Caribbean-Inspired Cocktail Lounge Emerald Eye Opening in Larimer Square Today

“We love to build hidden basement bars that create this sort of escape,” says Jamie Shen, director of communications for Pouring With Heart. The California-based group is opening Emerald Eye cocktail lounge at 1403 Larimer Street on July 20, adding to its other Denver ventures — whiskey bar Seven Grand and American Bonded, which reopened under Pouring With Heart's proprietorship in February.

The space operated as the Crimson Room for six years before shuttering in 2020. Fast-growing hospitality group Handsome Boys then opened two pop-up bars there in 2021, and Disco Pig in 2022, which has since moved to 1414 Larimer Street.

There have been a lot of changes all over Larimer Square since it was purchased by Asana Partners in December 2020. But Shen says, “We're not worried. I think being a part of Larimer Square is such a great opportunity, and like the rest of our bars, we really just want to cultivate community and become a gathering place for the neighborhood and for travelers.”
Emerald Eye will be open nightly from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. “We're thinking during the week, it's going to be this small, sexy cocktail bar, and then during the weekends, it'll sort of transform into more of a party atmosphere,” explains Shen. Dancing is to be expected on the weekends, with DJs playing upbeat reggae and Jamaican dancehall tracks.

“I think the design itself is more on the elevated side," adds Shen. "The dark, tropical theme sort of lends itself to a playful nighttime feel.” Glossy green tile, vintage-inspired lighting and botanical wallpaper with a moody palette are key features of the interior. Artwork depicting tropical themes adds to the transportive experience, and eye-shaped motifs give a nod to the bar’s name.
The ambience complements the Caribbean-inspired beverage offerings. There will not be any food served at the bar; instead, general manager Noel Pedraza says that the cocktail menu “will feature modern riffs on a few classic cocktails, as well as some original cocktails from our bar team.” He adds, “We’re focusing on rum and agave spirits, and flavors from Central/South America and the Caribbean, but we’ll have a collection of all other spirits as well. Wine offerings will be limited, but we’ll cover all of the bases," including bottled beers.

Shen says that her favorite is the milk punch, clarified with coconut milk. The Emerald Eye’s take on the cocktail “[builds] on historic milk punch recipes that go back to the early 1700s," Pedraza explains, and will combine a "funky Indonesian rum," Batavia Arrack, as well as pineapple and a blend of genmaicha and tropical fruit teas.

Along with crafting cocktails, Pouring With Heart is also fixated on a greater mission: “Our venues, from employees to guests, are people-focused,” says Denver director of operations Erbin Garcia.

The hospitality group’s website adds, “Pouring With Heart is a company driven to change the perception of what working in bars means, and solidify once and for all that this is a damn fine career that is honorable and noble.”
The business currently boasts more than thirty establishments in California, Texas and Colorado, and aims to create 2,030 careers by 2030.

“A big part of that is changing the industry as a whole," Shen elaborates. "By creating these careers and these opportunities for our people, we believe there's a huge ripple effect. It affects not only our teams, but the industry as a whole, and the communities that we serve as a whole.”

Pouring With Heart doesn’t have further expansion plans in Colorado at this time, though Shen confirms, “We would love to continue to expand in Denver.” Its next openings include a brewery in San Antonio, along with a basement-level bar in downtown Los Angeles.

Building careers is “something that we're extremely passionate about," she concludes, "and I hope that that translates in the bar experience.”