A banner outside Otra Vez Cantina touts its planned reopening, now expected in late July or early August. (Thomas Gounley/BusinessDen)
Frank Schultz is getting back into the downtown restaurant scene.
The local restaurateur, most known for his shuttered Tavern-branded sports bars, reopened Whiskey Tango Foxtrot in the Union Station North neighborhood about six weeks ago. He hopes to reopen Otra Vez Cantina along the 16th Street Mall in late July or early August.
Both spots closed about 18 months ago, on the heels of a legal battle between Schultz and his mother, who co-owned the restaurants and a sizable portfolio of local real estate.
That litigation, however, was settled in early 2024 and the duo have since sold some of their real estate.
Frank Schultz
Schultz, 54, said Monday that he is now the sole owner of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and Otra Vez, as well as Chopper’s, his Cherry Creek sports bar that never closed amid the dispute.
“It was up to me whether I wanted to reopen,” he said.
Schultz leases the space for both Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, a New American spot known for its whiskey, and Otra Vez, a Mexican restaurant. He said the decision to close Otra Vez was also due in part to construction along the 16th Street Mall, which kept people away and made access challenging.
“Both landlords worked with me quite a bit because of COVID and the 16th Street Mall stuff,” Schultz said, noting that he invested a lot of money in the spaces.
Schultz and his mother, Terry Papay, once co-owned a host of Tavern-branded bars throughout Denver and the suburbs. All are now closed, and Schultz has no plans to resuscitate those eateries, which offered more of a generic sports bar vibe.
“I feel the Tavern brand ran its course,” he said.
The restaurant business does come with frustrations, Schultz said. Denver’s increase in tipped minimum wage — now $15.79 an hour, compared to the city’s nontipped minimum of $18.81 — “absolutely destroyed our business,” he said.
“I used to be able to move servers and bartenders into management, and you can’t do that anyway,” Schultz said, because they’d end up making less.
Earlier this year, the Breckenridge-Wynkoop restaurant group was under contract to buy one former Tavern location, at 5336 DTC Blvd. in Greenwood Village, with an eye to turning it into a Cherry Cricket. Breckenridge-Wynkoop CEO Lee Driscoll specifically cited the location not being within Denver as a draw.
But the burger joint’s operators walked away from that deal.
“Once we completed due diligence, we determined the project costs were prohibitive,” Alex Bunn, chief marketing officer of Breckenridge-Wynkoop, told BusinessDen.
A couple deals to sell the former Tavern Littleton also haven’t gotten to the finish line, Schulz said. But he and his mother have sold a handful of properties, including on a LoHi corner.
Schultz said the pair “have not had a lot of activity” on two buildings they own near Coors Field. But that’s not necessarily a problem.
“Down there is what we’ve talked about possibly holding, or buying out one way or the other,” he said.
A banner outside Otra Vez Cantina touts its planned reopening, now expected in late July or early August. (Thomas Gounley/BusinessDen)
Frank Schultz is getting back into the downtown restaurant scene.
The local restaurateur, most known for his shuttered Tavern-branded sports bars, reopened Whiskey Tango Foxtrot in the Union Station North neighborhood about six weeks ago. He hopes to reopen Otra Vez Cantina along the 16th Street Mall in late July or early August.
Both spots closed about 18 months ago, on the heels of a legal battle between Schultz and his mother, who co-owned the restaurants and a sizable portfolio of local real estate.
That litigation, however, was settled in early 2024 and the duo have since sold some of their real estate.
Frank Schultz
Schultz, 54, said Monday that he is now the sole owner of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and Otra Vez, as well as Chopper’s, his Cherry Creek sports bar that never closed amid the dispute.
“It was up to me whether I wanted to reopen,” he said.
Schultz leases the space for both Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, a New American spot known for its whiskey, and Otra Vez, a Mexican restaurant. He said the decision to close Otra Vez was also due in part to construction along the 16th Street Mall, which kept people away and made access challenging.
“Both landlords worked with me quite a bit because of COVID and the 16th Street Mall stuff,” Schultz said, noting that he invested a lot of money in the spaces.
Schultz and his mother, Terry Papay, once co-owned a host of Tavern-branded bars throughout Denver and the suburbs. All are now closed, and Schultz has no plans to resuscitate those eateries, which offered more of a generic sports bar vibe.
“I feel the Tavern brand ran its course,” he said.
The restaurant business does come with frustrations, Schultz said. Denver’s increase in tipped minimum wage — now $15.79 an hour, compared to the city’s nontipped minimum of $18.81 — “absolutely destroyed our business,” he said.
“I used to be able to move servers and bartenders into management, and you can’t do that anyway,” Schultz said, because they’d end up making less.
Earlier this year, the Breckenridge-Wynkoop restaurant group was under contract to buy one former Tavern location, at 5336 DTC Blvd. in Greenwood Village, with an eye to turning it into a Cherry Cricket. Breckenridge-Wynkoop CEO Lee Driscoll specifically cited the location not being within Denver as a draw.
But the burger joint’s operators walked away from that deal.
“Once we completed due diligence, we determined the project costs were prohibitive,” Alex Bunn, chief marketing officer of Breckenridge-Wynkoop, told BusinessDen.
A couple deals to sell the former Tavern Littleton also haven’t gotten to the finish line, Schulz said. But he and his mother have sold a handful of properties, including on a LoHi corner.
Schultz said the pair “have not had a lot of activity” on two buildings they own near Coors Field. But that’s not necessarily a problem.
“Down there is what we’ve talked about possibly holding, or buying out one way or the other,” he said.
