New Distillery Pub In Park Hill Gets Pushback From Residents

Home (http://glendalecherrycreek.com) / News Articles (http://glendalecherrycreek.com/category/news-articles/) / New Distillery Pub In Park Hill GetsPushback From Residents

by Megan Carthel

(http://glendalecherrycreek.com/distillery-kearney-street-1-17/) House Bill 15-1204 was signed into law on April 24, 2015, creat-

ing a Distillery Pub Alcohol Beverage License, and a man who had a large hand in the creation of that bill is opening a distillery

pub in Park Hill, but not without some pushback.

Kevin Settles, owner of Bardenay, a restaurant and distillery originating in Idaho, looked to expand to Colorado because of the

beverage-friendly atmosphere and the soaring economy. But, much like Idaho used to be, Colorado did not allow for distillery

pubs to operate, until last year.

Settles hired the lobbying group that got HB 15-1204 passed, lobbied himself and even helped write some of the verbiage,

which includes that 15 percent of a brew pub’s gross income must be from restaurant food. Getting a Bill passed to open a

business seems like hard work, and enough push-back for most, but Settles carried on, looking for a location along the front

range that could house his business.

“A building that had ceilings approaching 20 feet in height and that was 6,000 feet, would’ve been the perfect building, but we

couldn’t �nd it. We did �nd a space in Park Hill where we can work our way into that building,” Settles said.

That building currently sits vacant as it has for years, living previous lives as a movie theater and Korean church. Nestled on Kearney Str (http://glendalecherrycreek.com/distillery-facade-w-

sign-1-17/)eet, the commercial block resembles the Gaylord or Wash Park neighborhoods with commercial streets with small restaurants, local businesses and a few condos. Some residents

of the area think the quaint and quiet atmosphere will be disrupted by Bardenay going into the building, according to Marcin Biegunajtys, HOA president and owner of the condos next door

to the proposed Bardenay.

“Everything about it scares me, from tra�c, from increased activity which is going to potentially cause more car theft, any number of things, to drunk driving,” Biegunajtys said.

The block has 70 parking spots with residential street parking surrounding the area. Settles said his restaurant and distillery is proposed to have 226 seats with about 20 employees on shift

at a time.

While those for the business have left many positive reviews on social media sites like Facebook and Nextdoor, the opposition has been very vocal, posting anonymous �iers and writing a let-

ter to the editor in The Denver Post and colle (http://glendalecherrycreek.com/distillery-community-concern-1-17/)cting 138 signatures for a petition that calls for the restaurant distillery to

be no more than 125 seats, 25 percent larger than the neighborhood’s largest restaurant, according to the petition, and a commitment to o�-street parking solutions for at least 50 percent

of its driving guests.

(https://www.facebook.com/GCCChronicle/) (https://twitter.com/GCCChronicle)

(https://www.anbbank.com/)

Navigate to...

(http://glendalecherrycreek.com/)

Tweet 0

Diana Buirski, Park Hill resident, said many of her neighbors

signed initial polling documents from a third party polling �rm

attorneys for Bardenay hired. Later some neighbors regretted

signing, not knowing the true size of the establishment. Accord-

ing to neighborhood hearing documents, the polling company

Bardenay hired acquired 148 signatures.

“What I’m hearing in Denver is nothing compared to what I got

in Idaho because they are anti-alcohol,” Settles said.

In addition to parking, those who oppose th (http://glen-

d

a

l

echerrycreek.com/distillery-building-1-17/)e current Bardenay

proposal are worried about drunk driving, as the location is

near a middle school and gymnastics gym. Marianne Rinehart,

Park Hill resident and E.R. nurse, is particularly concerned about

drunk driving and said “safe serve” is not enough to keep

drunks o� the street.

“That doesn’t work,” Rinehart said. “I work at University [hospi-

tal]. We see 300 patients a day. You have people who come that

are drunk drivers that think they are �ne — that they’ve had

three drinks. I mean, the stu� that I’ve seen is just … you can’t look at someone and say that person is okay.”

Settles said his business has a “tremendous” reputation in Idaho.

“Based on 17 years in the business, I don’t think we’re going to have the problems the neighbors are worried about,” Settles said. “We’re not a noisy joint. We’re not a drunks’ bar. We’ve never

had an infraction against our liquor license. We never over-serve.”

Todd Johnson, part owner of the building, grew up in Park Hill and said he would not put a tenant in his building that would harm the neighborhood. Johnson said the space is large and has

high ceilings in the back, perfect for a brewery or distillery, in fact many of the potential tenants were breweries, but Johnson felt the neighborhood needed something more unique.

“I’m very excited for Park Hill. We were very selective on having a tenant that would be a very positive business that would be creative to the lifestyle and property values and all together be a

bene�t to Park Hill. I care about that as a former Park Hill resident and as a son of folks that live two blocks away on Kearney Street,” Johnson said.

Tommy Gilhooly, former owner of Oblio’s Pizzeria and Park Hill resident, said this type of pushback is familiar to him.

“I also had some pushback when I became the sole owner … and applied for the full liquor license,” Gilhooly said. “We had some local neighbors that were concerned. It’s pretty crazy how his-

tory is repeating itself because the concerns that are being voiced now like parking, like crowding, people getting in their car and driving drunk from a community establishment, those were

concerns that were voiced about our liquor license application about 10 years ago, and none of it came to fruition.”

The neighbors said they are excited about a new restaurant going in the building, but the size of the establishment is the main issue, and they are hoping to work together across the aisle to

create a perfect �t for the neighborhood.

“Initially when I heard there was a restaurant moving in I was all for it. I was all for having something there, not a 240 seat distillery,” Rinehart said.

“We’re proposing that we work together on a scale that’s more appropriate to the district and no one is suggesting that they don’t open or that we don’t want development, no one wants a

vacant building either, that raises safety concerns too,” Buirs (http://glendalecherrycreek.com/distillery-alley-1-17/)ki said. “I

think to have something the size of a Chili’s [with no onsite parking] suddenly on a one-block neighborhood retail area, I just

don’t see how they’ll do it without everything else having to change to �t that.”

Still waiting on some permits, Settles said his casual restaurant distillery is “possibly close, but not a done deal.”

Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2016 (http://www.digiprove.com/prove_copyright.aspx?id=P804726)All Rights Reserved

News Articles (Http://Glendalecherrycreek.Com/Category/News-Articles/)

December 22, 2016

Mark Smiley (Http://Glendalecherrycreek.Com/Author/Admin4gcc/)

No Comments (Http://Glendalecherrycreek.Com/2016/12/New-Distillery-Pub-Park-Hill-Gets-Pushback-Residents/#Respond)

137

No tags

Written by Mark Smiley (Http://Glendalecherrycreek.Com/Author/Admin4gcc/)

0

0

Like 1

Submit Comment

Written by Mark Smiley (Http://Glendalecherrycreek.Com/Author/Admin4gcc/)

View all posts by: Mark Smiley (Http://Glendalecherrycreek.Com/Author/Admin4gcc/)

No Comments Yet.

Leave a comment

Name*

Email (will not be published)*

Website

Your comment*

Get This Widget

Oddly Enough

LATEST ODDLY ENOUGH NEWS (HTTP://WWW.REUTERS.COM/NEWS/ODDLYENOUGH)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

| Next »

 (http://www.reuters.com)

Man phones police from roof of speeding car to thwart thief (http://www.reuters.com/article/usfrancecaridUSKBN14P143?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=408)

Doctors advise Germans to walk like penguins on ice (http://www.reuters.com/article/usgermanyweatherpenguinsidUSKBN14O1EE?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=408)

Surgical forceps removed from Vietnamese man after 18 years (http://www.reuters.com/article/usvietnamforcepsidUSKBN14N0GG?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=408)

'Hollyweed': Prankster alters LA's landmark sign (http://www.reuters.com/article/uscaliforniahollywoodprankidUSKBN14L1BL?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=408)

Canadian man punches cougar attacking dog near fast food store (http://www.reuters.com/article/uscanadacougaridUSKBN14H1QP?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=408)

Links

All original content on these pages is �ngerprinted and certi�ed by Digiprove (http://www.digiprove.com)

Links

City of Glendale (http://glendale.co.us/)

Greater Glendale Chamber of Commerce (http://ggchamber.com/)

Cherry Creek Chamber of Commerce (http://www.cherrycreekchamber.org)

Rugbytown USA (http://in�nityparkatglendale.com/rugbytown)

In�nity Park (http://in�nityparkatglendale.com)

Glendale Sports Center (http://in�nityparkatglendale.com/index.php/sportscenter)

Recent Articles

Has your tattoo expired? (http://glendalecherrycreek.com/articles-view/has-your-tattoo-expired/)

A guide to holiday traditions worth starting in 2016 (http://glendalecherrycreek.com/articles-view/guide-holiday-traditions-worth-starting-2016/)

Baby on board? 8 tips for stress-free infant travel (http://glendalecherrycreek.com/articles-view/baby-board-8-tips-stress-free-infant-travel/)

5 tricks to a happier, less stressful holiday season (http://glendalecherrycreek.com/articles-view/5-tricks-happier-less-stressful-holiday-season/)

Archives

Archives

Select Month

Social Networks

(https://www.facebook.com/glendalecherrycreek)

(https://twitter.com/GCCChronicle)

Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle (http://glendalecherrycreek.com/) © 2017 Privacy Policy (http://glendalecherrycreek.com/?page_id=169)