The Saint Mary Bar Is Keeping the Dive Bar Feel of Barry's Intact on Broadway

Broadway has long been home to many beloved dives, particularly in the stretch that passes through the Baker neighborhood. But recently, those blocks have welcomed an emerging upscale cocktail scene, with spots like the L, Pretty Neat and the upcoming La Forêt, which is set to debut in the former Beatrice & Woodsley space next month.

The area has also seen the addition of some chains that feel a bit too shiny and corporate, including Vegas-based Chubby Cattle, Dave's Hot Chicken and even Snooze — which was founded in Denver but now has more than sixty locations in states across the U.S.

So when a longtime dive-bar favorite, Barry's on Broadway, closed at the end of September after a two-decade run, a lot of regulars (including myself) mourned the loss while worrying about what would become of that location.

As it turns out, there was no need to worry: A longtime Barry's employee took it over, reopening 58 Broadway on December 1 as the Saint Mary Bar. "I worked here for over ten years," says Becca Roman. "They let me go during the pandemic, so at that point, I started to think about what it would look like to have this space, because this was my first bartending job. I love the people, I love the neighborhood, I loved everything about it."

She knew that owner Barry Zadikoff's twenty-year lease was almost up, she adds, "so I started doing legwork to see what that would look like."

Roman partnered with another longtime bar pro on the venture, Melanie Brush, whose résumé includes running bars with Making Regulars, the group behind such spots as the Horseshoe Lounge, Dew Drop Inn and Pairadice.

The two met at Barry's while Roman was working there, and they share a passion for making sure its dive-bar appeal remains intact. Last spring, Brush decided to "step away" from Making Regulars to "look for a new adventure," she says.
That's when she got the call from Roman. "It was perfect timing," Brush recalls, "because that was right when I realized I might be in over my head, and what better partner than someone with all of her experience?"

"The two of us together, we've got it covered," Brush adds.

The name is "a nod to a couple of different people in our past who have molded us into who we are in this business. ... It just turned into a very important name that reminds us of how we got here and the people that have pushed us here," Roman explains.

Saint Mary has a fresh coat of black paint with some diamond-shaped accents on the walls; the carpet was pulled up and black-and-white tiles installed in its place, inspired by the floor of the old Skylark. But much of the bones of Barry's remain, including the original bar, which has been in place for decades. "The bar staying was a big piece for us. There were maybe 100 places that had this same bar in Denver, and I believe this is one of two that survived," Roman says. "I think a lot of people would've come in and that's the first thing they would have changed. But not for us — for us, this is old-school Denver."

The Barry's sign still hangs outside, too. "That neon represents the neighborhood, the bar," Roman notes. "It's such an iconic sign. We didn't want to rip it down until we were able to put something else up. It might be confusing to people — but for us, it's carrying on the tradition of the bar."

There are plans to replace the sign eventually, but "it's important to find something that looks like it's been here forever," Brush says.
The Skee-Ball machine and pool table are still in the back room, as well. While the comfy black booths remain, they've been lifted a bit, and there are a few more feminine touches, like the star-shaped light fixtures and pink barstools that have a bit of sparkle. "Everything's the same — just a little bit updated and a little bit cleaner," says Roman, who did much of the work herself with the help of friends and fans of the bar. "It was a community project, for sure."

"People really like it," Brush adds. "Especially at night, when we keep it super dark, it looks like it could have been here for fifty years already, and that's what we were going for. ... Our tagline is 'It's just a bar.'"

"That's what we're trying to do here...keep it a dive bar," Roman concludes. "Keep it owned by people who have worked in this industry and been on this street forever. ... We just want everyone to know we're here, we're open, we're keeping the same vibe, and everybody's welcome. We're just trying to be part of the neighborhood."

Saint Mary is located at 58 Broadway and open from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily. For more information, visit thesaintmarybar.com.