DENVER — Denver’s Pride Parade may be taking a new route this year, but at Champagne Tiger, the celebration of queer joy remains right at home on Colfax.

Construction for the city’s Bus Rapid Transit project has pushed the 2025 Pride Parade off its traditional route on Colfax. Instead, the parade will march down 17th Avenue, meaning queer-owned businesses along Colfax that typically benefit from the parade’s foot traffic will notice a difference.

For Champagne Tiger, a queer-owned drag brunch and dining spot just shy of its first anniversary, community support remains as vibrant as ever.

“Drag brunch here at Champagne Tiger is really probably one of the funnest things that you can do in Denver,” customer Brian Corrigan said. “Not only do they have amazing food, but the talent is ridiculously good.”

Co-owners Chris Donato and Jeff Yeatman told Denver7 they wanted to create more than just another brunch spot. From house-made quiche that takes two days to prepare, to oysters flown in from Massachusetts, to French omelets and tater tot waffles topped with smoked lox, Champagne Tiger offers a menu that surprises guests as much as the performances do.

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“We really put a focus on the food so that hopefully it matches the show in a really great way,” Donato said. “So, it’s not only a great show, but it’s also really, really delicious, well-made food.”

The Sunday drag brunches have become a sold-out staple. Local queens Pony and Anita Goodman co-host the shows on the first Sunday of each month. They say the safe space has created opportunities for new performers, including up-and-coming “baby queens” getting their first chance on stage.

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“They let us show up and just goof off,” Pony said. “Drag is joy. Hate is poison. Love is medicine. Drag is medicine.”

Despite 2025 Pride festivities shifting elsewhere, loyal customers say places like Champagne Tiger remain vital year-round.

“Finding a place like this, it’s kind of ‘Cheersian,’ where everyone knows your name and you feel safe and included and you have so much fun,” said customer Jenny Seemayer. “That’s so important for a city like Denver.”

Every Wednesday night, Champagne Tiger hosts Pasta & Piano night. Their kitchen team makes fresh pasta from scratch. There is always someone playing the piano, and sometimes you may catch a drag queen singing live.

Chris Donato

“It’s a way to have fun on a Wednesday that’s not you going out and doing a whole thing. You can go out and have some pasta, listen to some music, and be in bed by 10 p.m.,” said Donato.

The owners admit construction along Colfax has posed challenges for small businesses, but they remain optimistic.

“People have been coming out just to support because they know it’s a tough time, and that’s been beautiful to see,” Donato said.

Even without the parade passing by this year, the spirit of Pride is alive inside Champagne Tiger, where food, drag and community come together every week.

• Denver7 is a proud sponsor of the Denver Pride Parade. We partnered with the Center on Colfax to celebrate 50 years of Denver’s PrideFest. In the video below, we look back on the progress made in Colorado’s LGBTQ+ community over the last five decades and the work that still needs to be done.

50 years of Denver Pride: Full special presentation

Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Richard Butler

Richard Butler is a multimedia journalist who covers stories that have impact in all of Colorado’s communities, but he specializes in reporting on small businesses and community heroes. If you’d like to get in touch with Richard, fill out the form below to send him an email.

Denver Post beat writer Bennett Durando opens up the Nuggets Mailbag periodically during the season and offseason. You can submit a Nuggets- or NBA-related question here.

What’s the latest on the GM search? Are they just waiting to announce Ben Tenzer?

— Dave, Aurora

Tenzer and Matt Lloyd are the two names I’ve heard most when asking people around the league about the Nuggets general manager job. Neither has experience as a director of basketball operations, but both are regarded as personable, smart and strong at building relationships. Those are going to be important characteristics in Denver. The Nuggets need someone who can help establish a better culture inside the organization and communicate well with agents.

“You could do a lot worse than Matt Lloyd,” one agent told me recently, speaking fondly of the current Timberwolves GM under Tim Connelly. (For the record: Connelly indicated this week to reporters that he’s not leaving Minnesota any time soon.)

The Tenzer smoke makes sense. He has been effusively praised by Nuggets President and Governor Josh Kroenke for his input since taking over as interim GM in April, and the Kroenkes have a history of hiring internally. I see Tenzer as a leading candidate right now. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he got promoted to GM with an outside hire made at president of basketball operations.

There could be other names waiting to emerge still. The Nuggets should want to have someone in place by the end of next week, with the draft and free agency nearing.

Saw some reports from earlier in the season that the Nuggets were really considering trading Michael Porter Jr. Do you see Denver actually doing it in the offseason and who are some players you’d throw in return packages?

— Jed Katz, Upper Saddle River, N.J.

Does the new GM (Ben Tenzer or whomever) finally cut bait with Porter? Michael Malone had a point that the bench was weak and inexperienced, but the true weakness of the Nuggets is MPJ and his albatross of a contract. Your thoughts?

— Joe, Denver

You guys are giving me déjà vu all over again. This was the most popular question leading up to the trade deadline last season, and it’ll probably be the most popular question before the next one, too.

I don’t think the Nuggets will trade Porter this summer.

I’m never going to say it’s impossible. The Timberwolves wouldn’t have thought last August that Karl-Anthony Towns would be traded by training camp.

But Josh Kroenke’s public comments since the season ended have been illuminating. It’s clear that ownership is leaning toward giving the “core four” another year together, while hoping to patch together a better depth chart via some combination of player development and free agency discount shopping. “I think a lot of our answers are internal right now,” Kroenke said.

Read those tea leaves and consider that Porter’s importance to Denver’s current roster — Positional size! Volume 3-point shooting! — exceeds what his value would be on the trade market. To 29 other teams, he’s still a questionable contract with a dubious medical record. What you have is a likely outcome where, even if the Nuggets entertain MPJ trades, they don’t find one that satisfies them.

Teams have to plan out their salary cap sheets for multiple years. The Nuggets are positioned to narrowly avoid the second apron next season, even with Jamal Murray’s extension taking effect. But the following year, they’ll be accounting for Aaron Gordon’s $9 million raise and Christian Braun’s new contract, assuming he and Denver agree to an extension this fall. (I expect that to happen.)

The team might have to do some serious salary-shaving in the 2026 offseason if it wants to stay out of the second apron. Porter will have one year left on his deal at that point, making the dollar amount more palatable to other teams. Common sense says next summer is the appropriate time to pounce on a trade after one more swing with the current starting lineup. Go ahead and mark your calendars to ask me about this topic yet again.

After the second Game 7 loss in two years to teams that were much more physical than the Nuggets, a couple of questions. Not that the outcome would have been different, but would the whistle have been different if David Adelman did not have “interim” in his title while coaching against a former Coach of the Year? Having seen Doug Moe get after the refs and change the way a game was officiated, I was disappointed that Adelman didn’t get a T or at least a fine for postgame comments during the OKC series. Do the players believe a coach has their back when he doesn’t make known his displeasure with the officiating?

— Shawn Thompson, Denver

Well, your second question is easily answered by the players themselves. Even immediately after losing Game 7, they responded with resounding positivity to the idea of Adelman being their full-time head coach. So I don’t think his willingness to be performative was top of mind.

I’ll also remind you that Adelman did call out the refs after Game 6 of Denver’s first-round series when he spoke to reporters that night. Every coach has to choose how to navigate this stuff as a public-facing figure, and I suspect he’ll be one who uses sly sarcasm when he wants to sharpen the knives.

During games, I noticed Adelman giving the crew an earful more often than I think you’re giving him credit for. He might not ever compile as many technical fouls or ejections as Michael Malone, but I wouldn’t underestimate his ability to turn up the intensity.

If you thought the Nuggets generally got an unfair whistle against the Thunder, I get it. But the reason would have nothing to do with Adelman. Oklahoma City sets the terms every game by defending so fiercely that it forces referees to reckon with the fact that they can’t call everything. There also remains the cheat code of putting a small guard on the unguardable Nikola Jokic. For years, he has been flustered by the contact an Alex Caruso or OG Anunoby can get away with in the post, relative to someone like Karl-Anthony Towns. Mark Daigneault rather brilliantly waited to play that card until it was absolutely necessary.

For what it’s worth, whatever you think about the OKC whistle, it’s not even close to the top reason Denver lost that series.

Bennett, were you as surprised as I was to see Pascal Siakam win Eastern Conference Finals MVP over Tyrese Haliburton? It reminded me of the Lakers series (in 2023) when Jamal was our leading scorer, but Jokic was still our most valuable player. In that case, Jokic got the award. Siakam had great shooting percentages, but the Pacers don’t win that series without Haliburton, in my opinion.

— Andrew, Denver

It can be true that Indiana probably doesn’t win the series without either star playing at an extremely high level. But yes, Haliburton would’ve been my series MVP without much handwringing. His play style is the basis of the Pacers’ unorthodox blueprint for an NBA Finals run. Even when his step-back 3s aren’t falling, he’s creating basketball advantage and cultivating healthy offense like few players can. He still averaged 21 points (well over his regular-season total), six rebounds, 10.5 assists, 1.7 turnovers and 2.5 steals per game. He achieved point guard nirvana with his Game 4 performance, which cemented Indiana’s control of the series.

And most notably — I would’ve used this as a tiebreaker if I had a vote and was torn — who is responsible for the most important moment of the series? Haliburton made one of the most instantly memorable shots in the history of the sport, without which who knows what might’ve happened in Game 7?

Who are we targeting in free agency this offseason? Bruce Brown seems like an obvious choice to shore up the bench. But will we finally get a good backup for Nikola Jokic, like bringing in Mason Plumlee, Larry Nance Jr. or Precious Achiuwa?

— Mike, Denver

Hard to say while the general manager position remains vacant. But I recently assembled an exhaustive list of possibilities just for you, Mike. Check it out.

Will we ever see Carmelo Anthony’s number climb to the rafters? Obviously, Nikola Jokic is the greatest No. 15 in Denver history, but could they do something similar to what the Mariners are doing with Randy Johnson and Ichiro Suzuki?

— Shawn, Westminster

I had a feeling I would get this question from someone after seeing the arrangement in Seattle. My hunch: Anthony and the Nuggets have a lot of relationship-mending to do before they can ever reach that point. Time might be the only medicine. Will it someday be normalized for Anthony to visit Denver for games, like the other franchise greats do? Will fans’ nostalgia morph into forgiveness as the years go on? Maybe by the time Jokic’s number is retired, perspectives will have changed. I think it’s only right that they both end up in the rafters, even if one clearly belongs to a loftier tier of basketball players historically.

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