DENVER (KDVR) — Larimer Square and Glenarm Place in downtown Denver opened to street dining on Thursday.
Bars were also allowed to reopen at limited capacity.
Prost Brewing Company is firing up the kettles to brew beer for the first time since COVID-19 forced them to shut down.
“We’re very excited to have the smell of beer in the brewery again,” said David Deline, the owner of Prost Brewing.
Under Gov. Jared Polis’ guidelines, bars can reopen at 25 percent capacity or up to 50 people indoors, whichever is smaller.
For for restaurants like Ocean Prime in Larimer Square, they are preparing to serve customers in the street after the City of Denver closed off Larimer Street between 14th and 15th streets.
“This gives us a fighting chance. Now we have the ability to seat all these tables and take care of guests,” said Zachary Montgomery, regional director of Ocean Prime. “We’re just trying to do anything we can to maximize because it’s obviously pretty choked inside with the 50 percent and 50 people rules.”
But not everyone is pleased with the new street set-up. Business owner Steve Weil says it blocks access. He would like to see the street blocked off only in the evenings.
“This is not going to encourage people to come downtown. It makes it worse and we don’t want to hurt what is already a fragile ecosphere,” said Weil who owns of Rockmount Ranch Ware Manufacturing Company.
Two weeks ago, Olde Town Arvada shutdown Olde Wadsworth to allow street dining.
Nicholas Allmond and Olivia Dungey own Urban Beets in Olde Town.
“It saved us,” said Allmond.
The owners said without their street patio, they would not have been able to survive.
“Especially for us being only 700 square feet inside, doing half capacity for us was scary — it was a scary thought,” Dungey said.
