Colfax Dive Satellite Bar Has a New Owner With a Familiar Face

Michael John celebrated New Year's Day by officially becoming the co-owner of Satellite Bar, at 308 East Colfax Avenue. But the patrons of the longstanding Capitol Hill dive will be celebrating something else: the return of a familiar face behind the taps.

"I started bartending here on my 25th birthday, so that was sixteen years ago," John says. "I worked here for fourteen years, but I left in 2022. After COVID, I just needed a break."

During that hiatus, John kept busy. In addition to running his own screen-printing business, the T-Shirt Factory, he worked one shift a week at Highland Tavern. The Highland's co-owner, Brian Sommatino, also co-owned Satellite with his business partner, Luke Harrison — until Harrison sold his fifty-percent stake in Satellite to John late last year.

"Once I found out about Luke wanting to retire and get out of the Satellite," John says, "I decided it was time to try and come back."

Satellite opened in 2007 in the space once occupied by the Congress Lounge, one of Denver's old-school watering holes for state legislators and staff who worked on the Hill. But Satellite updated its image and became a rare animal on East Colfax: a proudly self-described dive bar that was, well, actually clean and decent-smelling.
John intends to preserve that vibe. "Right now, I'm the change and I'm the variable, so I want to try to do new things in a very slow, incremental, methodical manner. I'm not trying to change the whole place overnight. I think that's a good way of alienating your clientele," he says.

Accordingly, Satellite's hours — from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. — will remain unchanged, though John says he's thinking about switching to a 2 p.m. opening, should demand warrant it. Since the only snacks historically available at the bar have been bagged chips and pickled eggs, he's exploring options for serving burritos or pizza supplied by outside vendors, "So we can at least provide some real nourishment for people," he notes.

One thing, however, has already changed since John became co-owner: He's back behind the bar, picking up the Wednesday and Friday shifts to welcome new faces and reacquaint himself with the old, including the roster of government types that still make Satellite their happy-hour joint of choice.

Not that John is unaware of the challenges he faces. Satellite's front door opens onto the intense and disruptive construction happening on East Colfax — a byproduct of the expansive BRT project that will create a bus-dedicated center lane down the middle of the avenue from Capitol Hill to Aurora. Every other storefront on the block between Grant Street and Logan Street save for Capitol Hill Books is vacant, and most are boarded up.

"There's less appeal to this area than there used to be. It makes things a little challenging," John admits. "But I think that we're poised to be here once things start to pick back up again, after the revitalization they're doing on Colfax is done. I mean, if all goes according to plan, right?

"I've been saying the word 'hope' a lot lately," he adds, "and I hope that's not coming across as naiveté. But I am optimistic for the future. The Satellite has been here so long, I feel like it's an institution. I think it's imperative that somebody stick around on this block, and I think we are in a position where we can make that happen."

For more information, call 303-832-3488 or visit satellitebardenver.com.