Vine Street Pub & Brewery has been closed since March 2020. (Courtesy Vine Street Pub & Brewery)
Vine Street Pub & Brewery is reopening – for real this time.
After four years, owner Kevin Daly said the 16-year-old restaurant in City Park West will make its comeback in mid-June. And until then, Daly said Denverites can expect popups at the restaurant.
“Four years, a lot has happened,” Daly said. “Denver is a very different city. A lot of restaurants are closing, taprooms are closing. We’re kind of glad we waited it out. We want to make sure we do it right, and do it slow.”
The restaurant is part of Daly’s Mountain Sun restaurant group, which has four other concepts: In Boulder, Southern Sun Pub & Brewery, Under the Sun Pub & Pizza and Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery, and in Longmont, Longs Peak Pub & Taphouse.
Vine Street, at 1700 Vine St., closed in March 2020 because of the pandemic. In late 2022, Daly told BusinessDen he wasn’t even close to a reopening date.
Earlier this year, he told the Denver Post it would reopen next week, on May 15, but that got delayed because of staffing issues at Boulder locations.
Now, with absolute certainty, he said the restaurant’s doors will be open once again next month.
Daly said the main reason it took so long to get Vine Street reopened is staffing, which was difficult in both Boulder and Denver. He said the pandemic “gutted” the restaurant industry, slimming the labor pool, and noted that minimum wage in Denver has increased nearly $6 per hour since 2020.
“The Denver minimum wage is a huge concern,” Daly said. “I’m an advocate for the minimum wage, but we’re going to be starting slow.”
He said Vine Street has slimmed down to a staff of about 30, compared to pre-pandemic 65. But he anticipates eventually growing to that size again.
“We’ve always been an organization that grew organically,” he said. “It took us 31 years to open five restaurants. We can’t just jump back and be the same.”
That goes for the food too. While Daly said people can expect beer, wings and fries, the menu was “revamped,” but also “simplified” to help cut back on labor.
Vine Street has also become the brewing facility for all of Mountain Sun’s restaurants. Because beer sales are down across the state, he doesn’t anticipate that changing when the restaurant reopens, but said Southern Sun is ready to start brewing again if needed.
The building, which Daly bought in 2007, was revamped as well. Two years ago, Daly took advantage of being closed and remodeled the restaurant’s kitchen and bathroom, and updated the plumbing and electrical.
And now, Denver residents have to wait only one more month before Vine Street’s reopening day.
“The community has been so supportive,” Daly said. “We’re really excited. We can’t wait to get back open.”
Vine Street Pub & Brewery has been closed since March 2020. (Courtesy Vine Street Pub & Brewery)
Vine Street Pub & Brewery is reopening – for real this time.
After four years, owner Kevin Daly said the 16-year-old restaurant in City Park West will make its comeback in mid-June. And until then, Daly said Denverites can expect popups at the restaurant.
“Four years, a lot has happened,” Daly said. “Denver is a very different city. A lot of restaurants are closing, taprooms are closing. We’re kind of glad we waited it out. We want to make sure we do it right, and do it slow.”
The restaurant is part of Daly’s Mountain Sun restaurant group, which has four other concepts: In Boulder, Southern Sun Pub & Brewery, Under the Sun Pub & Pizza and Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery, and in Longmont, Longs Peak Pub & Taphouse.
Vine Street, at 1700 Vine St., closed in March 2020 because of the pandemic. In late 2022, Daly told BusinessDen he wasn’t even close to a reopening date.
Earlier this year, he told the Denver Post it would reopen next week, on May 15, but that got delayed because of staffing issues at Boulder locations.
Now, with absolute certainty, he said the restaurant’s doors will be open once again next month.
Daly said the main reason it took so long to get Vine Street reopened is staffing, which was difficult in both Boulder and Denver. He said the pandemic “gutted” the restaurant industry, slimming the labor pool, and noted that minimum wage in Denver has increased nearly $6 per hour since 2020.
“The Denver minimum wage is a huge concern,” Daly said. “I’m an advocate for the minimum wage, but we’re going to be starting slow.”
He said Vine Street has slimmed down to a staff of about 30, compared to pre-pandemic 65. But he anticipates eventually growing to that size again.
“We’ve always been an organization that grew organically,” he said. “It took us 31 years to open five restaurants. We can’t just jump back and be the same.”
That goes for the food too. While Daly said people can expect beer, wings and fries, the menu was “revamped,” but also “simplified” to help cut back on labor.
Vine Street has also become the brewing facility for all of Mountain Sun’s restaurants. Because beer sales are down across the state, he doesn’t anticipate that changing when the restaurant reopens, but said Southern Sun is ready to start brewing again if needed.
The building, which Daly bought in 2007, was revamped as well. Two years ago, Daly took advantage of being closed and remodeled the restaurant’s kitchen and bathroom, and updated the plumbing and electrical.
And now, Denver residents have to wait only one more month before Vine Street’s reopening day.
“The community has been so supportive,” Daly said. “We’re really excited. We can’t wait to get back open.”
