A new bar that is opening on St. Patrick’s Day promises tons of green — of the botanical variety. Marigold Plants & Spirits will open Friday, March 17, in the heart of Five Points at 2721 Welton Street.

It is the latest endeavor for Sudhir Kudva and his entourage of investors — mostly individuals who have worked in Kudva’s other bars: Squire Lounge, Matchbox, Gold Point and the 715 Club, which is across Welton from the new addition.

Marigold is run by a collective of eight investors, including Kudva and Spencer Foreman, who manages marketing for the group of bars and created the two bright murals in the space with Max Coleman.

Other investors include Savanna Phibbs, Gold Point’s manager; Colin Hankins, who is part owner of Gold Point; Johnny Mayer, who is the manager of Squire Lounge; and Corey Costello and Michael Reilly, both part owners of the 715 Club and Gold Point. Kudva’s friend Genevieve Shifrin is also investing in Marigold and handles social media for the bars.
This opening is long awaited. Kudva took over the space in February 2021 and expected to debut Marigold within a year. But delays with construction plans and inspections brought that timeline to two years, including a final, unexpected holdup in February when he was told the interior stairs needed to be reconstructed after they were found to be 1/8 inch under code requirements. There was also some confusion with the state liquor license. “It’s a palpable relief and a weight off my shoulders,” says Kudva about finally welcoming guests.

The space includes a thirty-person bar, two small lounge areas and some high-top seating; when it's warm, access will be added to the rooftop bar, the only one on Welton Street. But the highlight is the multitude of plants, which are available for purchase.

It even has a dedicated plant curator, Lauren Silver, who has lined the ceiling with hanging planters and built a living moss wall. The plants for sale include small cacti and fuzzy succulents, drooping strings of turtles and leafy hanging plants. Each is priced between $10 and $100, depending on size and type, and guests can opt to take home a four-pack of plants as well.
Come summer, Marigold will have grown up and out. Once the landscaping is complete, the bar will open its back doors to a Zen garden, which will include a long water feature and a pollinator garden with a few tables scattered throughout. Kudva is clear that this is really a Zen garden, with minimal seating in order to create a quieter urban space than one might expect.

Although Marigold will have all the normal beverages found behind a bar, its specialty is botanicals. General manager Mary Canon is a gin fanatic. Even if you don’t like gin, she says, she's confident that she can concoct a drink that will change your mind. The tonic is housemade, and most of the cocktails on the menu will be gin splits — made with gin and another liquor.

“The point is to open people’s minds to gin,” Canon notes. And for those who are already gin fans, Marigold will have three-pour gin flights featuring Monkey 47 gin and two other rotating options.

The food selections are minimal, with only snacks and instant mac and cheese available, but menus from nearby eateries Famous Original J’s Pizza and Duke’s Good Sandwiches will be available.
The generously long happy hour, with $1 off wine, wells and drafts, runs from 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 4 to 8 p.m. during the week, and the $7 beer-and-shot special will always be on the menu.

The Marigold team is planning to host plant workshops and live music, and anticipates offering its space as part of the Five Points Jazz Festival in the summer.

Kudva isn’t worried about having two bars on Welton Street, because the bars are very different: The 715 Club is more of a dark dive bar with a side of dancing. And he likes being in the area. “We are all local, we all live here, and we want to be a partner in Welton Street’s improvement,” he explains.

"We’ve opened a number of bars, and they usually take about nine months," Kudva notes. "We’ve been working on Marigold for two years." But now it's finally ready to bloom.

Marigold is located at 2721 Welton Street and is open from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday and 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, follow @marigolddenver on Instagram.