Capitol Hill bar Denver Sweet will close this month after six years in business, following challenges that include increased labor costs, lower foot traffic and changing customer habits, owners said Tuesday.
“This was an incredibly difficult decision to make, but we believe the time has come,” according to a statement credited to owners Randy Minten and Ken Maglasang. “Creating and running Denver Sweet has been a dream come true for us — and saying goodbye is heartbreaking.”
The bar at 776 Lincoln St., just south of downtown Denver, will be closing its doors for good on Sunday, July 27.
As one of the city’s only dedicated hangouts appealing to the subset of LGBTQ people who identify as bears — or larger, hirsute and more overtly masculine gay and bisexual men — the loss of Denver Sweet will further shave down the city’s LGBTQ cultural options.
That’s a shame, the owners said, especially as Denver Sweet, with its honey paw logo, was meant as a welcoming space not only for bears but all LGBTQ people. They built a strong and supportive community, but like many small businesses, they have faced existential obstacles, they said.
“Business has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, and over the last two years, we’ve seen a significant decline in traffic,” they continued. “Changing customer habits, tough economic conditions, and increased operational costs have made it increasingly difficult to sustain the business.”
One of the biggest injuries to Denver Sweet’s bottom line has been the rising cost of labor, owners said, “particularly from living wage laws in both Colorado and Denver. We’ve done everything we could to push forward — including personally funding operations — but the current climate simply isn’t viable for us anymore.”
Before Denver Sweet, the long, narrow bar hosted the Funky Buddha dance club. It’s known for its second-story rooftop space and DJ nights, but Denver Sweet also featured drag-queen variety shows, pool tables and darts, sports broadcasts on 20 TVs, upscale bar fare and boozy slushies, game and trivia nights, and brunches.
The bar won praise and awards from Colorado’s Out Front Magazine and, in April, the Best Queer Bar award from the Colorado DIVAs Awards.