Colorado
10 iconic places in Colorado to have a drink
From the rowdy saloons of the 1850s to the roaring post-Prohibition days in the 1930s and ’40s to the craft brews and $25 cocktails of the moment, Colorado history has paired up with drinking culture in the same way that gin goes with tonic or beer goes with a burger.
But not all watering holes are created equal. While there are plenty of amazing place to tip back a bevvie, we rounded up a few of the most legendary spots in Colorado have a drink.
Columbine Cafe, Golden
A lot has changed in Golden over the past century. For starters, Prohibition ended in 1933, meaning that Coors Brewing got back into the business of making beer. But there’s also now a highway where the Arapaho tribe used to camp and fish, and there are houses and offices and restaurants and gyms where there used to be nothing but open space and elk.
Things have changed at the Columbine Cafe as well, but not by much. Founded as a restaurant by Mike Hatzis, who emigrated from Greece to the U.S., it became a bar in 1934, and a hangout for Coors employees, who would come down after work to trade rumors, tell stories and drink the beer they made — because for most of its existence, the Columbine only served Coors. And since some of those employees worked the third shift, typically 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., the bar opened at 7 a.m. to make sure that everyone could get a pint at the end of the “day.” In 1976, Hatzis gave the bar over to his nephew, Harry Artemis, who’d worked at — where else? — Coors since 1962. Harry continued the run the place past his retirement from the brewery in 1992 and into the 2000s.
It’s now owned by Harry’s kids, Chris, Steve and Tina. Today, the Columbine serves a few beers that aren’t Coors — Longmont’s Left Hand Brewing was on tap recently — and it showcases bluegrass music on Thursday nights in a park-like patio out back; Chris even runs a ski tuning shop in the basement. And it hasn’t opened at 7 a.m. for a decade or so. But the Columbine is still the place to come to trade rumors and tell stories about Coors Brewing, among other things, and it’s still the place to find someone to talk to at the bar, or behind it.
15630 S. Golden Road, Golden; facebook.com/ColumbineCafe
The Cruise Room, Denver
With an aura that jumps straight off of the silver screen, the Cruise Room looks like the kind of place where you might run into Humphrey Bogart drinking a gin martini or Bette Davis swilling an Old Fashioned. Opened the day after Prohibition was repealed in 1933, the Art Deco bar is in the historic Oxford Hotel and it features a long and narrow layout — like a train or a ship — with slick booths on one side and a gleaming, neon-lit bar on the other. While the dress code here should be elegant if possible, you’ll likely find all kinds drinking at the bar.
1600 17th St., Denver; theoxfordhotel.com/eat-drink/the-cruise-room
Flagstaff House, Boulder
There are plenty of rooftop patios in Colorado. And they’re all fantastic. But in Boulder, there’s a patio that feels as if it’s on the roof of the world. Perched on Flagstaff Mountain, just to the west of Boulder, Flagstaff House — owned and run by the Monette family since 1971 — is a fine-dining destination known for elevated food, an award-winning wine list and breathtaking views. While dinner reservations book up far in advance, you can also visit the newly renovated bar and lounge area for a cocktail, a canape, or a dessert. It is seated on a first-come-first-served basis. There’s even a cozy fireplace on colder days where you can watch the sun set with, say, a glass of Caviar Dreams, made with prosecco, lemon, grapefruit, bitters, caper liquor and a bump of caviar.
1138 Flagstaff Road, Boulder; flagstaffhouse.com
Gray’s Coors Tavern, Pueblo
Sit at the bar on in one of the booths at Gray’s Coors Tavern for just a few minutes, and you’ll feel as though you’ve lived your entire life in Colorado. Not only does this timeless Pueblo bar and restaurant mostly serve Coors beer (history tells us that the brewery worked with bar owners after Prohibition ended to put the family name above the doors at a few saloons), but the walls are covered in Denver Broncos memorabilia from at least seven different decades and photos of Gray’s beginnings in 1934. But back to the menu, where you’ll find the perfect pairing for your Coors beer: an open-faced, double cheeseburger smothered in green chile (Pueblo-grown, of course, rather than Hatch), known affectionately as a Slopper.
515 W. 4th St., Pueblo; facebook.com/grayscoorstavern
Minturn Saloon, Minturn
Holed up alongside the Eagle River, the Minturn Saloon — and its predecessor bars at the same address — have been serving drinks in the Vail Valley since 1901. The beautiful backbar itself was built in the 1830s and spent time in Leadville before being hauled down the mountain. But the saloon is perhaps best known as being the end destination for the Minturn Mile, an experts-only backcountry route down Vail Mountain. Recently renovated, the saloon has upgraded its menu and become quite the tourist draw. But it will always welcome locals with a discount.
146 Main St., Minturn; minturnsaloon.com
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
My Brother’s Bar in Denver. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)
My Brother’s Bar, Denver
If you’ve been around for 150 years, you don’t need a sign to announce your presence. Such is the case on 15th and Platte streets in Denver. A watering hole since the 1870s, the building at 2375 15th St. has been home to My Brother’s Bar since 1970, when the Karagas brothers moved to town and took it over. It’s now owned by local preservationist Danny Newman, who has kept the legacy alive. Laid out like a darkened English pub — but with an unexpected oasis of a patio out back, My Brother’s is known for burgers and beer. And you can get that burger however you want it because it comes with a tray full of possible condiments. (We recommend the Jalapeño Cream Cheese Burger.) The bar is also one of several where Beat Generation writer Neal Cassady spent time while he lived in Denver. Visit, and you might feel enlightened as well.
2375 15th St., Denver; mybrothersbar.com
Oskar Blues Grill & Brew, Lyons
Beer has a long history in Colorado and there are plenty of storied places where that heady liquid has been brewed. One of the most unexpected, though, was a raucous Cajun restaurant founded in 1997 in Lyons by a homebrew-loving Alabaman. But Dale Katechis was also bold, and in 2002, he did something no one could believe: he started canning craft beer. Sure, the big guys — Coors, Bud, Miller — all canned their beer, but microbreweries were supposed to be better and more refined. Katechis was laughed at, but it didn’t stop him from building his business into one of the 10 largest craft breweries in the country. Katechis eventually sold the brewery, but he kept the restaurants, including the original in Lyons, which has hosted renowned blues musicians and jam bands going back in time to a more innocent era in this little town.
303 Main St., Lyons; oskarbluesfooderies.com
Silver Dollar Saloon, Leadville
In case you forget that the town of Leadville is 10,120 feet above sea level, a short and breathy walk down Harrison Avenue, to the front door of the Silver Dollar Saloon, will remind you. Once inside, though, it’s hard to forget the building’s 150-year history (it has been a bar for nearly that long), its antique fixtures and its many guests, like the 10th Mountain Division soldiers (who trained just down the road at Camp Hale), gunslinger Doc Holliday, and the miners, prospectors and Prohibition-era lawbreakers who enjoyed a drink here. Join them by choosing from an extensive list of Colorado-made whiskey, beer and wine, and revel in the fact that this is one of the highest-elevation bars in the United States.
315 Harrison Ave., Leadville; legendarysilverdollarsaloon.com
Woody Creek Tavern, Aspen
For nearly as long as college students have been absorbing the satirical chaos of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” it has been a Colorado rite of passage to visit the bar and restaurant in Woody Creek, just outside of Aspen, where the book’s author, Hunter S. Thompson, hung out — until his death by suicide in 2005. The rabble-rousing journalist would likely laugh at the Woody Creek Tavern’s legendary status today, not to mention the ritzy feel of Aspen. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stop in to peruse the celebrity photos and memorabilia on the walls, drink a bloody Mary and offer up a toast to Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo.
2858 Upper River Road, Woody Creek; woodycreektavern.com
Helen H. Richardson, Denver Post file
The Wynkoop Brewing Company. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)
Wynkoop Brewing, Denver
When Wynkoop Brewing opened in 1988 — serving 25-cent beers that day to draw people to the then-desolate neighborhood — it was the first time a beer had been commercially brewed in Denver since Tivoli Brewing closed nearly 20 years earlier. Since then, the brewpub’s booths and bars have been many things: a gathering place for civic leaders, journalists and pot-stirrers; the launchpad for the career of former co-owner John Hickenlooper (now a U.S. Senator), the site of live pig races and pool tournaments and the catalyst for a neighborhood that would go on to become one of the hottest party spots in town. Across from Union Station and down the street from Coors Field, the Wynkoop is now a courtly grandfather among rowdy teenagers, but it’s also the only place you can find a beer made from Rocky Mountain oysters.
1634 18th St, Denver; wynkoop.com
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Originally Published:
It’s too early to say that the Rockies have been reborn, but they sure look recharged, revitalized and rejuvenated.
Their 8-3 victory over the Padres on Wednesday night at Coors Field offered the latest proof.
One night after losing a 1-0 game at home for the first time since Aug. 1, 2006, the Rockies rebounded with an impressive performance and snapped their seven-game losing streak to San Diego. Behind a strong start from Tomoyuki Sugano and a huge night at the plate from Hunter Goodman, Colorado improved to 10-15, including a 7-5 record at Coors.
Great shakes? No, but compared to a year ago, it’s baseball nirvana.
“There is a lot of confidence in this group and we have shown that we can do good things,” said Goodman, who hit 3 for 4 with a solo home run and two doubles. “You are not going to keep us down to three hits. You’re not going to do that a lot, and I think we have confidence as a group that we are going to bounce back, especially in this ballpark.”
After the first 25 games of last season’s 119-loss debacle, the Rockies were 4-21 and had already suffered a six-game losing streak and an eight-game losing streak, and they were three games deep into another eight-game skid. In 2025, the Rockies did not win their 10th game until June 2, to improve to 10-50.
Sugano, who pitched poorly in Colorado’s 7-1 home loss to the Dodgers last Friday, handled the Padres for 5 2/3 innings. The veteran right-hander allowed one run on five hits, struck out four and walked one. He was never in serious trouble, though he departed the game with Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts on base after back-to-back, two-out singles. But reliever Jaden Hill cleaned up the mess by getting Gavin Sheets to ground out to second.
“Sugano has been fantastic,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “He’s locating the heater, and tonight the slider was really good, and the sweeper was good. He was just competing and attacking the zone. He’s a professional, and you can tell that when he goes out there.
“I think every time out there is probably a different pitch working for him. Tonight it was the sweeper and the slider.”
Sugano, who improved to 2-1 with a 3.42 ERA through his five starts with Colorado, said he’s enjoying his time in Colorado.
“It’s a new team, new coaching staff, new environment, and good teammates,” he said through his interpreter, Yuto Sakurai. “Overall, it’s a very good environment for me so far.”
Last season, the Rockies’ offense often got stuck in a rut and stayed there, spinning its wheels. In their 1-0 loss on Tuesday night, the Rockies managed just three hits. But they pounded out 15 hits on Wednesday, and scored five of their eight runs with two outs.
Goodman launched a 427-foot leadoff home run in the eighth, his sixth homer of the season, tying Mickey Moniak for the team lead.
Moniak continues to rake. He hit two doubles and drove in a run, and has hit safely in his last seven games, slashing .346/.393/.654 during the streak. Rookie first baseman TJ Rumfield drove in Goodman with an RBI single in the fourth and scored Moniak with a double in the sixth. Rumfield and Moniak are tied for the team lead with 13 RBIs.
San Diego veteran right-hander Walker Buehler dominated the Rockies on April 10 at Petco Park, pitching six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits, walking none, and striking out four. Wednesday night, he got the hook after just 2 2/3 innings. The Rockies wrecked Buehler for four runs on eight hits, and he walked three.
The differing results were not solely due to different ballparks. The Rockies attacked Buehler differently this time around.
“It’s another step forward for us,” Schaeffer said. “Just the fact that we forced him to throw so many pitches within the first three innings (82), just tells me we are spitting on the balls.
“It’s so simple. I don’t want to make too much out of it, but it’s baseball. It’s spitting on the balls and offering at pitches in the zone. That’s what we did tonight. It was good and we have to do it again tomorrow.”
Colorado will attempt to win its third series of the season on Thursday afternoon vs. the Padres. Last season, Colorado didn’t win its third series until July 18-20, when it took two of three games from Minnesota at Coors.
Pitching probables
Thursday: Padres RHP Matt Waldron (0-1, 14.73 ERA) at Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (1-1, 6.00), 1:10 p.m.
Friday: Rockies RHP Michael Lorenzen (1-2, 7.48) at Mets RHP Freddy Peralta (1-2, 4.05), 5:10 p.m.
Saturday: Rockies LHP Jose Quintana (0-2, 6.23) at Mets RHP Kodai Senga (0-3, 8.83), 2:10 p.m.
TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: 850 AM & 94.1 FM
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A Colorado district attorney on Tuesday announced criminal charges against a Customs and Border Protection officer who was recorded yanking a protester by her hair and pushing her to the ground last fall.
CBP Officer Nicholas Rice was charged with assault in the third degree and criminal mischief, District Attorney Sean Murray for Colorado’s 6th Judicial District, said in a news release. The charges are a misdemeanor and a petty offense, respectively.
Murray said he decided to file charges after “a thorough investigation conducted by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.”
The incident took place in late October outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Durango, a small left-leaning town in southwestern Colorado, where hundreds of people gathered to protest the arrest of a Colombian father and his two children.
Rice was recorded on video snatching a phone out of 57-year-old Franci Stagi’s hands and then grabbing her hair and shoving her down an embankment. Stagi told The Colorado Sun at the time that she had been recording the officer and asked him, “You’re a good Christian, aren’t you?” which she said set him off.
The Durango Herald reported that federal officers used physical force against protesters and deployed pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
Colorado
Avalanche vs. Kings Game 2: Key takeaways as Colorado wins OT thriller, takes 2-0 series lead
DENVER — When getting good looks but failing to finish against a locked-in goalie, it’s not easy to stick to a game plan. But instead of pressing, Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar’s group showed maturity, even after the Los Angeles Kings’ Artemi Panarin scored what could’ve been a back-breaking first goal of Game 2 late in the third period.
Captain Gabriel Landeskog buried a perfect pass from Martin Nečas three minutes after Panarin scored. Then Nicolas Roy scored the game-winner, giving Colorado a 2-1 win and 2-0 series lead.
“I liked our mentality again tonight,” Bednar said, adding that he was pleased with his team’s defensive effort. “That’s how we have to win. It’s good practice. It’s something we’ve been talking about all year, the importance of defending, and I’m happy with the commitment that we’re getting from our guys.”
The Avalanche led the league in goals scored this season, but they also were stingy defensively, allowing fewer goals than any other team. Through two games, they’ve shown a willingness to play tight-checking, low-scoring games and get the results they need.
“We have absolutely no problem playing this way,” said Landeskog, who scored from the slot after Nečas caught the previously-impenetrable Anton Forsberg out of position and set his captain up for an open look. “If you get a little impatient with it, you start forcing plays. And I thought tonight, we just kind of kept it going. Kept trusting our forecheck, and finally, we ended up getting rewarded for it.”
Colorado has controlled the series at five-on-five. The Kings’ only two goals have come on power plays, and Colorado had 79.05 percent of the expected goal share at five-on-five Tuesday, per Natural Stat Trick.
It was an odd night that included a broken glass delay, a choppy first period and a waved-off goal after a puck got lodged in the side of the net. Let’s dig into all of it.
Roy plays hero
With goalie Patrick Roy and forward Peter Forsberg’s retired numbers hanging in the Ball Arena rafters, it was probably a bit disorienting seeing a Roy score on a Forsberg in overtime. But that’s what happened when trade deadline addition Nic Roy backhanded a loose puck past Anton Forsberg’s left pad, punched the air and jumped into the glass in celebration.
The goal was Roy’s second overtime goal in his career. He scored the Game 4 winner for the Vegas Golden Knights in their 2021 conference final series against Montreal. That goal also came at the net-front.
“I like to be in (that) area, and a lot of those (overtime) goals are scored there,” Roy said. “So I try to be there as much as I can.”
“He’s a really smart player,” Nathan MacKinnon said. “It might not be everyone’s first pick (to score), but it takes a full team to win in the playoffs.”
Josh Manson fired a shot from the point to create chaos around the net ahead of Roy’s goal, and Bednar also credited Nazem Kadri with making a slick play to get the puck to his defenseman.
Physicality and a penalty parade define the first
D.J. Smith didn’t quite get his exact wish of his players hitting Colorado’s defensemen more in the first half of the first period, but he did get big hits. Shortly after Colorado’s Josh Manson laid a massive body check on Scott Laughton, Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson hit Martin Nečas in the neutral zone, seemingly catching him in the head.
Nečas went down, bloodied, and chaos ensued. Brett Kulak went after Anderson. Scrums broke out next to the Kings net. Sam Malinski brought down Quinton Byfield, and Mathieu Joseph did the same to Artturi Lehkonen. Anderson did not get a penalty for the hit, though he and Kulak were handed matching roughing minors. Kulak got an extra penalty for a cross check. (Nečas briefly left the game, presumably because he was pulled by a concussion spotter, but returned.)
“There were big hits,” Bednar said. “We gave some. We took some too, but it’s all right. That’s what’s going to happen this time of the year. You’re playing a big, strong, physical team, and sometimes I like it. Can wake some guys up if they’re not going, and you can ramp up your competitive spirit.”
It was the most dramatic stretch of a rugged first period that included seven minor penalties. The string of infractions slowed some of the momentum Colorado gathered from a furious start. The Avalanche led 9-0 in shots through the first 6:04. The period ended with Colorado leading 14-6 in shots.
After Anderson’s hit, scrums broke out after seemingly every whistle. At one point Jeff Malott caught Cale Makar with an elbow. Nečas also took a chance to hit Anderson toward the end of the period.
“There were a bunch of melees on the ice today,” Bednar said. “It felt like playoff hockey, which is the way you want it to feel. It tests your team, and it’s why it’s the most fun time of the year to play in the playoffs.”
In total, the period took around 45 minutes. The Kings got big saves from Anton Forsberg, allowing them to stay in the game and shift it into a rugged style that favored them, at least temporarily. It wasn’t enough in the end.
“To a man, this team’s playing hard,” Kings coach D.J. Smith added. “We have to find a way to win, though.”
Goalies continue strong start to the series
Darcy Kuemper started the year as Kings starter, but Anton Forsberg became their go-to goalie during their late-season playoff push. He has continued his strong play into the first round. In Game 1, he made 30 saves on 32 shots. He was sharp again Tuesday, helping the Kings withstand Colorado’s early onslaught of shots. Colorado gave him a tough look early in the second. Kadri fed Landeskog on the slot, and Forsberg managed to parry it away. Late in the second, he got in front of turnaround shots from both Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon. The Avalanche eventually beat him in the third when he overcommitted to Nečas, who instead passed to Landeskog in the slot.
He finished the night with 34 saves. He wasn’t quite able to make a 35th, giving up the game-winner to Roy.
“We’re right there, playing well,” Forsberg said. “We’re fighting hard. We just have to stick with it and turn this around.”
Across the ice, Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves. Panarin beat him with a dangerous shot from the slot for the lone goal he allowed in regulation, but overall he continued to give Colorado the dependable goaltending expected of him. His highlight came when he stopped Quinton Byfield on a penalty shot. He robbed Byfield again in overtime, making a glove save on a shot off the rush.
A penalty, a penalty shot and a long wait
Jeff Malott took an ill-advised boarding penalty on Artturi Lehkonen in one of many instances of the Kings’ fourth line toeing the line of too much physicality. The Avalanche were in position to gain the lead — or at least some momentum — but Cale Makar mishandled a puck at the blue line, leading to a Quinton Byfield breakaway. Makar got called for a hook as he raced back to catch the forward, and the referees awarded a penalty shot.
Byfield tried to beat Wedgewood glove side, but the goalie made the save. The crowd erupted in excitement, but that came with an unexpected drawback. Fans banged on the glass behind the Kings’ bench, and a pane of it shattered. Kings coach D.J. Smith got smothered with shards. It caused a 19-minute stoppage for clean up.
If the Wedgewood save was going to serve as momentum for the Avalanche power play, the delay stopped that. Nathan MacKinnon got called for interference on Alex Laferriere shortly after play resumed.
“I think the flow would kind of come and go a little bit,” MacKinnon said. “Not ideal with the glass, but it was the same for both teams.”
“They just handled it better coming out of that,” Bednar added.
MacKinnon and Bednar both felt the Avalanche were able to push the pace more in the second half of the second period.
Another waved-off goal
Sam Malinski fired a shot toward the net to start the third period. It got caught in the side of the net, but not on the inside. Malinski thought he scored, and the goal horn went off. After review, though, it was clear the puck was lodged on the side of the cage.
It was the second Avalanche goal waved off in as many games. Logan O’Connor had a goal waved off for goaltender interference last game.
Panarin shows why Kings traded for him
The Kings acquired Artemi Panarin from the Rangers to bring a gamebreaking offensive talent into a lineup that lacked it. He validated their trust late in the third period. He played his normal shift with the top power-play unit, then stayed on with the second grouping. Trevor Moore found him with a pass in the slot, and he buried it.
Colorado’s top skilled players had more chances than Los Angeles’, but Panarin came through when he got his best look of the night. He also scored the Kings’ only goal of Game 1.
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