So Many Roads Museum and Brewery Has Reached the End of the Road

On April 27, embattled Grateful Dead venue and brewery So Many Roads announced that it was closing. Officially.

"May you find a peaceful place to call home, a place to dance and gather, and a place full of love," it posted on Facebook. "Please remember the beautiful nights at Roads. May you find a Road to ease your souls."

The brewery, at 918 West First Avenue, had been closed from October 1 to December 29 after another liquor-license violation in a series of dust-ups with the city, when former owner Jay Bianchi served a beer to an undercover cop who was not of drinking age. When it reopened, Bianchi — who still spoke for and was deeply involved in the bar, despite selling it in 2020 while facing sexual-assault allegations — said it wouldn't be open for long.

Although Bianchi said its final run would end in January, the venue continued to host concerts for the next several months. But on April 16, Bianchi was arrested by the Denver Police Department at So Many Roads in connection with three cases related to sexual misconduct in 2020 and 2024.

Bianchi is still being held in the Downtown Detention Center. He has a bond hearing on May 14; his bond has been set at $250,000.

On May 2, the DPD revealed that it had received information that there might have been additional incidents involving the 55-year-old Bianchi, who's now been charged with six felony counts: two counts of Sexual Assault – No Consent, two counts of Sexual Assault – Victim Incapable, and two counts of Sexual Assault – Victim Helpless (F3), as well as three misdemeanor counts of Unlawful Sexual Contact. (Anyone who thinks they may have been a victim of Bianchi can call the Denver Police Sex Crimes Unit at 720-913-6040.)

After a final set of 4/20 shows, So Many Roads — which also billed itself as a museum — began selling much of its Grateful Dead memorabilia on Facebook Marketplace. Many suspected it did so to raise funds for Bianchi's bail; neither Bianchi nor Tyler Bishop, who took over the bar from Bianchi four years ago, could be reached for comment.

On Facebook, many people shared happy memories of So Many Roads — while others said that Bianchi had been allowed to get away with too much for too long.

"Hopefully the victims can get the justice and closure they deserve," one wrote. "What’s been allowed to go on at his bars over the years is inexcusable. Everyone defending Jay and not acknowledging what he did are complicit in everything that’s happened."

According to the Denver Department of Excise & Licenses, So Many Roads has not yet relinquished its liquor license, which is not up for renewal until May 16.

So Many Roads and its sister bar, Sancho's Broken Arrow, were frequently in trouble with both Excise & Licenses and the Denver City Attorney's Office. Sancho's, which also started out as a Bianchi bar, closed for good in 2022 after the City Attorney's Office began investigating it as a public nuisance after bartenders sold cocaine.

That same year, So Many Roads admitted to three separate violations of state law related to serving alcohol to a minor. In its settlement with the city, it agreed to close for all of November 2022. That settlement stated that if the venue was found in violation of the law again, it would have to close for even longer, which led to its closures in late 2023.

Now it looks like So Many Roads has truly reached the end of the road, although Bianchi's trip through the legal system is just beginning.  "No place left to go, ain't that a shame?" the venue's final Facebook post reads. "Fare you well, fare you well."

This story has been updated to include the latest charges against Jay Bianchi, and the DPD's interest in additional victims.