11 minute read
THE BEST OF: PANDEMIC EDITION
OF: by Denny Patterson PAN-
DE- MIC EDITION
SURVIVING LAST CALL BOYZTOWN 117 BROADWAY (303) 722-7373 Boyztown will soon be entering its 16th year of operation, and the business is best known for its strip shows and being open and welcoming to everyone in the community.
Denver may be exciting and beautiful during the COVID-19 has greatly impacted the bar, but according to owner day, but it does not shut down with the mountain Randy Long, he and his staff are adjusting. sunset. The LGBTQ nightlife is lively and offers a variety of different bars and clubs that are fun and welcoming to all. “We have installed medical-grade UV lights at each entrance,” he says. “We also use a medical fog machine and hospital-grade virus cleaners to sanitize every day. We also take everyone’s The Mile High City’s queer community has always been temperature, name, and phone number for tracing purposes. known for its unique charm, and its bars are hot spots Plus, everyone is required to wear a mask." for like-minded and eccentric people. Unfortunately, several of these businesses have taken a major hit due to COVID-19. Boyztown was closed for almost three months, but since reopening, all their customers have been very appreciative. There have not been many complaints about the new COVID OUT FRONT reached out to a couple to see how they safety regulations. have been adapting and what they are doing to move forward. “We encourage everyone to be safe and to get the vaccination as soon as it is available,” Long says. “We hope to get back to normal soon, and if everything goes well, I hope to expand the business to a few other locations.”
HAMBURGER MARY’S 1336 E 17TH AVE.
Established in 1981, Charlie’s Denver is an LGBTQ bar that is half country-western saloon, half dance club. Although the cowboy style has diminished over the years, General Manager Brendan Sullivan wanted to keep the legacy in some fashion. When the pandemic started, Sullivan was not ready for the kind of impact it would have on the business.
“We are used to having 900 people in here,” he says. “When they said we can only have 50, you can only imagine the impact. Charlie’s is busy and fun-loving. We are the kind of bar you end up at. We are just that kind of place.” However, when Charlie’s closed its doors, Sullivan considered it a blessing in disguise. “It is very hard to close down for any amount of time to upgrade or remodel,” he says. “So, after March 15, we took some hard-earned investment money and invested it back into the building. We remodeled the bathrooms, built a brand-new bar, and cleaned everything from top to bottom. “We weren’t going to reopen until they said we could reopen as a nightclub again because we don’t do food,” Sullivan continues. “But, I was thinking, we can open back up, and I will run it as a restaurant. We ran for about three months under our next door neighbor’s restaurant license, and we did as much as we could with drag shows, bingo, and live music.” Unfortunately, Governor Polis recently came out with new stipulations on how to reopen, and Sullivan did not see how Charlie’s could operate without losing more money. “We decided for the best of the community, us, and our employees, we are going to shut down until a vaccine comes out,” Sullivan says. “I don’t know if I see us reopening back up under restrictions. There is no way we can abide by them. We cannot shut down at 8 p.m. People don’t start coming until 10. We are not going anywhere, and we are very blessed to have our loyal customers and guests help get us through these hard times.”
DENVER SWEET (303) 993-5812
776 N LINCOLN ST. (720) 598-5648
Hamburger Mary’s is a bar and restaurant known for its familyoriented environment and drag entertainment. With several locations throughout the country, it is considered a home base for the queer community. “When people come in from out of town, they start here,” General Manager Matt Wagner says. “The main goal is to create a home that is a safe place for everybody, and Hamburger Mary’s tends to be that home base for people all over the country.” Thanks to the pandemic, Hamburger Mary’s sales went down over 50 percent. The business had to close its doors, but reopened the third week in June. “We took our time to reopen and make sure that we are doing everything safely,” Wagner says. “I think the public saw that we didn’t jump into reopening to make money right away, but we took our time and made sure we were prepared to create a safe environment for our customers. We were trying to do what was morally right and find the balance between keeping our business open and being safe and responsible.” Some of the biggest safety measures Hamburger Mary’s have implemented include contact tracing and taking everyone’s contact information. Throughout the summer, three large swamp coolers were put in to replace the air in the building every three minutes. Now that winter is coming, the filters were put in the air filtration system air furnaces to filter the air that is going back into the building. All dishes and glasses are single use products; customers are required to wear masks, and one-way traffic patterns are in place. Denver Sweet is the Mile High City’s premier “bear-inspired” bar that is known its wonderful cocktails, tasty bites, and its amazing rooftop area for customers to socialize. Owned by Randy Minten and Ken Maglasang, the bar closed its doors on March 16 and reopened over Pride weekend. They both worked hard behind the scenes to ensure that they would be compliant and follow social distance guidelines. “The CDC guidelines were pretty clear as far as social distancing,” Minten says. “We placed tables six feet apart, made sure people understood the rules, and required masks. Once you were seated, you could take it off, but if you walked around the bar, you must have it on. We also sanitized all areas where customers sat, restrooms, common areas, the stairwell, and handrail. Denver Sweet is more of a social bar, not a sit-down bar. So, we had to increase our seating and utilize our space, which we could because our rooftop is one of our advantages. “In order to reopen, we also had to serve food,” Maglasang says. “That was kind of a big hurdle for us. We had a goal of having small appetizers, but we had to accelerate our plans. When the ruling came down that you can only be open if you offered food, we kicked into high gear to figure out what we could do to get our kitchen running.” Minten and Maglasang will continue to do their part to ensure a healthy environment, and they expect customers to do the same.
TRACKS INNOVATED FROM NIGHTLIFE TO RINO EATS
by Lacy Bursick
Tracks celebrated their last night open for 2020 with Daniela’s Drag Queen Cabaret on Thursday, November 19 with a bittersweet farewell, as indoor dining closure went into effect again. It was a tough year, but the Tracks team was able to join together to innovate their business model and safely join the community together during trying times. For the last 40 years, Tracks has been a staple in the Denver community as the go-to LGBTQ nightlife destination offering a multi-room experience featuring international talent to local favorites. After closing for the lockdowns in March, they innovated their business to fit new guidelines for their reopening in late June. Partnering up with neighborhood favorites, they revamped their alleyway and outdoor space, calling it Rino Eats. Tracks used their restaurant license to operate as a safe outdoor dining experience, partnering with food options like Fish and Beer, Cabana X, Hop Alley, Miller and Rossi, and Pericos Tacos. Production Manager Asya Toney said going from a nightclub to a restaurantstyle business was hectic at first, but her team came together and figured out the best way to move forward in their new roles as servers and food bussers. After two weeks, it was smooth sailing, and the community response was better than they hoped. “Our greatest challenge was staying true to our brand and who we are, and the crowd who really made Tracks what it was, but also finding new and innovative ways to bring in new crowds to stay alive,” Toney says. “With us going from being a nightclub to a restaurant, the same people who were here every weekend can’t come every day of the week. We had to be really inclusive and find all types of entertainment for all types of people.” They launched a craft cocktail menu, opened for brunch and daytime hours, and hosted seated events like drag bingo, jazz night, and pumpkin carving. On Sundays, they hosted Ladies Beer Bust and even donated all the proceeds to local charities like We Are Family and The Women’s Bean Project. “It was a nice way to give back to the community and to give people who have been stuck at home something safe and exciting to come out for,” Toney says. From poetry slams to live vocalists, they experimented with a variety of events all summer. They even hosted football viewing parties. Their viewing parties brought out a rowdy crowd, reminiscent of the club days, but everyone was overall respectful and understood the rules of social distancing and masks. “None of us who work here knew anything about football, but we're like, 'OK, we got this!' And it ended up being super fun!” Their ‘we-got-this’ spirit has them looking toward the future, as Tracks has plans for reopening when local regulations allow, and when they can make the experience safe again. Toney ends with, “We want to thank the Denver community’s continued love of Tracks and support. This is not goodbye forever; it’s just ‘We’ll see you later!’”
WILD CORGI ADAPTS AND GROWS
by Lacy Bursick
As closures loomed, local business owner Dusty Jones knew he had to act fast and evolve his business offerings to stay afloat in unforeseen times. In March, he closed for only two days as he brainstormed and took action. Prior to the recent shut down, Wild Corgi operated as a favorite Colfax pub, offering food and fun events like bingo with Rockstar Aaron and Sunday Drag Brunch with Lala Shearz. Now, they operate with the focus on food and entertainment, especially on take-out orders and delivery services.
Wild Corgi launched its presence on all the delivery apps, including Uber Eats and DoorDash, and developed the menu to be appealing for remote customers. Dusty asked himself, ‘What foods travel best for delivery service?’ Through trial and error, Wild Corgi has found success with the delivery apps and is considering offering deliveries in-house as well. They also created a to-go alcohol menu adapting with the new mandates. Wild Corgi opened in December 2018 when Dusty bought the space after working there for three years prior. Dusty said business was solid, and they had built a loyal fan base, but then COVID hit, and he had to quickly adapt and figure out how to keep his doors open. He has evolved his business and continued to serve the neighborhood great food and service, and Dusty said he has taken the downtime to get better. “During the slow hours, we were able to focus on our kitchen, and we started exploring the smoker,” Dusty says. “We now have brisket, pulled pork, chicken, and more smoked meat ideas that we have been able to improve on.” Over the fall, Wild Corgi was back to bustling with creative events from poker tournaments to drag queen brunch shows with Lala Shearz, with limited capacity and an online reservation system. “With limited capacity and the cost it takes to put on events, we have to be careful,” Dusty explains. “But, the events we have been able to host have all been great and the guests have all been excited to be out and experiencing it.” Their drag queen brunch with Lala Shearz even donated profits to the local charity We Are Family. Drag Hostess Lala Shearz said Dusty is an amazing business owner who has provided a safe and welcoming space for all walks of life. Wild Corgi’s efforts to push forward, feed the community great food, and offer entertainment has been appreciated. “I have been very fortunate to be able to continue entertaining folks during this pandemic,” Lala Shearz says. “Drag entertainers strive to bring joy to others, and if we could make you forget the shitty things going on around you, even for a three-and-a-half-minute song, then we have done our job.” With temperature checks, enforcing masks, and changing drag performances to no cash tips, Wild Corgi has taken all the steps to create a safe environment. The customers have been receptive, supportive, and happy to follow the rules and be out having fun. Their most difficult part of operating business was the constant changes in local mandates. Denver restaurants went from 50 percent to 25 percent capacity, and now back to no indoor dining at all. With each local order, Dusty and his team have innovated every step along the way. “The Corgi thrives under pressure, and we adapt to changes,” Dusty says. “Anytime they rolled something out, and even if I don’t agree with it on the business end, I know everything they are doing is for the best, and especially for those who are immune-compromised. We made the effort because that’s what you do. We started the Corgi as a community pub, and we want to keep taking care of all of our community, and that means taking care of everybody.” Wild Corgi Pub is asking that you continue to support them through delivery food and consider nominating them for the Broncos Business Boost. Their doors will be back open to the community they love as soon as indoor restrictions are lifted.”
