Colfax Dive Nob Hill Inn Took Back-to-Back Hits This Month

March came in like a lion for Nob Hill Inn, a beloved dive bar that’s been pouring drinks at 420 East Coflax Avenue since 1954.

In the morning on Friday, March 1, bartender Liam Stern, 32, scooted out of Argonaut after picking up a few cocktail provisions before his shift. His rental scooter crossed paths with an SUV in the parking lot, leaving Stern with a broken tibia and a shattered ankle. The citation for reckless driving only added insult to injury.

The next evening, Stern was recuperating from surgery at Denver Health. “I was laying in my hospital bed and decided to check the cameras at the Nob to see what was going on,” he says. “And I just see an abandoned bar top, glasses left, you know, tabs open, the whole bar is empty. There’s smoke, and there’s siren lights pulsing through the stained glass. I’m freaking out – like, I didn’t know if there was a shooting or what the hell happened.”

What happened was a two-alarm fire that began two doors down at Duman’s Custom Tailor, which has been outfitting chefs and servers for six decades across two generations. The flames forced the evacuation of buildings along the 400 block of Colfax, including Great Wall Chinese Restaurant. Twenty vehicles and 66 fire personnel responded to the blaze, according to Denver Fire Department Public Information Officer Captain John Chism. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Christy Simonsen was behind the bar that evening, as she has been most Saturday nights for the past twelve years. “So, it was like a normal Saturday night and everyone was out back smoking,” recounted Simonsen. “One of the regulars came in and said, ‘Christy, get the fire extinguisher. It sounds like a Molotov cocktail just hit the back of the building, and there’s flames everywhere.’

He ran over and tried to put it out and [the fire extinguisher] didn’t even touch it. I ran out front to see what was going on. There was a guy up and down the street saying to get everyone out of the building now. Then the windows upstairs started popping and I was like, ‘Oh, fuck.’ So I got everyone out of the building.”

After wiping down the walls and airing things out, the Nob reopened for business on March 3. There is no word when (or if) Duman’s will reopen. In the meantime, a GoFundMe has been set up to assist with Stern’s medical bills and loss of income.

“I guess a lot of people think that we’re closed. but we’re not. But it’s been a rough couple of crazy days in the Nobisphere,” says Stern. “And I think this happened on Bart’s birthday, too,” he adds, referring to Bart Case, a much-loved bartender who passed away last year. His birthday was March 4.

Despite the pain and a long recovery ahead, Stern is trying to remain optimistic. “It sucks. It definitely sucks. I’m just trying to look on the bright side, you know, like it could have been my head under the [SUV] wheels, my hands, my spine, but it was my leg in the end,” he says. “It was my least favorite leg. So it’s fine.”