Denver Is Finally Getting Its First Common Consumption Area

On Monday, January 6, Denver City Council approved the city’s first entertainment district with a common consumption license, clearing the way for patrons to enjoy drinks on Wynkoop Street between 41st and 43rd streets and the plaza outside of Mission Ballroom.

The approval allows a defined section of the privately owned fourteen-acre property at 4180 Wynkoop Street to function as a shared consumption area for customers of the liquor-licensed businesses that share that address, including Left Hand Brewing, Chubby Unicorn Cantina, and the Peach Crease Club, a cocktail bar that debuted in November. The vote marks the first successful application under a pilot program the city adopted in 2021, after years of limited interest in the entertainment district common-consumption licenses allowed under state law; an effort to open one in Five Points never made it to the city approval process.

Westfield Company, Inc., which owns the property along with Stanley Marketplace in Aurora, corralled its tenants to form the North Wynkoop Promotional Association, which includes multiple liquor license holders. Drinks may be purchased only from participating businesses and consumed only within the clearly marked consumption area. Concertgoers will not be allowed to take drinks in or out of Mission Ballroom.

Stuart Jensen, co-owner of the Peach Crease Club, tells Westword that the common consumption license was part of the long-term planning for the space well before the bar opened. He says the business built a walk-up bar specifically to serve the plaza, a move that was dependent on the city council’s approval of the entertainment district to pay off.

But Jensen says public reaction to the concept often misses the mark.

“A lot of the coverage makes it sound like a little New Orleans or Las Vegas,” he says. “That’s a misrepresentation.”

According to Jensen, the plaza isn’t designed to function like Bourbon Street or the Las Vegas Strip, where open drinking floods public streets with revelers. The Wynkoop plaza is privately owned and subject to security plans and city requirements. “This isn’t about people just drinking outside,” Jensen says. “It’s a controlled space where people can gather.”

He says the goal is to create a flexible outdoor area that can host events beyond alcohol service, including a farmers’ market, family-friendly programming and neighborhood gatherings. He notes that no one is required to drink in the common consumption area, and says that his bar emphasizes non-alcoholic options alongside cocktails.

The process to get approval was demanding, Jensen says. Though the common consumption pilot program has been around nearly five years, it was nearing its end until council members repealed a sunset provision at the January 5 meeting, extending the framework under which future associations of businesses could apply. Jensen says the complexity of the process would have been challenging for the individual business owners to navigate without support from the property owner, Westfield Co., which already operates similar districts in other cities.

“All inspections have been passed,” confirms Eric Escudero, director of communications for Licensing and Consumer Protection. “As soon as the Mayor signs the ordinance, the first common consumption license in Denver history will be issued, then it will be up to the license holders to open their common consumption area when they want.”

Jensen says businesses are hopeful they can activate the space as early as this weekend. But, he adds, the most important point for the public to understand is what the new district is not.

“This isn’t a debaucherous outdoor drinking zone,” Jensen concludes. “It’s a community amenity.”