Denver dive bar Nob Hill Inn, the last of its kind downtown, has met a $15,000 fundraising goal that will allow it to stick around for the foreseeable future. And now there’s a new goal.
The nearly 100-year-old establishment at 420 E. Colfax Ave. gained attention earlier this month after new operator Christy Simonsen watched the community rally around a GoFundMe campaign created by supporter Brittani Trujillo.
The fundraiser picked up steam with local news media coverage and an impromptu, Saturday rally at the bar that invited ideas from supporters and regulars on how to sustain it in the face of the Colfax Avenue BRT project. That ongoing construction, which will add a bus lane in the center of East Colfax Avenue, “tore up the sidewalk right up to the front door,” Simonsen told The Denver Post.
Within a week or so the fundraiser hit its initial, $15,000 goal, and now is headed toward a $20,000 benchmark with 174 donations, ranging from $15 to $1,000 each. About 82%, or $16,255, had been raised as of this writing (see more at ).
“Your support has done wonders!” Trujillo wrote Thursday. “The current owner is also going to maintain the loan and allow Christy to pay it monthly! That is HUGE. With the current donations, Christy is able to cover lawyer fees for the lease and loan negotiation, the bar floor repairs, and replacing the beer cooler.”
Simonsen had just assumed control of the bar from longtime owner John Plessinger this month when she determined the bar would need to close on Sept. 30 due to unsustainable costs. 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 Simonsen.
She said that Nob Hill Inn needed about $79,000 to take care of a loan it owes, as well as existing repairs to the building intended to preserve its current look and feel. The current fundraising campaign, in-kind repairs and other support has now re-cemented its place in the city, Trujillo said. But it’s not quite over.
“There are still a few more needs, but the new amount needed in total is $20,000,” she wrote. “Keep sharing the fundraiser to help Christy keep our beloved Nob open!”
