by Glen Richardson
One of the Cherry Creek Valley’s longest continually owned and operated family businesses is about to become history. The long-running Bonnie Brae Tavern that opened in 1934 with an old-school ambiance, dishing out red-sauce Italian and American dishes, is likely to be scraped-off by redevelopment.
Early-stage development plans submitted to the city indicate that the 0.76-acre site at 740 S. University Blvd. will be replaced by a 40-foot, three-story building with 43 apartments plus, in theory, 16,500-sq.-ft. of retail on the ground floor. The development would also have one level of below-ground parking. At this point there is no guarantee that the plot will in fact be sold or exactly what any development will look like. Some anticipate that the retail will be jettisoned as it has been in other so-called “mixed use” projects and the entire development will simply be one more apartment/condominium project. The property owners have obtained a non-historic designation for the building and demolition certificate which is valid until May 1, 2024.
Plans are listed under the name Joe Jundt who is developing the project with two local partners. Jundt reportedly envisions one of the floor-level retail units as a higher-end restaurant, noting the area is surrounded by pricey Belcaro and Wash Park homes. A Bonnie Brae Tavern rebirth is unlikely, however, as there have been no discussions of the Tavern reopening in the project.
Changing History
The east end of the Tavern building is leased to In & Out Cleaners. The Tavern property also includes the building at 750 S. University. Formerly a Bank of the West site, the building now is home to Wish Gifts. Both businesses would be demolished according to plans for the new project.
Carl and Sue Dire bought the block of land in 1933 when University Boulevard was a dirt road. The Dires opened a gas station on the corner and Bonnie Brae Tavern was opened at its current location in 1934, the same family still runs it. Looking east was sagebrush as far as the eye could see until Colorado Boulevard, interrupted by a dairy farm or two. To the west, instead of today’s pop-tops of prime real estate, there were modest bungalows of a young neighborhood named Washington Park.
The tavern’s lack of pretentiousness made it a favorite hangout for those in Glendale who viewed themselves at the time as far more agrarian than urban. Well into the 1950s Bonnie Brae Tavern was considered by many as part of greater Glendale rather than Denver.
Carl Dire – he died in 1982 – invested every dime he had in the weeds and dirt along the east side of the street. With prohibition out, Dire had decided to open a bar in what was one of the driest neighborhoods in Denver. Dire and his wife Sue – she passed away in 2002 – named the business after the housing development Bonnie Brae that surrounded it. Like the restaurant, the neighborhood took time to grow into its name, which is Gaelic means “pleasant hill.” In 1934, it was nothing more than a scandal-ridden development that had gone bankrupt a few years earlier.
High Property Taxes Drive Sale
The impetus for the proposed sale has been the steep rise in property taxes for commercial property in the City and County of Denver. The last tax bill increased the levy by $30,000 for a $73,000 total. The owners noted that some businesses in the area are paying as much as $10,000 a month, which he finds would be prohibitive for many small independent businesses. It brings into question for some, can the Bonnie Brae commercial area on University survive? The old “Campus Lounge,” long a popular hangout like Bonnie Brae Tavern, is on its third proprietor in just a few years. As many small businesses are fleeing Denver, some do hang on as highlighted in the article on Page 1, “Old School Holdouts.”