After a long run as Joe's Buffet, the building at 753 Santa Fe Drive went through a number of incarnations, including Club Mystery, Club 753 and, most recently, the Sound Kitchen. Now Marcus Giavanni has taken over the three-story, 15,000-square-foot space, which he's dubbed The Cow — as in "cash cow."
But the venue, which opened last week in time for First Friday, will live up to its name in another way: Giavanni, who says he bought the rights to the Joe's Buffet name, will also serve the dish that joint made famous — the Mexican hamburger — in the ground-floor dining area, which will be open seven days a week. The back of that level will be a sports bar, and that's where Giavanni will broadcast his radio shows on Streaming Radio USA.
Instead of following in the footsteps of LoDo sports bars that dedicate themselves to the home teams, he plans to go after fans of visiting teams, including the Chicago Bears this weekend and the New England Patriots next week. "I'm going to go with the guys who are traveling with the teams and the people," Giavanni says. "There are a lot of fans here who watch the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears. There are more fans here for the other teams than there are for the Broncos, so I figured I'd capitalize on that group of people."
But Giavanni wants to make the Cow about much more than sports and burgers. In his grandiose plans, every Wednesday will be Ladies Lockdown, when male dancers and performers will do skits and strip for two or three shows a night; these events will be billed as networking events, so that the women can talk about women's issues and take home appropriate gift bags. Thursday night, dubbed Le Girls, will be devoted to burlesque, with up to fifteen women performing mini-Broadway shows.
A new stage was built on the second floor to accommodate what Giavanni envisions as a steady stream of local acts on the weekends, including Dio Rising, the Dio tribute band in which he sings. Next to the live-music room is a space that will eventually have two bars, with concerts from the '70s through the '90s projected on the walls. Giavanni hopes to use a third room in the back as a spot for clothing and electronics vendors.
And come spring, Giavanni plans to open the 5,000-square-foot deck on the roof of the Cow, which has a 360-degree view — and could have a swimming pool. At the same time, he hopes to open a membership-only area in the basement, which will feature a Limo Suite that looks like the interior of a limousine, with flat-screen TVs showing cityscapes from various cities.
That's the Cow according to Giavanni...no bull.
Club scout: Jill, Jessica and Jennifer Emich, the trio of sisters who were behind the Trilogy Lounge in Boulder, are shooting to open Shine on Thursday, December 8, at 2027 13th Street, also in Boulder. The spot will serve local organic food and host live music on a regular basis in a "gathering space" that can seat 80 to 120 people.
