Sports Column bar closes after three decades by Coors Field

Sports Column is out.

The bar at 1930 Blake St., which opened in 1995, closed at the end of September. It had been a popular spot during baseball season because of its proximity to Coors Field, which debuted that same year.

“As Downtown Denver began to grow and change, Sports Column struggled to remain relevant with the changing clientele in the area,” Dominic Roybal, the final operator of Sports Column, wrote in an email. “The nightlife crowd began to desire a more refined experience.” 

Roybal owns the Refinery — the bar next door to the former Sports Column — as well as two other Denver nightlife spots, Retro Room and Sidecar. He said he began managing Sports Column in August 2022 after signing a 24-month operational lease with Lotus Concepts, the company restaurateur Francois Saffiedine leads.

Safieddine bought the 1930 and 1932 Blake St. property in January 2021 for $5.2 million from former Sports Column owner Don Stalkfleet. Roybal said Saffiedine was given the rights to operate Sports Column as part of that deal. 

Lotus Concepts handed over operations to Roybal the following year because the company “was being stretched thin with multiple business ventures,” Roybal said. 

At the end of September, when the two-year operational lease ended, both Royal and Lotus decided to close Sports Column because it was no longer profitable, he said.

Saffiedine’s firm “is experienced in bar operations and they assumed the space when our lease expired,” Roybal said.

The entrance to 1930 Blake St., formerly home to Sports Column, on Oct. 15. (Max Scheinblum/BusinessDen)

As of Oct. 10, signs on the door read “Closed Remodeling See You Soon.” But Savanna Hyde, director of business growth and development for Lotus Concepts, told BusinessDen by phone that Sports Column is doing only basic landlord upkeep to prepare for a new tenant. 

Decades as a sports bar “takes its toll” on a space, Hyde said.

The real estate website Crexi shows 1930 Blake St. has been listed for lease since July 5.

As of Tuesday, the remodeling signs on the doors had been replaced with one advertising the property for lease.

Hyde said a new tenant doesn’t necessarily need to capitalize on the proximity to Coors.

“Any business that feels like they want to improve downtown Denver is a business we want, Rockies or not,” she said.

The 1930 Blake unit features a rooftop with a bar in addition to a bar and kitchen on the first floor, Hyde said. 

A year ago, Lotus requested permits from the city to expand 1930 Blake’s rooftop. Hyde said that was a preliminary submission done to get ahead of the city’s “slow” permitting process, but the effort was nixed because the Refinery, Dominic Roybal’s bar at 1932 Blake St., recently renewed its lease. The plan was submitted in the event Lotus Concepts were to take over both units, she noted.

Safieddine opened Wonderyard Garden + Table in Ballpark earlier this year.