Visitors to the plaza in front of Mission Ballroom will soon be able to drink alcoholic beverages outside of the nearby restaurants after the Denver City Council on Monday approved a developer’s proposal for a common consumption area.
The approval, which came in a block vote, marks the first time the city has created an entertainment district to allow a common consumption area. The state first allowed the open drinking areas — which allow bar patrons more flexibility to wander with their drinks — back in 2011.
Denver paved the way for the districts in 2019. But despite plenty of early interest, this was the first successful application.
Westfield Co. manages that 14-acre property at 4180 N. Wynkoop St., including the music venue, the Chubby Unicorn Cantina and Left Hand Brewing. It applied for the license in August. The Peach Crease Club, a cocktail bar, opened next to those businesses in the fall. Until now, their customers have been able to drink outside only within the confines of their patios.
“This program really is about the flexibility and opportunity to have the choice, itap not so much about the alcohol itself,” said Ally Fredeen, the special project manager for Westfield, in December.
Mission Ballroom won’t be included in the program, so concertgoers won’t be able to go in and out of the venue with drinks.
But Fredeen said Monday that the company plans to collaborate with the neighboring businesses and organize more ways to activate the plaza to draw in people, potentially through things like yard games and art events. Once the new license is finalized by the city, potentially within days, the consumption area will go into effect, she said.
“We’re excited for additional programming and activation and the community building that naturally happens” when something like this exists, she said.
Several Colorado cities already have common consumption areas, including at The Exchange in downtown Fort Collins and Stanley Marketplace in Aurora, which Westfield operates. Others are in place in Telluride, Black Hawk, Salida and Edgewater.
“We are ecstatic to demonstrate this opportunity to support our small restaurants so they can continue to stay in the communities they want to stay in,” said Denver Councilman Darrell Watson, whose district includes Mission Ballroom. He sponsored the legislation.
No other property or business owners in the city have applied to form an entertainment district, which is part of obtaining a common consumption license. A district must meet several requirements, including being an area smaller than 100 acres and having at least 20,000 square feet of liquor-licensed premises. At least two liquor-licensed businesses must form a promotional association to apply for the license. They also must show evidence of the surrounding community’s support for the common consumption license.
“We haven’t seen high interest in this — it’s very difficult to get,” said Erica Rogers, the policy director for .
Eric Escudero, the licensing spokesman, said approval of the first entertainment district could lead to more applications.
“We want to see this new license type give businesses the opportunity to explore their entrepreneurial spirit and freedom to come up with creative ideas,” he said. “We think some of the most innovative bar and restaurant owners in America operate in Denver, and once they see how this license type can help their business succeed, we may see a lot more applicants.”
Separate from the common consumption license, city officials earlier this year established a consumption area around Glenarm Place and 16th Street as part of efforts to revitalize the recently renovated pedestrian mall. Customers can take drinks they buy at nearby businesses into the barricaded zone, which is closed to traffic.
Several outside groups have shown interest in forming common consumption districts in the past, Escudero said. Early on, people associated with the Dairy Block downtown, which includes the Milk Market food hall, expressed interest publicly.
On Monday, the council also repealed a that would have ended the city’s pilot program for the entertainment districts later this year.
