Molly Martin
Audio By Carbonatix
The Electric Cure, an irreverent bar in Edgewater, just landed on our list of the best watering holes in the city, but big changes are in store for its two siblings, Honor Farm and Hell or High Water, which currently share a space at 1526 Blake Street.
In the summer of 2022, co-owners Lexi Healy and Veronica Ramos debuted Hell or High Water in the mezzanine level of the LoDo building that had been home to Brass Tacks and the Blake Street Vault before that (and American Costume long before that). “We’re gonna give Denver the tiki bar it deserves,” Healy told Westword at the time, describing the concept as “a gay pirate ship meets Land of the Lost with phallic and bird undertones.”
And that’s exactly what the team delivered. The tiny space is jam-packed with funky design details, including penis totems, creating a spot with party vibes and excellent tropical cocktails made with unexpected ingredients.
In October 2022, Healy and Ramos took over the first floor of the space as well, transforming it into Honor Farm, a “haunted spirit house” that embraces the building’s ghostly past.
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In the new year, both spots will be moving out of the Blake Street building — and only one will make a comeback in a new location.
Honor Farm
“Our lease is up, and instead of forcing Hell or High Water to keep living inside a space that has been holding it back, I’m choosing to build the version I’ve been chasing the whole time,” explains Healy, who will be stepping away from her role at the Electric Cure to fully focus on the new Hell or High Water, which will be a solo venture. “For this next chapter, I don’t want a watered-down version of my own vision. I want to take it all the way. That means the next space needs to be fully mine so I can put my full focus and creativity into building Hell exactly the way it’s meant to exist. My previous partners and I aren’t on bad terms. We just grew in different directions. What started as a great friendship became a partnership that no longer fit.”
As for Honor Farm, it “was a ton of fun, and getting to occupy what’s considered Denver’s most haunted bar was genuinely an honor. It also happened fast. It was the third concept I executed in a single year. I was ambitious, but I was also running on fumes and, if I’m being honest, a little burned out on original ideas,” Healy admits. “I learned a ton from operating a volume-based program: what works, what breaks and how to survive the nights that don’t stop. But Honor Farm never felt fully mine. It always felt like I was borrowing the space and keeping it alive, not building something I could truly grow and push forward.”
Both bars will be “open downtown for two more weekends,” Healy notes. “I know it’s Dry January. This is the month when bars usually go quiet. But we’re asking our heathens to show up anyway, one last time, to support the crew, toast the version of Hell that lived here, and help us close this chapter properly. Full proof, zero proof, whatever. Just come through.”
Hell or High Water/Instagram
The new Hell or High Water will be located next to Tracks, at 3542 Walnut Street in RiNo, in the spot that was previously Millers & Rossi. “The space is perfect for us,” Healy says. “It lets me split the concept in a way that actually works, with Hell living loud and fully erect in the larger back space. The front space is not something I’m announcing yet. But trust me, it will be on brand: dark humor, bad ideas executed well, and the kind of nonsense you only get away with when you mean it.”
She continues: “The new Hell isn’t just a new address. It’s a better experience. No more standing in line to order. We’re tripling the seating, adding a lot more bar seats and tables, and making it so big groups can actually fit comfortably, without the current ‘large table’ that seats six if nobody breathes. And even though I’m stepping into sole ownership, this isn’t a one-person show. I’m bringing a team with me, the people who have helped shape Hell into what it is. The standards, the ideas, the creativity, the execution. This place has always been built by a hive mind, and I want it to stay that way.”
The 1526 Blake building is also home to Samosa Shop, which has operated out of the kitchen on the first floor for two years. Owner Dave Hadley says he’s not closing up shop just yet, but he has plans to move to a different location in RiNo in 2026.
“That original Hell space did its job,” Healy says. “It gave Hell a heartbeat. But we outgrew it fast, and we have needed a bigger boat for a couple of years now. It is also one of the oldest buildings in Denver, which is part of the romance and all of the headache. There was a bigger space downstairs, but turning that into a proper tiki bar would have taken a level of money that self-funded weirdos simply don’t have. I’m proud of what we built there. I’m also done pretending it’s the right container for what Hell is becoming.”
At the new location, “Hell or High Water is the focus,” Healy concludes. “It’s the concept I travel with and the one I want to push to its full potential. I’m building the full version: a space that holds every obsession and inspiration I’ve ever had, and a bar program that competes at the highest level without toning down what makes it ours. Still unholy. Still phallic. Still filthy as ever, just dialed in with precision.”
Honor Farm and Hell or High Water are located at 1526 Blake Street and will be open for two more weekends to say goodbye. For more information and updates about hours, follow @hellorhightiki and @honorfarmdenver on Instagram.
