Big Win for Fans of Hot Chicken and TRVE Brewing

Back in 2021, Fort Collins-based Music City Hot Chicken made its Denver debut when it opened inside TRVE Brewing at 227 Broadway. But last summer, the brewery shut down, leaving the hot chicken joint’s future in the Mile High uncertain.

Ultimately, it opted to stay open through the summer with limited hours, and last September, it officially took over TRVE’s lease. But there was one major issue: Music City had to reapply for a liquor license.

In the meantime, it’s only been open on Thursday evenings as well as all day on Fridays and Saturdays, and has been bringing in beer for service using festival permits from New Image Brewing, which has continued to produce TRVE’s beer for Colorado distribution. (After closing in Denver, TRVE moved to Asheville, North Carolina, but has since shut down that operation as well.)

At long last, Music City is now one signature away from acquiring its own liquor license, which will allow it to expand its hours and beverage program, including bringing in the entire TRVE Brewing lineup.

“We’re trying to tiptoe and be careful about what kind of changes we make because we do like the culture and the vibe that TRVE created over the last thirteen years, and we don’t want to change too much and discourage some of the regulars that have grown to really make that place like a home away from home,” says Music City co-owner Sam Graf. “We’re trying to walk that line of being respectful to TRVE and not make it feel like a Frankenstein situation or a Weekend at Bernie’s, while also trying to work our own kind of feel into it.”

Music City also plans to being in brews from other local breweries as well as cocktails like those offered at its Fort Collins location. “It’ll still be TRVE beer-forward, the spot if you want to get all the TRVE beers that are being produced, we’ll have all those available,” Graf says. “I do believe that beer is largely what makes that space and what drew the people to come and find us initially. I’m ecstatic that it’s back and that it’s gonna continue to be produced.”


He’s seen a lot of TRVE regulars come back since the closure last summer, and Music City aims to honor the dearly departed brewery while also claiming the space as its own. The existing kitchen and menu will largely remain the same. Changes will come slowly, Graf notes, as the team gets a feel for what the neighborhood wants from the space, just as they have in Fort Collins.

“We kind of start with a really broad idea, and what it turns into is largely based on the clientele that decided to come in,” he says. “We want to be careful not to impose what we want to be on the people and just really listen to the customer feedback and really listen to what they’re looking for in a local neighborhood hang. How much we keep and how much we change will largely depend on what our customers want.”

The liquor license could come through any day now; once it does, fans can expect a grand reopening in the weeks to follow. Once it’s back full force, Music City plans to be open five days a week, or more once summer arrives.

While TRVE Brewing’s days of maintaining a taproom are behind it, founder Nick Nunns says he’s happy to have a reliable partner in New Image to maintain the brand’s standards and footprint along the Front Range, and to have Music City interested in maintaining a level of continuity in the space that TRVE built for over more than a decade.

“I’m stoked that those guys were able to take over that space. I’m just excited for them to be taking it over and giving the location their own influence,” Nunns says. “It’s nice that they want to kind of honor our history there. The crux of it is that they’re maintaining that throughline: Yeah, it used to be TRVE. It’s not anymore, but you can still get TRVE beers here, and that’s cool. And we just want that to be available to folks.”


For updates on Music City’s grand reopening, follow it on Instagram @mchcden.