Restaurants

Historic Denver Pushing Petition to Save Tavern Uptown Building

Historic Denver has weighed in on plans for a new, mixed-use, eight-story project that would be built on the 1.5 acre site of the current Tavern Uptown, at 538 East 17th Avenue, complete with a brand-new Tavern occupying the same ground-floor corner of the block —  but with a rooftop...
By Patricia CalhounJuly 24, 2015
Carbonatix Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Carbonatix

And Frank Schultz, CEO of Tavern Hospitality Group, is more than willing to have those conversations — but points out that “I sold the land to Southern Land, and they did their due diligence.”  Southern Land, the entity that had applied for that demolition permit, is amenable to talking with the city and Historic Denver, too, Schultz says.

Tavern Hospitality Group has had similar conversations before. When it bought an old storefront on South Pearl Street, neighbors wanted to make sure that THG preserved the building (among other things). THG worked with both the neighborhood and Historic Denver on its plans, but ultimately there wasn’t enough building to save. An entirely new structure at 1475 South Pearl housing a brand-spanking-new Tavern Platt Park is slated to be completed in September.

Under the terms of the Southern Land deal, Schultz and THG will oversee the retail portion of the project that’s being built on the East 17th Avenue site — and that includes another brand-spanking new Tavern that will be built on the same corner where it is today. “I wouldn’t mind walking in the same door,” says Schultz, “but it isn’t up to me.”

The current Tavern Uptown will be open until early in 2016 (hopefully through the next Super Bowl, says Schultz), when construction on the project will begin — depending on what happens with the move to preserve the building:  There’s now a link to a Save the Tavern petition on historicdenver.org.

Editor's Picks

GET MORE COVERAGE LIKE THIS

Sign up for the Food & Drink newsletter to get the latest stories delivered to your inbox

Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12’s public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

patricia.calhoun@westword.com
Food & Drink Editor Molly Martin If you value independent journalism, please consider making a contribution to support our continued coverage of Denver’s evolving dining scene and the latest culinary innovations our community offers.
Support Today

Loading latest posts...