Three years into its nameless run, popular DU bar announces new name

In March 2023, Phil and Erika Zierke, owners of Englewood Grand, opened a second bar at 2043 S. University Blvd. Located in the former home of Asbury Provisions near the University of Denver, the new spot aimed to be a low-key space to gather and imbibe in a neighborhood known more for rowdy college hangs — nothing too out of the ordinary. Except the place had no name … until now.

“We’re not naming this one; it’s just for the neighborhood. Whatever people want to call it, whatever they want to tell their friends,” Phil Zierke told Westword at the time.

Three years in, that strategy “worked really well,” he says. “People found us. We have a really good neighborhood clientele; we’re their spot.” It even earned a Best of Denver award in 2024 for Best Bar Without a Name, and continued to gain new fans via old-school word of mouth and a successful mailer campaign.

But having no name did have limitations, especially in today’s technology-driven world. “It really revealed how different the world is from the one we grew up in,” Zierke notes. Even with an address in hand, some guests had trouble finding the place when meeting friends, he recalls. Even delivery drivers dropping off supplies have run into trouble locating the bar.

The nameless nature of the place led to some online confusion, as well. When a pair of patrons discovered that the bar wasn’t on Yelp yet, they left it its first reviews, dubbing it No Name Bar on the platform. “That was on Yelp for a long time, and I couldn’t get control of the Yelp account, and people were putting up reviews for the other bars down the street that had nothing to do with us,” Zierke says. After getting control of the Yelp account, “they still wouldn’t let me change the name, and then they finally called it Asbury Provisions — I broke their algorithm. They couldn’t comprehend that it doesn’t have a name.”

Google Maps was another issue, requiring a video with the bar’s sign for Zierke to add an accurate listing, which was impossible for a place with no name to put on a sign.

Zierke also found himself craving a better outlet to share neighborhood news and to support local events and other businesses in the area, like newcomer Thai Town. “They opened up, and they were fantastic, and they’re an amazing family. I was, like, oh my god, this food’s incredible. But I can’t just blast it out [on social media]. I felt completely limited. So it was like little things like that,” he explains, that led him to decide it’s time to give the beloved no-name bar an official moniker.

Introducing Redacted

Being a bar without a name “was cool because it created a community at the bar where people were actually off their phones, they’re interacting — just unplug and be in the real world,” Zierke says. “I had so many kids from DU that came in when they were finally 21, and they didn’t really have friends the whole time they were at DU. … They sit at the bar, and now there’s two of them, three of them, four of them, and now this is their friend group. That was the real deal thing that you get into this to try to do. That’s not changing because we have a name. It’s just going to be more of that.”

From visiting professors to grad students, the neighborhood has “a big transitional component,” Zierke notes, and having a name will make it easier for everyone to find the place and the community connection within it.

So on Aug. 13, over three years after its debut, the bar at 2043 S. University Blvd. officially introduced itself via Instagram as Redacted, a nod to its secret bar beginnings.

New neon signs hang in the windows, beckoning patrons inside for classic cocktails, a killer wine list, charcuterie, and $5 all-you-can-eat spaghetti during happy hour (3 to 5 p.m. daily).

“We used to just know when something opened up in the neighborhood, and we would go check it out and be, like, ‘That place is cool. This is where we’re drinking now.’ And so I was really happy that we did that, and it worked out,” Zierke concludes. But he’s also excited for the bar’s next era as Redacted.

What’s in a name? In this case, hopefully, a lot more good times with even more new friends.

Redacted is located at 2043 S. University Blvd. and is open from 3 p.m. to at least midnight daily. For more information, visit redactedbar.com or follow @redactedbar on Instagram.