Nob Hill Inn, downtown Denver’s last historic dive bar, is planning to close by Sept. 30 if the East Colfax Avenue watering hole can’t raise enough money to pay its bills.
“We’ve had some pretty big hits in the last year,” said Christy Simonsen, who this week assumed control of the bar from longtime owner John Plessinger. “The Colfax BRT project tore up the sidewalk right up to the front door, so people had to go through the alley. And that’s when things started breaking.”
However, bar regular Brittani Trujillo launched a new GoFundMe campaign on Tuesday with the goal of raising $15,000 for Simonsen. As of this writing, the page had raised about 15% of its goal, or more than $2,000, with nearly 40 donations ranging from $15 to $200 each.
“I’m a Colorado native who found joy and a community at the Nob Hill Inn,” Trujillo wrote. “A part of Denver and the Colfax journey, the Nob has been around for nearly 100 years.”
The bar first opened in the 1930s, according to historical images provided by Simonsen.
“They are a Colfax staple,” Trujillo continued. “Great bartenders, great patrons, and that old-school dive bar feel. No matter the time of day, we’ve been welcome at the Nob.”
Construction from the East Colfax Avenue BRT project, which will add a dedicated bus lane on Colfax Avenue, has snarled people trying to access the bar, leading to a significant drop in business, according to the page. Now Nob Hill Inn needs about $79,000 to take care of a loan they owe, as well as existing repairs to the building intended to preserve its current look and feel.
“We’ve had plumbing problems, the floor of the bar is about to fall through, and our roof has been hit in the alley — twice now — and they don’t even make the tiles for it anymore,” Simonsen said. “It’s an old building and it seems like everything just hit us as we were already losing money.”
Various businesses along East Colfax Avenue have blamed the Colfax Bus Rapid Transit construction for the loss of revenue or their own closure, with chain-link fences, a lack of parking, and shifting detours disrupting the normal flow of car and pedestrian traffic. Closures include the original Enzo’s End pizzeria, Misfit Snack Bar, Colfax and Cream, and Middleman.
“John (Plessinger) had owned the bar since 1969, and I told him, ‘Let’s sell it. People want to buy this bar,’ ” said Simonsen, who has been a bartender and manager at Nob Hill for 15 years. “But he doesn’t want anyone to have the bar but me. He thinks somebody’s going to come in, change it, turn it into a nightclub or sports bar and take all the life out of it.”
Simonsen is inviting supporters and people with ideas for saving Nob Hill to a public forum on Saturday starting around 4 or 5 p.m., she said. With liquor delivery prices up and repeated requests for city loans denied (the bar makes just enough money to be disqualified from it, Simonsen said), she’s open to any suggestions or feedback.
“Costs are outrageous right now, and I’ve never done any of that back-end stuff for a bar, so that terrifies me,” she said. “We’re just breaking even every month, and now there’s a Sept. 30 deadline. I’ve found pictures showing the bar was here under the name Nob Hill Inn from he 1930s. We can’t afford to lose this important part of Denver’s history.”
Nob Hill Inn is located at 420 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver. See more details about the GoFundMe campaign at .
