Permitting Delays Y2K Bar Opening, So It’s Popping Up Elsewhere

Inside a pink building at 1350 South Broadway is a Nintendo 64 connected to a big-box TV, thrifted furniture, dart boards, board games and a bar lined with chairs. But there are no patrons sipping cocktails like the Teddy Graham, a spin on an Old Fashioned that will surely appeal to nostalgic Millennials — once Good Luck Club is able to open its doors.

The Y2K-themed watering hole is the latest venture from Pouring with Heart, a hospitality company that operates concepts in California, Texas and Colorado, including American Bonded in RiNo, Emerald Eye in Larimer Square and Seven Grand downtown.

In December, when Westword spoke with general manager Ben Hamilton, the team was aiming for a late January or early February debut or Good Luck Club, but as is common in the quest to open a new bar or restaurant in this city, permitting snags have pushed that date back.

A Complex Path to Opening

“Who would’ve guessed that Good Luck Club would bring such bad luck with city permitting (lol). The irony is not lost on us,” reads a February 6 Instagram post. “But, this does mean our opening timeline has…evolved. We’re now aiming for an early spring arrival. And trust me, no one wants these doors open more than we do.”

According to Eric Escudero, director of communications for the Denver Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, “there are two pending business license applications at this address,” a retail food license application and a retail tobacco license application.

“For the retail food license application, this business failed their required inspections for the license in October, then passed the required fire and health department inspections in November. But still have not passed their required zoning and building inspections,” Escudero says.

As for the tobacco license, “the city sent the applicant a request for information related to if they are in compliance with proximity restrictions to protect children and the business has not responded to the city’s request, which may lead to the retail tobacco license being denied if they do not respond,” Escudero adds, noting that “the biggest challenge we see in the city with delays in getting business licenses applications approved is businesses not filling out applications correctly, not responding to the city when the business is asked for more information, not scheduling required inspections or delays associated with fixing items that need to be resolved to pass an inspection after previously failing an inspection.”

In response, Good Luck Club explains, “To add clarity and perspective to our current permitting status, the administrative steps we are completing are the result of a complex ‘Separation of Occupancy’ that required a mandatory reset of our permitting applications. Originally, our space shared a single zoned unit with the retail ski shop next door. To comply with liquor licensing and building codes for a bar, we had to physically separate the two businesses. This involved constructing a permanent demising wall to eliminate shared egress and formally splitting the property into two distinct legal addresses: Unit 101 and Unit 102.

“Because the legal address changed to Unit 101, the City required us to resubmit our entitlement and building permit applications from scratch. This administrative reset likely explains the clerical anomalies in the City’s system, including the ‘unanswered’ tobacco license. That file is simply a checkbox error or legacy record that we are actively correcting, as we are strictly a cocktail bar. We are currently in the final phase of this process. As of this week, our Architectural, Health, and Sewer scopes are approved for the new unit. We are now finishing the final technical coordination on the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) drawings and expect to clear these final administrative steps shortly.”

The business adds, “Opening a bar in Denver right now requires as much patience as it does passion. We’ve faced the typical bottleneck challenges of coordinating between multiple city departments and meeting evolving code requirements for older buildings. It’s been a learning curve, but we’re navigating the red tape professionally. Our focus remains on ensuring Good Luck Club is 100 percent compliant and ready to be the nostalgic neighborhood cocktail bar we’ve promised to the community.”

Good Luck Club pop-up at Seven Grand

With its opening delayed, Good Luck Club is planning a sneak peek with a series of weekend pop-ups at its sister bar, Seven Grand, at 1855 Blake Street.

It will take over the Mahogany Room space and offer throwback festivities starting Thursday, February 12; the concept will repeat from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. every Thursday, Friday and Saturday through February 28.

Expect “early 2000s vibes, playful cocktails and zero adulting,” according to a press release. The drink lineup includes the Burner Phone (a cinnamon mezcal Paloma) and the Golden Eye (a Vesper made with pear and yuzu). Also on offer will be cans of Lucky Lager and a cocktail dubbed Shandy Cheeks.

The pop-up will be open for walk-ins only, but groups of six or more can email ben.h@pouringwithheart.com for availability.

For more information and updates about the opening of Good Luck Club, follow it on Instagram @goodluckdenver.