No-Frills Midwest Bar Larimer Liquors Is Coming to RiNo

We recently released our list of the Top 100 Bars in Denver, and among the picks is Gold Point in RiNo, one of several watering holes owned by Sudhir Kudva and his investment team.

The group's latest project, Larimer Liquors, is set to open soon in a former tattoo shop next door to Gold Point in the next few months. Located at 3122 Larimer Street, it will be a no-frills Midwestern bar with a daily happy hour from 4 to 8 p.m. Beers such as Hamm's and Busch Light and simple mixed cocktails will be served in heavy glassware — frozen mugs for the beer and oversized shot glasses for the shooters, for example — and hot dogs kept warm on a roller will be on offer for a few bucks.

The bar will be open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday and 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Because Kudva originally hails from Illinois and another owner, Colin Hankins, is from Nebraska, they are promoting the new spot as a University of Nebraska Huskers and Chicago Bears bar. Kudva clarifies that he's first and foremost a Broncos fan, but points out that every bar in Denver is a Broncos bar. Larimer Liquors will only have two televisions and a projector; it intends to be a more passive sports bar, with the sound on low. "It's going to be a warm, cozy, chill sports spot," Kudva says.

Kudva's entourage of investors is mostly made up of former and current employees of his five other bar ventures, which, in addition to Gold Point, include the Squire Lounge, the Matchbox, the Marigold and the 715 Club. The Larimer Liquors team includes Hankins, Corey Costello, Savanna Phibbs and Michael Reilly, who are each a co-owner at one or more of Kudva's other bars, as well as Caleb Sanford, who is a bartender at the 715 Club and the Matchbox.

Kudva says the Gold Point staff was originally upset that he planned to open Larimer Liquors next door to the cocktail lounge, but Kudva sees the neighboring spots as totally different. Gold Point is laid-back with some inexpensive beer choices, but its focus is seasonally rotating craft cocktails. The mixed drinks at Larimer Liquors will consist of just two ingredients, like a Jack and Coke. "If you want an Old Fashioned, something else fancy, we'll have the cocktails next door," he notes, nodding toward Gold Point.
This isn't the first time Kudva and his team have opened bars near each other. In March 2023, they debuted the Marigold, a gin cocktail bar that doubles as a plant store, across the street from the 715, a more music-focused dive.

If you think the name Larimer Liquors sounds more like a liquor store than a bar, you're right. In the 1960s, a liquor store called Larimer Liquor was at that address; it was owned by Conrad and Kathy Nuanes, who still own the building today. The awning for that store was still in the backroom in amazingly good shape.

When Kudva and his team took over the space from Urban Element Tattoo, which left about a year ago, they came across the awning and asked permission from the Nuaneses to use it and the name. Right now, the bright-blue awning has "Larimer Liquor" emblazoned on it in white letters; Kudva says they'll probably add an "s" to the end before the bar opens.

Reclaiming the name and the old awning fits Larimer Liquors' overall vibe. The dive is likely to feel like your grandmother's vintage basement, with wood paneling behind the bar and a curated selection of tchotchkes adorning the shelves. The team also plans to showcase a few items found in the back with the old awning — some photos of Larimer Street taken decades ago, and a memento piece of rail tie saved from a nearby line that was pulled up.

Kudva hopes Larimer Liquors will open before the end of the year and is pretty confident that will happen, despite the city's current reputation for delaying small businesses with its long permitting and inspection process.