Westword
Audio By Carbonatix
Marilyn Megenity started the forerunner of the Mercury Cafe in Indian Hills fifty years ago. Fifteen years, a few names and many locations later, it moved to its current home at 2199 California Street, where it remained a cultural mainstay and community gathering place.
Looking at retirement, Megenity sold the building and business in 2021, but between COVID and other challenges, the new incarnation never caught on. Last August, Danny Newman said that the new owners were putting the Merc up for sale while they looked at their options. Now they’ve found one: Dom Garcia and Ashlee Cassity, who opened lesbian speakeasy Pearl Divers in December, are leasing the place and transforming it into The Pearl in April. “Our goal is not to revive the location, but to make it thrive in a way that is responsible and ethically aligned with our values,” they say in a social media post. “We want to give fresh life to this space, honoring its rich history as a treasured gathering spot for Denver’s LGBTQIA+ community and beyond.” Unfortunately, they can’t keep the name, “due to the current owners shutting down the Mercury Cafe not only in business but in name.”
The loss of the name is just one of the concerns expressed by Merc fans on the Westword Facebook post of the news. Says Andrew:
I know this gets said a lot in Denver, but this truly is the end of an era. The Merc was an institution and personally, it was a place that helped form me as a person. I spent way too much time there in high school. I fostered one of my dearest and closest friendships at countless late-night poetry slams and swing dances. I haven’t lived in Denver in years, but I still remember the smell of the ballroom upstairs and the creak of the floorboards. Goodbye, Merc, I’ll miss you forever.
Adds Richard:
Honestly, one of the few great places for folks under 21 to hang out. I have a ton of great memories of going to the Merc often at that age. It’s incredibly sad to lose this institution that fostered artistic development in so many ways and have it replaced by yet another place to consume alcohol.
Suggests Graeme:
It’s going to lose everything it was and be another failed bar. The Merc will always hold a special place in the hearts of people who grew up here. Progress should be progressive, not another shitty reimagining of a once great place.
Offers Miles:
The end of another holy place in Denver. This city is losing its soul.
Adds Don:
It should be illegal to change the name of this iconic Denver landmark.
Counters Tim:
Good for the other business, but end of an era for anybody that’s been in Denver as long as I have.
Replies Izzy:
So excited to see what The Pearl does – I know they’ll take great care of the Merc!
Concludes Latisha:
Never had the chance to go to the Mercury, but it seems that it was loved. Now support the only lesbian bar in Denver.
What will you remember about the Mercury? Post a comment or share your thoughts at editorial@westword.com.
