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DENVER — The Mile High City could soon become more boozy once you’re allowed to leave the bar with your drink in hand.

Some fear Denver will be like Las Vegas or New Orleans.

“It will not be a Vegas or a Bourbon Street,” said Ashley Kilroy, director of Denver’s Excise and Licenses department. “We know, in Denver, we have a lot of creative businesses and a lot of people interested in this. But, there must be strict protections for neighborhoods, as well.”

The city passed the common consumption ordinance last year. Now on tap: the rule-making process.

From beer halls to cocktail lounges, venues in places like Larimer Square, RiNo and South Broadway could band together and get one-year licenses to turn their “districts” into a street fest for drinkers.

So, we’re taking a 360 look at the issue with a neighbor who senses a brewing disaster, the city, which believes it’s a recipe for success, a bar that says it’s too much, another bar that says, “Bottoms up!”

Toast of the Town

But, we start in neighboring Aurora, where they’re already toasting the benefits.

“Really, there hasn’t been many issues,” said Mark Shaker, co-founder of Stanley Marketplace, which opened in summer 2017.

“You can walk around with your drink,” Shaker said. “If your kid is doing gymnastics, where you have an hour – you grab a glass of wine or beer on a Wednesday night. It just adds more flexibility and ability to roam the place without having to lock down.”

About the only thing you can’t do is walk into another restaurant or bar with your drink.

“I either have to leave my beer outside or dump it,” Shaker said.

Bars are required to pour drinks into plastic cups marked with their bar’s name and/or logo if a customer decides to leave.

“You have to pour it into a plastic container. There were concerns someone would be walking around with a big hurricane like you do on Bourbon Street, but there have been no issues so far. No fistfights in our common areas,” Shaker said.

As for the clothing and specialty shops like Trunk Duvo, you can roam freely with a cold one.

“When it first started we were like, is everybody just going to be wasted coming into our store? Touching things and breaking things?” said Chris Bacorn who owns two stores in Stanley, Trunk Duvo and the men’s shop Squadron. “But, it’s been the total opposite. Everyone’s been respectful.”

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