Mary Jane's Pizza Replaced by Hungry Bear Kitchen at the Denver Wrangler

Last month, we reported that the Denver Wrangler, now located at 3090 Downing Street, had kicked out Mary Jane's Pizza, the late-night pizza kitchen that had opened just a few weeks after the longtime gay bar debuted in its new home in August. (Jay Bianchi is opening Be On Key Psychelic Ripple in the Wrangler's former spot at 1700 Logan Street.) At the time, Mary Jane's co-owner Greg Kennedy told us that he would try to keep the business running, but that he feared it was a losing proposition. Now the abrupt expulsion appears to be permanent: The Wrangler has a sign for the Hungry Bear Kitchen on the food-service side of the building, which has a separate entrance from the club itself.

According to the Wrangler's Facebook page, the Hungry Bear (no relation to the Hungry Bear Restaurant at Disneyland in California or even to the Hungry Bear breakfast eatery in Woodland Park, but instead a reference to the bar's clientele) is now serving pizza, salads, sandwiches and soups from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily (for dine-in, pickup and delivery orders).

Meanwhile, Kennedy was finally able to get into the building on November 2 to recover equipment and other possessions that belonged to Mary Jane's. He has hired legal counsel to resolve outstanding financial issues between Mary Jane's and the Wrangler.

Mary Jane's Pizza has now been ousted from its home twice this year. Kennedy and his partner, David Llanos, were forced to close the original location at 2013 West 32nd Avenue when the Dickinson Plaza building was sold; it was demolished in July

Neither Kennedy nor the Wrangler's owner, Chris Dawkins, could be reached for comment about the recent changes at 3090 Downing.