Blame the Best of Denver curse: After less than year, the Grizzly Rock, which just earned a nod as the Best New Venue in our Best of Denver issue last month, closed over the weekend. News of the closing came via Facebook: "Sorry everyone we have closed the Grizzly Rock," read the club's status. "Please like the Grizzly Rose Facebook page. We might bring some of the better acts over to the Rose. Thanks for coming in and supporting live music."
See also: - Best of Denver 2013: Best New Music Venue - Grizzly Rock grand opening this Saturday - Grizzly Rock opening in former After the Gold Rush/Club Arriba spot
Although Grizzly Rose owner Scott Durland took over the former After the Gold Rush space at Sixth and Sheridan in the fall of 2011, he didn't open the 1,200-capacity club until this past July, when the renovations -- which included completely redoing the exterior of the building and making upgrades to the stage as well as the electrical and lighting systems -- were finished. Durland kept the ceiling lights from the Gold Rush days, and the entrance was revamped to look like a mine shaft in homage to the former location.
Aside from occasional retro shows featuring bygone acts like Vanilla Ice and Naughty by Nature, the Grizzly Rock mostly brought in '80s metal bands such as Winger and Skid Row, acts that will now be moved over to the Grizzly Rose. We've reached out to Durland for more details on the closing, but so far, we haven't been able to get ahold of him. We'll let you know if he gets back to us. For now, though, the storied Lakewood venue will once again be vacant, despite what seemed like a realistic plan.
"My thing is that it's going to be run like a really fun bar that has good live music, as opposed to what other venues do," Durland told us last year just before opening. "It's not going be like the Ogden Theatre. We're not going to do just concerts. We're going to base ourselves on good bar nights and just happen to have good bands out there at the same time."
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