After a nearly two-year saga, Jeff Moerke finally got the keys to the former Blake Street Tavern space at 2301 Blake St. on Monday.
“What a (expletive) journey,” Moerke said of the process.
Moerke and his wife, Ashley, who also own and operate The Tavern Kitchen & Bar in Snowmass, began negotiating to take over the 18,000-square-foot space in 2024, a year after Blake Street Tavern closed. At the time, the building was owned by Seattle, Washington-based Urban Renaissance Group, or URG.
In February 2025, he told the Denver Post that his somewhat-similar concept, Tavern on Blake Street, would make its debut by Rockies opening day.
Complications arose. URG said HVAC and patio repairs were needed and would cost $1 million. Moerke told BusinessDen last June that URG would be covering the cost. He said his concept would open in December.
Then, at what Moerke called the eleventh hour, things fell apart.
“I’ve never dealt with anything like this,” Moerke said. “A year of negotiations with a company to them literally never picking up the phone again.”
The cause, he determined, was URG’s financial stress. The company no longer has any holdings in Denver after enduring foreclosures and selling properties at steep discounts over the past year.
In December, URG sold the 2301 Blake building’s in-default loan to Denver-based Sidford Capital, which took ownership of the property.
Moerke said the skies cleared up after Sidford came in, although he’s now footing the bill for the repairs, mainly because the quotes came in about half of URG’s estimation.
The deck was fixed in several hours by a contractor friend, who did the work for free as a favor. But the HVAC and other electrical and plumbing repairs will still run $425,000, Moerke said, adding that he could get repaid for that over the course of his 20-year lease.
“Throughout the next decade, it turns out where if we are still operating and doing well, then that (build-out cost) becomes their expense,” he said. “But not today.”
Andy Clemens, an SRS real estate broker who represented URG before switching to the tenant side after the loan sold, said the deal was one of the most complicated he’s worked on in his decadeslong career. He first met Moerke nearly two years ago.
“At the end of the day, I’m just happy that Jeff and Ashley got the space,” he said. “They’re going to breathe life back into Blake Street Tavern.”
Moerke said the timeline for opening will depend on completing repairs and getting a liquor license from the city. When he does, it will be something of a homecoming for Ashley Moerke, who worked as a bartender at Blake Street Tavern for several years under owner Chris Fuselier.
The menu will largely be the same as the Tavern’s sister locations in Snowmass and a newly opened Carbondale location. That list features everything from burgers to caviar, and Jeff Moerke said customers can expect cheaper prices in Denver compared with the more lavish mountain towns.
The space will also have over 50 TVs and an arcade in the old tailgate room on the main floor with sports games and pool. The basement will have a stage for live music and DJs on Fridays and Saturdays, Moerke said, and will be humming from opening day.
“You could come in and spend some serious money with us, or you could come in and get a $10 burger or $1 wings on wing Wednesday,” he said. “We’re here for everybody.”
Compared with the high country, Denver’s population is much larger, and the area is more affordable. That, he said, will mean a steady year-round stream of income versus the seasonality of his other spots.
That was part of the reasoning in opening Carbondale. That town’s tourist season is in the summer compared with the ski-centric Snowmass. He’s also working on a build-out in Las Vegas, Nevada, but thatap been delayed in part because he expected to have more cash flow from Blake Street by now.
“We have the emotional attachment to this space, and we know the wants of the community,” he said of Blake Street. “We’re not Chris, but we’re going to work hard to be up to that standard. And, hopefully, we’ll be better.”
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