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Triangle Bar Brings an Urban, Chic Aesthetic to Denver’s Queer Nightlife

Triangle Bar Brings an Urban, Chic Aesthetic to Denver’s Queer Nightlife

Sean O’Grady looked for several months in search of the perfect building to house his own bar, which is not an easy task with the current Denver market. What he stumbled upon was an old, vacant building with an illustrious history—the perfect place to house his dream.

Sitting on the corner of N. Broadway and Stout Street, the building has a unique triangle shape aligning with the block. Back in the 70s, the building was home to one of Denver’s most popular gay bars, The Triangle. For decades, queer people filled the building with dancing and debauchery until it closed its doors in the early 2000s. The building was completely remodeled in 2014 from the foundation up. The only thing that still remains from the original Triangle are the exterior brick walls.

O’Grady went back and forth about resurrecting “The Triangle” and decided to honor the building’s history.

“I loved that it was able to flourish in a time when it was illegal to be gay, or it was not an easy time to be gay,” O’Grady said. “This was such a big part of history, and we’re happy to turn the building back into another gay bar.”

In only six weeks, they transformed the space into a warm lounge design. Leather couches are scattered throughout the bar with LED lights, giving it a sexy, modern, chic aesthetic. Outside is a patio lined with contemporary fireplaces and stairs that lead to a rooftop that overlooks the city.

“The first week we were open, all the 70-80-year-old gay men came out and were like, ‘I remember Triangle back in the day.’ It was awesome that the community was excited,” said Adam Perkowski, a bartender/barback who helped open The Triangle last month.

But Triangle is not just another gay bar. During the day, they have a coffee shop that offers on-the-go food options like breakfast burritos. Then on the weekends, the bar transforms from a classy cocktail lounge to an energized dance floor with local DJs.

“The very first day of training with the staff, we just talked about how important it is that people aren’t coming to buy a drink. They don’t go outside to drink. They don’t go out to buy food. They come out for experience, and that’s really what we’re selling.”

They even offer wine and cocktails on the tap. It keeps the service flowing, while allowing customers to still experience fresh wine and delicious craft cocktails beyond the typical whiskey sour.

“In Denver, there are so many world class bartenders and bars like Williams & Graham, but I don’t know why it hasn’t hit the gay scene yet. And so we kind of got lucky, and one of our bartenders who’s really well-versed in that scene just worked out a really cool cocktail menu for us,” O’Grady explained.

The menu offers farm-to-table food that isn’t the typical fried bar menu. They are locally sourced, offering unique options like wagyu meatballs. They get their liquor just three blocks away at Mile High Spirits and all their baked goods come from Harvest Moon.

“We’re also super proud of the fact that we are trying to be more sustainable,” O’Grady said. “We compost and recycle. We divert about 78 percent of our waste from the landfill.”

Their elevated menu matched with modern decor isn’t the reason they have received all their raving reviews. It’s their engaging customer service from the staff, a lot of whom are friends and previous coworkers.

“We’re always empowering our staff, saying ‘Whatever you have to do to make somebody happy, we trust you.’ They’ve done such a good job, and they’re all really fun and friendly people,” he said.

Not only did Sean O’Grady, the managing partner, have positive things to say about his team, but his attitude towards them is reciprocated.

Adam Perkowski said it’s his favorite place he’s worked. He spoke highly of O’Grady’s background and previous work history, having once managed Tracks and Root Down, and was excited to learn he was opening his own business.

“The style is great. The owners all know what they are doing,” Perkowski said.

There are four investors in Triangle. Sean O’Grady is the managing partner, and his partner, Roger Kerns, who still works for Root Down at the airport, supports the food side of the business. Scott Coors, who is the openly gay grandson of the Coors Brewing founder, and Dave Hurt are investors.

“I couldn’t ask for better partners on this, and we couldn’t do this without them,” O’Grady said.

Future plans include participating in the Pride parade, unveiling a bar on the roof just in time for summer, and finishing the basement to create another lounge area that will host more music.

“The basement will be more underground, but also a more premium feel. More blacks and more leather. It will be open for Pride,” he said. “We also have some fun DJs booked for the summer. We are excited to push the envelope a little bit and just let the DJs play how they play.”

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