Heavy Metal Burgers and Beer Are Coming to Mica RiNo

“The opportunity really just dropped in our lap,” says Nick Nunns, owner of TRVE Brewing, which is planning to open a second taproom on the ground level of the upcoming Mica RiNo building, at 4290 Brighton Boulevard, in 2024.

Also coming to the 3,500+-square-foot luxury apartment complex next to Mission Ballroom is a food business that should complement TRVE's heavy-metal approach to beer: the San Diego County-based Full Metal Burgers, which currently has locations in Oceanside and Escondido, California. Its menu includes offerings like the MacSabbath Cheeseburger, the Cowboy From Hell Patty Melt and the War Pig Hot Dog.

"We're absolutely thrilled to join the Denver community and share our version of the nostalgic burger bar experience,” owner Ben Burley says in an announcement of the news. “Full Metal Burgers is rooted in deep collaboration with phenomenal breweries and venues in California, and it's an honor to continue that tradition with this location next to the Mission Ballroom and our friends at TRVE Brewing. We’re in overdrive preparing our brand of face-melting flavors and immersion for the space and cannot wait to make our debut within the thriving food, music and metal scene in Colorado!”

Nunns notes that TRVE's second location will be somewhat similar to the original taproom at 227 Broadway, but with a softer, more sophisticated style. “There won’t be any big tables, but we’re still trying to keep that chevron bar shape in the concept,” he says.

“The playlist will not change,” Nunns assures. “Even if you’re going to [the nearby Mission Ballroom] for some bedazzled country show, we’re still going to have the same playlist on. We’re still going to welcome you into the space just the way we would any other person,” he says.

Being so close to the Mission also presents opportunities for partnership, he adds. While the venue is too big for many of the heavy-metal groups that TRVE works with, he sees a few of the bigger acts making sense for a collaborative show there once or twice a year.
That doesn’t mean TRVE’s new taproom will turn into a venue itself, however. “I constantly tell people, no, we’re not a venue,” says Nunns. “And I have no fucking interest in running one. I know nothing about that business, and I already started one business that I barely knew anything about, so why not leave it to the pros and let them handle it, and work with them when it makes sense, you know?”

What the new TRVE taproom will have, however, is an expansive wrap-around patio. “You can throw a rock at the Mission from it,” says Nunns.

Parking can be challenging in the area, especially with Mission Ballroom planning around 250 shows a year. But, Nunns notes, it's also convenient to get to via public transportation or rideshares.

With Left Hand Brewing operating a taproom next door, Blue Moon around the corner and at least one other brewery tenant planning to move in down the street, the beer scene is quickly building along the north Brighton Boulevard corridor. Nunns doesn’t sound too concerned about the competition, though: “We’re kind of getting ahead of things a little bit, but there’s so much activity [in the neighborhood], and it’s becoming a new, interesting neighborhood to live, work, eat, drink at.”

Besides, TRVE is used to adapting, and has been enjoying growth. Sales are up at the original taproom, and distribution has expanded to the point that the team will have to start thinking about expanding production capacity. While TRVE has never been a purely niche beer maker, it did have early notoriety beyond just being a heavy-metal brewery; it was also known for producing sour beers, a market that started dipping fast and hard several years ago. “We’ve always kind of been kings and queens of pivoting,” says Nunns. “We saw the writing on the wall [with sour beer], and in 2018, we commissioned more clean tanks, the canning line — basically all the things that enabled us to continue to grow our clean side production.”

Today, TRVE is known for having a variety of well-executed beer styles. The brewery regularly makes it on national must-stop lists for those visiting Denver, and you’re as likely to find somebody enjoying a crisp lager there as you are a hoppy IPA or a farmhouse beer.

The original TRVE is also home to Music City Hot Chicken, so the brewery has experience in working with a food partner. With the addition of Full Metal Burgers, this luxury apartment complex should have some edge — and there are two more restaurant-ready retail spaces left to fill.