wordplay: Lacy Morris

image: Daniel Kane

SoCo is setting a new standard for Denver bars.  Formerly Shelter, Bar Standard is raising eyebrows with an all-star lineup of DJ’s, bands, dancers and singers from around the world.

The Standard’s immaculate décor is a throwback to the 20s and 30s speakeasy days of Prohibition.  “Speakeasy” derives from a patron's manner of ordering booze without raising suspicion, as alcohol was illegal. A bartender would request a patron lower their voice or "speak easy." Speaking easy is a thing of the past in twenty-first century America, though.  Your whisper would be inaudible over Standard’s state-of-the-art sound system. 

Juice Joint, Standard’s second room, has more of a jazz lounge vibe, accompanied by live musicians on saxophone or piano.  A separate DJ shakes up the room straight out of a 20s romance: leather couches, a baby grand and vintage wallpaper set the scene. 

Juice Joint wears a nametag that’s connected to a time when moonshining was hush, hush and ladies were anything but.  Flappers were a new breed of women that emerged in the 20s and they’ve reappeared as eye candy in both rooms.  Flappers were considered impulsive and audacious for wearing short skirts, dancing, drinking and frequenting back alley speakeasies to score men.

Just for the ladies, the men of Standard are all dolled up in fedoras and suspenders.  This makes for quite a unique atmosphere, a definite escape from anything cliché.   

Just as in the 20s, Bar Standard is open to adults over 21, preferably those who love to flout conventional social norms.  Dancing’s encouraged and one’s finest attire is the only way to set foot on the red carpet. In order to truly immerse your self into the era of forbidden pleasure, request one of their signature drinks, prepared only with the finest swill of the century. 

Ryan Dykstra & Michael Trundle present Blueprint Wednesdays

myspace.com/BarStandard

1037 Broadway

(303) 339.6633 

CoClubs.com