a DJ once a week, and ladies' nights on Thursdays.

“We want to bring back ladies' night like it used to be back in the ’80s and ’90s at After the Gold Rush,” Dickensheet says. “That’s what we’re focusing Thursday on: good DJs, dance music, and getting a lot of dancing going on – really bring ladies' night back, because nobody’s doing it right anymore.”

The Venue, which will also serve food in the front, will be a bar with music by night, but during the day, Braun is hoping to attract families.

Jack Russell's Great White, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 28, the Venue, 1451 Cortez Street, $11-$300.