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From the proliferation of bike brewery tours to the enduring popularity of New Belgium’s many Tour de Fat events, it’s clear that Coloradans have a special affinity for the combination of beer and cycling. Now, one Uptown bar has added liquor to that mix—and adopted a new name in the process. The space attached to bike and coffee shop Denver Bicycle Cafe, formerly known as DBC Beer Hall, reopened as Tandem Bar last Friday.
Inside the re-imagined space, you’ll still find an expansive bar top, but now bartenders work against the backdrop of a massive new mural. The colorful scene, painted by local artist Heath O’Campo, features a graphically-depicted bicycle, Denver’s skyline, and the Rocky Mountains.
The mural isn’t the only way the bar’s owner, Jessica Caouette, plans to honor the Denver community. Tandem Bar’s close proximity to Saint Joseph Hospital and East High School made offering exclusive deals for nurses and teachers a no-brainer. “They’re such an integral part of this area,” Caouette says. “I want to implement an early Friday happy hour just for them.”
The Uptown bar will continue to feature live musical acts on Friday nights and open-mic comedians on Sundays. Unlike DBC Beer Hall, though, Tandem Bar will also offers small bites, sandwiches, and grab-and-go salads, all brought in from nearby Olive & Finch, as of April 1. The beer program still features dozens of Colorado brews and ciders—both canned and on draft—and now traditionalists will be pleased to find a classic cocktail list (think: Manhattans, negronis, and Aperol spritzes). Spirits for the straight-forward beverage program are sourced locally from makers such as the Heart Distillery in Windsor and Golden Moon Distillery out of Golden. “We’re bringing in wine and spirits because we want everyone in the community to be able to order something they love,” Caouette says. “This should feel like their bar.”
Tandem is open daily from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m., 1300 E. 17th Ave.