Like the space, the name has a history. "The Denver Wheel Club harks back to the 1890s, when there were more velocipeds [bicycles] in Denver than people," explains Cruiser Brad Evans, who's been working on the club's resurrection under Craig and Andrew Caldwell. "We are bringing that history forward, and have named the bar after its ancestral brethren."
The Caldwells made a deal for Club 404 with longtime owner Jerry Feld in early December (see pictures of the Feld 404's last call here), and have spent the last two months renovating the place...but still keeping pieces of its past. "'We are celebrating the storied history here at 404 Broadway," Evans explains. "One of the first liquor licenses in Denver after Prohibition, it was known as the Red Lantern, until Jerry bought it in 1951. Now it's our turn to enliven a strip of Broadway with a place that's a little updated, and a lot like it used to be."
And that means the Caldwells plan to "keep it divey but fun," Evans says. "We feel super-lucky to be following in the footsteps of one of Denver's best-known addresses."
Make that tire tracks. The Denver Cruisers event on February 11 will be the official soft opening, and the Denver Wheel Club 404 will be rolled out to the community the week of February 18.
Find more info on "i (heart) Cruisers" here.
