Facing Pandemic-Era Challenges, the Kentucky Inn Sees a Path to Success in Wash Park

Like so many bar and restaurant owners, Jim Armstrong is facing a new reality these days. "Delivering quality food for a reasonable price right now is harder than at any point in history," he notes.

And Armstrong, who owns both the Kentucky Inn, at 890 South Pearl Street, and Bender's Bar & Grill, at 10710 Westminster Boulevard in Westminster, is not wrong. A New York Times report earlier this week showed that the Consumer Price Index, a measurement of the change in the price of goods and services, rose 7.5 percent this January. That figure marks the highest rate since the early ’80s.

Combined with the strain of the pandemic on the supply chain, 98 percent of Denver restaurants reported experiencing disruptions in January, and 54 percent are facing permanent closure in the next year if conditions continue, according to a survey from the Colorado Restaurant Association.

Amid a string of recent closures, including favorites like the Irish Snug and Owlbear, Armstrong believes the Kentucky Inn has managed to find a path through the pandemic and beyond. It all starts with the Wash Park faithful, who trickle in from the surrounding area and businesses in waves for lunch, happy hour and dinner.

"I just love this little neighborhood. ... You need a place a block or two away to go hang out, have a burger and a couple beers," Armstrong says. He purchased the Kentucky Inn in 2016, completely renovating the historic dive with a 21st-century makeover while leaving some memorable nods to the past. Armstrong's landlord believes the building has been a bar since at least the ’30s, when it was called the Pearl Street Pub. Despite the facelift, Armstrong thinks the Kentucky's dive roots are alive and well. "Movie theaters are nicer. Truck stops are nicer. Everything is nicer. That's just kind of the world we live in now," he adds.
One of Armstrong's first goals with the Kentucky was creating its now well-known food menu, which he credits partially for the bar's sustained success through the pandemic. Armstrong's go-to is the green chile, which is made using a recipe he got from his business partner and former owner of the now-closed CityGrille, Rich Salturelli. "This is Denver, and every restaurant worth its soup knows it has to have good green chile. You can't fake it," Armstrong notes.

The rest of the menu features a mix of influences, largely of Southern and Midwestern bar favorites like burgers, cheese curds and walleye. "I call it bistro Americana," Armstrong jokes. "Maybe that's what saved us, that I just insist on having quality food," he says about making it through the hurdles of the past two years.

The beer list has been another area of expansion, with the Kentucky going from four to twenty beers on tap under Armstrong's watch. "I like being a hop-head hangout," he says.

"You have got to pay attention. There's not one item that has not gone up in price the last year. ... You've got to know what the numbers are and where you're getting killed," Armstrong says. Chicken wings, a mainstay at the Kentucky Inn — which has become an unofficial Packers watch bar — have reached more than double the pre-pandemic cost on multiple occasions. While prices fluctuate, "there were times you were losing a significant amount of money serving them. It has just forced every bar in town to raise prices somewhat. We are very judicious with that, and the public has been very accepting of that," he adds.

Armstrong is accustomed to paying attention to ongoing events; he was a sports columnist at the Denver Post for decades before venturing into restaurants. "I'm an information junkie," he notes. He credits the CRA for providing clear guidance through changes in COVID regulations, price fluctuations and other challenges.
Armstrong's last secret for navigating the contemporary restaurant landscape is a bit more intuitive; investing time and energy into the Kentucky Inn. "You have to have an emotional attachment to the place and your employees and the neighborhood, and I'm certainly all of the above," he explains.

In the era of COVID, Armstrong thinks the neighborhood bar is more important than ever. "There's like twenty, thirty or forty [regulars] within two, three blocks. They walk down here and know they're going to get a good meal," he concludes. "Everybody's been working from home the past couple years. Cold beer and a burger sounds pretty good after you've been sitting around the house all day."