DENVER (KDVR) — A new space to enjoy alcoholic drinks outdoors could be coming to a small pocket of RiNo, after the first application for a common consumption area was submitted to the city last week.
The city of Denver said that businesses could apply for this kind of license since back in 2021, created in an effort to revitalize downtown after the pandemic. Four years later, the first one could be coming to an area one company believes has the potential to be more than it currently is.
Brighton Boulevard in RiNo is often busy with traffic, a connector from downtown Denver to the highway. While most simply pass through, Westfield Company wants folks to stop.
“To bring a bit more attention to a maybe lesser-known area of RiNo,” said Ally Fredeen, Westfield Company’s Special Projects Manager.
Just off Brighton sits the developer’s Mission Ballroom and North Wynkoop mixed-use space. Westfield first plans to turn the area into an entertainment district, with the proposed common consumption area located in a small portion of it.
The small plaza where the area would be located is sandwiched between Mission Ballroom and two liquor-licensed businesses, Chubby Unicorn Cantina and Left Hand Brewing. A common consumption license requires two liquor-licensed businesses to partner and create a limited space where people can consume alcohol.
Fredeen has already seen success with a similar space at Aurora’s Stanley Marketplace.
“Since seeing our success at Stanley Marketplace, we’ve had this on our docket for years,” she said.
Fredeen calls it “sip and shop”, allowing people to drink in common spaces, including other businesses in the designated area.
“It’s really a wonderful way to activate and bring life to an otherwise underutilized space,” Fredeen said.
She hopes it encourages people to stop a while to enjoy their slice of the neighborhood.
“Maybe it’s a reason that people will arrive a little earlier, stay a little longer,” Fredeen said.
The city says once the application is approved, the city council will first have to approve the creation of an entertainment district around where the common consumption area will be located. Fredeen says they don’t have a certain timetable on everything, but hopes to have everything approved and running as soon as possible.
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