L.A. Bar Team Bringing Semiprecious to Sunnyside

"I love dingy dive bars, but they don't all need to be dingy," says Mike Capoferri, who has proven that he knows a hell of a lot about bars. Now, he's bringing that expertise to Denver with neighborhood bar Semiprecious, which is set to open on Friday, May 9, at 2839 West 44th Avenue in Sunnyside.

Originally from Atlanta, Capoferri has worked in hospitality since the age of fourteen. A stint in the copywriting world brought him to Losa Angeles in 2010 for a gig — though he also worked as a bartender and "fell in love with the bar side," he recalls. In 2014, he started a consulting company and "took a break from making drinks to serve as a Campari ambassador" until 2019.

That gig included the opportunity to visit an average of 100 bars a month, and Denver was one of his focus markets. He made connections with local pros like Mary Allison Wright and McLain Hedges, owners of award-winning bar Yacht Club, which just landed at number 41 on the 2025 list of the 50 Best Bars in North America (up a spot from number 42 in 2023).

At number 24 on that same list is Thunderbolt, Capoferri's first bar, which he opened in L.A. in 2019. The brand identity for that venture was created with Jon Hartman, owner of Wunder Werkz, a Denver-based design studio.

Since its debut, Thunderbolt has racked up accolades and has become known for its "boundary-pushing beverage programme that weaves community, philanthropy and ecological thinking into a seriously delicious package," according to 50 Best.

"What we did at Thunderbolt is the tech-focused making of drinks — it's pretty wild the way we get to the finished product, but the guest doesn't see any of it. It's not cocktail theater — I want all the focus on what's in the glass, not the show of how it got there," Capoferri explains.

While Thunderbolt takes inspiration from Capoferri's Southern roots, his second bar, Night on Earth, which opened in L.A. in December, is more of a "strip mall dive bar" with "no windows," he says. Both aimed to fill a void in their neighborhoods, and he hopes Semiprecious will do the same.
There are really no other watering holes within walking distance of the Sunnyside bar's new home, a mid-century modern building that currently houses the Wunder Werkz office as well as four other tenants. "It's become this very collaborative artist space," Capoferri notes. "When Wunder Werkz bought the building, they had this perfect retail space for the bar — it was an aligning of the stars.

Semiprecious will have Western European vibes, with heavy influences from Spain, France, Italy and Portugal and a focus on aperitivo culture. "It's the style of drinking and snacking I love most, and it's the right space and the right neighborhood for it," Capoferri says. "Sunnyside is filled with so many single-family homes — we love neighborhoods where people can walk to us."

The goal is to create a place with the comfort of a dive — a spot you could go to a few times a week — but with the elevated touches you'd expect from a cocktail bar. Expect drinks to be around $14 to $15, while food will consist of snackable small bites such as dolmas, tinned fish, cheese and charcuterie.

Semiprecious has been teasing its debut with pop-ups at spots such as Yacht Club, Traveling Mercies and Ok Yeah. "We've been so welcomed by that [bar] community," Capoferri says, adding that he's a fan of Denver's supportive, collaborative hospitality scene and is excited to be a part of it.

"We're not coming to shoehorn some L.A. concept in. We're building a concept for Denver," he concludes.

Semiprecious is located at 2839 West 44th Avenue and starting May 9 will be open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 4 p.m. to midnight Sunday and Tuesday through Thursday. For more information, visit semipreciousdenver.com or follow it on Instagram @semipreciousdrinks.