Mass Construction: Two of Colfax's Most Beloved Bars Are in Peril

Love for Old Denver gets a lot of lip service, and for good reason. Many longstanding, even legendary Denver businesses and landmarks have disappeared over the past few years, thanks largely to rapid expansion, renovation and gentrification.

Two beloved Old Denver bars have held steady, however: the Squire Lounge at 1800 East Colfax Avenue and the Lion's Lair at 2022 East Colfax. Until now, that is.

"We're probably around 40 percent down from where we were a year ago," says Sudhir Kudva, one of the owners of the Squire, which doubles as a neighborhood bar and a music venue. "There's no parking. Foot traffic is down. Our visibility is gone. We're definitely feeling it. We had to lay off our manager and one of our music bookers, but bands still want to play here. I'm telling them, 'Hey, guys, I can't afford to pay you, pay a sound guy and pay a door guy to have your band play.'"

The culprit is obvious to anyone who's been on East Colfax lately: Bus Rapid Transit. The construction project, which broke ground last fall, is in the midst of transforming East Colfax. It will ultimately add a dedicated center lane that runs from downtown Denver to Aurora, the entire length of RTD's 15 route. But BRT comes at a cost far beyond the $150 million in federal money that's being poured into it. Small, independent, locally-owned business — which comprise the vast majority of the East Colfax economic corridor — are being sent into an economic tailspin by ripped-up roads, blocked sidewalks, heavy machinery and mazes of barricades that restrict parking and access

Denver Economic Development & Opportunity has introduced the Business Impact Opportunity Fund, which will award multiple rounds of grants to struggling businesses on East Colfax that can demonstrate significant losses tied directly to BRT construction. DEDO began accepting applications for the first round of BIO Fund grants on February 18, and that window closes on March 18.
Making the Squire's BRT-related woes worse is its location: It sits at the southeast corner of the intersection of East Colfax and Williams Street, which means it's at the spot where Segment 1 of BRT construction ends and Segment 2 begins. For Kudva, that's a formula for double the disruption, since the Squire may not yet be eligible to even apply for a grant.

"The Squire is in that unfortunate position," Kudva says. "No one has been able to tell us for sure if we are in Segment 1 or Segment 2. I think it might be Segment 2, since we're technically on the east side of Williams. So we're just going to apply for the Segment 1 grant, and if that doesn't work, we'll apply for Segment 2."

Even if Sudva wins a BIO Fund grant, though, he's not certain that the largest award — $15,000 for businesses that gross over $100,000 annually — will do much. "Trust me, I'm not going to turn down $15,000 if we can get it," he says. "But for two years of construction, that's not a lot of money. I'm not blaming the city; I understand that this is taxpayer money. I would rather not take that money at all and figure out something that works for us otherwise. But when it gets to the point where you're either going to be open or you're not, then your pride has to kind of go away. You're like, 'Okay, I'll take the money.'"

When it comes to the Lion's Lair, there's no ambiguity about its place in BRT's plan. Situated two and a half blocks east of the Squire, the Lair is solidly within Segment 2. That means the Lair will not be eligible to apply for a BIO Fund grant this time around; the application window for the second round of grants hasn't yet been announced. But the changes in this area are already starting.

"They took away all of the street parking out in front of my place," says Lair co-owner Tony Meggit. "I've lost at least 20 percent of my business because no one has a place to park. They're going to tear up my front sidewalk for months. The city wants us to use our back door for customers, which the homeless use as a bathroom. How in hell am I going to survive? Go down Colfax, and half the businesses are closing or are closed."

He points out an irony that he doesn't find funny: Earlier this month, he received a bill from the city charging the Lair $75 for "semi-annual sidewalk fees."

"We're terrified about what's going to happen," he says. "We're seeing many businesses take quite the hit from this project. Many aren’t going to make it. We cannot land on that list of closures. The good news is that Walgreens right next door to us said that we can send people to park in their large lot during construction. They just ask two things: please park in the back of the lot so that their customers have priority, and please do not leave cars overnight, but just until the bar closes. We cannot thank Walgreens enough for helping us out.

"We will need everyone’s support to make it," he adds. "Don't let this stop you from coming by. This is going to affect us for months to come. My bar is an amazing community of local musicians and artists. I've put my heart and soul into it for the last thirty years."

"The Squire's been around for almost a hundred years," Kudva says, "but I don't know if it'll make it past this. Do we sell it? Would anybody buy it? What's the hope of having a bar on Colfax right now for the next two years? Everybody complains about Old Denver going away, and that's because that model doesn't seem to work anymore. Increased property taxes, increased rents, Colfax construction, all these things just can't jive anymore. So if the City still wants some semblance of its history, they're going to have to do a lot more than give out a little bit of grants here and there."