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How do you create a welcoming oasis within the raw, concrete-and-glass edges of a new Denver building? If you’re Jake Soffes, owner of the four-month-old Lady Jane cocktail bar in LoHi’s recently constructed Alexan building, you turn to midcentury modern flourishes and Palm Springs–inspired greenery. “We want you to walk in and feel at ease to sit and enjoy a cocktail, whether you’re clad in date attire or yoga pants,” Soffes says.
He tapped Unum Collaborative’s Jim Pfeiffer and Adam Steinbach (who, when he was with Liv Studio, helped design Soffes’ first watering hole, Hudson Hill) to bring a vision of “casual luxury” to life. As you walk inside, a wall of white breeze blocks (cinder blocks with decorative cut-outs) offers glimpses of the various seating options within: dark green banquettes, stadium-style wood benches overlooking the southern-facing window, and a neat row of custom emerald green leather stools alongside the cherry-wood-and-Carrara-marble bar.
The Unum crew framed the bar area and entry with cantilevered installations, made of cherry wood, that “almost become ceiling pieces,” Steinbach says. Their zigzaggy movement is echoed by a palm-frond-inspired chevron pattern, also made out of wood, on nearby walls. Leafy palms in white plaster planters add a sense of height, while white globe lights bathe everything and everyone in a flattering glow.
The effect, especially when combined with Soffes’ vintage-leaning music playlists and bar manager Minetta Gould’s approachable drinks, is one of timeless charm. Despite its buzzy new LoHi locale, Lady Jane feels like the sort of place Denverites have been going to escape the city bustle (and winter chill) for years. 2021 W. 32nd Ave., 720-328-9288
