After promising to never pour liquor, Zingers applies for a liquor license

A year ago this month, when I first spoke with Dennis Krieger, the owner of Zingers, a small-mall joint near the University of Denver that pushes chicken wings in a gazillion guises, along with chicken nuggets in a bag, chicken salad and a whole coop of other college-appropriate grub, he told me, flat-out, that the majority of the students on the DU campus were too young to drink, an observation that dissuaded him from getting a liquor license. “We analyzed it, and it came down to the fact that students shouldn’t be drinking under the age of 21, so we’re not serving any alcohol, at least not in this location,” Krieger told me last June.

But here’s the real zinger: There’s now a liquor-license application sign hanging directly in front of the very same location where Krieger insisted he wouldn’t pour liquid assets. Clearly, he had a change of beverage, which is good news for all those of-age studious types who ace their exams and want to celebrate with chicken nuggets and a Crown and Coke. Krieger has a date with the Department of Excise and Licenses on Thursday, July 14, at 9 a.m. to learn whether or not he’ll need to start checking IDs.

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