If you like the idea of being able to sip, shop and work all under one roof, a new Denver business may be just the destination for you.
Bellwether opens next month, a coffee house and whiskey bar on East Colfax that’s next to Marczyk Fine Foods, in the space that formerly housed the Moyo Healing & Cultural Arts Center.
Its premium coffees come from beans roasted by local companies: Boxcar Coffee Roasters of Boulder and Sweet Bloomer Coffee Roasters of Lakewood.
When it comes to whiskeys, Bellwether will also serve local Colorado favorites like Tincup, Laws and Leopold Brothers, along with a range of specialty Japanese whiskeys.
“It’s a curated coffee house and whiskey bar,” said founding partner Josh Schmitz, 29, a Denver native who founded Ruckus Apparel in 2009.
Bellwether also will have a retail space for its clothing, so people can sip while they shop.
There’s also a co-working space aimed at creating community among local artists, photographers, stylists and videographers.
Membership will cost $10 a month.
“We have a ton of friends like this who are working out of their homes or Starbucks,” said Schmitz. “We decided to build a community space where people can be inspired.”
They expect to be open by mid-August. Bellwether, 5126 E. Colfax Ave.
Unexpected chance
The team behind is opening a new restaurant and bar in the Uptown neighborhood, and its fans are eagerly anticipating what will emerge.
Paul Reilly and his sister, Aileen Reilly, are taking over the space that housed The Centennial Tavern at Jonesy’s, which closed on May 30.
The driving force is location, and it’s also the unexpected opportunity.
Aileen, who lives across the street from the place, at 400 E. 20th Ave. at Logan St., was a big fan of the team at Jonesy’s.
“It was my neighborhood hangout, and I love the building,” said Aileen. “It’s an opportunity we can’t pass up, and a beautiful location.”
They’ve not yet named their new restaurant, but the concept will focus on Southern Italian cuisine.
As at Beast + Bottle, they will continue to focus on sourcing ingredients and building relationships with local farmers and ranchers.
They plan to open the place toward the end of this year.
Best wine restaurants
Four restaurants in Colorado just made in Wine Enthusiast magazine — three for the first time.
They include Troy Guard’s modern steakhouse in Denver. Its wine director is Todd Rocchio, who oversees a wine program lauded for its range of Italian and Rhone Valley wines — some, the magazine points out, rarely seen in steakhouses.
Element 47 at The Little Nell in Aspen boasts a wine list that highlights classic regions in France, Italy, Austria, Spain and California — with a focus on Burgundy. (And if you ask for the “Master’s Markdown,” you get a rotating list of bargain Burgundies.)
In Telluride, Allred’s features a wine program with a 1,000-bottle wine list, where you can sip in a dining room perched at 10,551 feet — you take Telluride’s free gondola ride half way up the mountain to attain those heady heights.
Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, also in Wine Enthusiast’s Hall of Fame, makes the 100 Best list again this year. The fine-dining restaurant, with master sommelier Bobby Stuckey and executive chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson, wins praise for a wine list of more than 200 varieties focused on Northern Italy, and organized by flavor profile and grape variety.
And in other wine news, the Flagstaff House in Boulder once again won the Wine Spectator’s Grand Award for its 15,000-bottle wine cellar, an award it has won every year since 1983.
Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083, coconnor@ denverpost.com or twitter.com/coconnordp
