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The Candlelight has been a ray of light on South Pearl Street for close to sixty years…but the original sign out front (above) was looking a little dim. So last month the owners, who bought the classic tavern fifteen years ago, started giving the Candlelight a facelift. See also: Sign of the times — the Candlelight Tavern is getting a facelift And here’s the result!
“It needed painting and touch-up, so we had that done,” says Lisa Bryan, who still owns the place with Dave Bryan, her now ex-husband. (They also bought the Kentucky Inn five years ago.) “And what a difference. As they started painting, the light kept going out…they ended up replacing almost half the neon sign there. That’s why it took so long.”
On Friday, November 8, they’ll host a grand reopening of the Candlelight — not that it ever closed — with an official lighting of the neon and $2 specialty shots.
But while the bar has gotten a facelift, the Candlelight remains focused on its mission. “We’re a dive bar, we’re a neighborhood dive bar, we’re proud of that,” says Lisa. “We’re proud of the historical part of it.”
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That history keeps growing: The Candlelight had a cameo in The Shining, and more recently they’ve participated in the Denver Burger Battle. Although the Candlelight’s burger didn’t win, it gets rave reviews as a regular menu item — and there’s one thing about the place that remains unbeatable.
Its atmosphere. “It’s that Cheers environment,” Lisa says, “where everybody really knows your name.”
