Every time that we post a blog, it feels like we are preparing to tell you of another delay. Well, this blog is no different than the rest. It is safe to say, sadly, that we are not going to be open by St. Patty’s Day. We are so close, but yet so far.
As a courtesy to all of our fans and for those who are excited about this project, we should be really honest about the issues we are currently facing and explain why we keep postponing the opening date. For the past six months, we have been in a tug of war with the state fire inspector. We have had not one, but two plans approved by the Department of Public Safety to only be later revoked by no fault of our own. We have made certain that everything is on the up and up. We have been consistently jumping through one bureaucratic hoop after another. However, each time we think that we are in the clear, another issue gets dropped in front of us. We will spare you the details (mostly because it makes us want to drink away the frustrations), but these issues will be resolved very soon. After this mess is truly finished, we will be publishing a blog with the specifics of the situation. However, at this time we want to protect all of whom are involved in the project and have stuck their neck out to fight for what is truly right and safest for not only the bar patrons, but the residents upstairs. We can truly see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Minus the frustrations with the state inspector, everybody who we have worked with locally has been phenomenal. We’ve had some great people in our corner who have been very supportive. City Planner Dan Reardon and architect Tom Chamberlain have really gone to bat for us when it comes to the issues we have endured. Our contractor, Bill Jensen, knows our building inside and out; he’s done a tremendous job at turning our vision into something substantial during the construction process and dealing gracefully with every “oddball” request we have thrown at him. (One of Bill’s most used phrases is “We’ll just have to get creative.”) The list goes on and on with the people who we are truly thankful for making this project a reality.
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| The bar top with one coat of resin. Let it shine! |
Speaking of construction, a few more updates. We have a bar top! Our custom bottle cap bar top is assembled. The last coat of epoxy resin has been poured tonight, making this one-of-a-kind beauty look like a pristine piece of glass. As smooth as it is, we’ll be ready to slide a cold one down to you at the end of the bar. Once the final coat sets, we will be sure to post the final pictures.
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| If you didn't know what a growler is, now you know. |
Also, our lighting is in. Here’s another unique “CB’s only” commodity. We have gathered a number of growlers from Colorado breweries (Ouray, Golden City, Glenwood Canyon, etc.), and have turned them into pendant lights. Courtesy of All Glass Station and Dianna’s Lighting & Design, these bad boys have turned out awesome.
We have finally pulled all of our big permits, so now we can finish sheet rocking all the walls. We started in the kitchen, so that we could get the hood vent installed. We then enlisted an entire crew of friends to help finish the rest of the walls, which helped us make a lot of progress in a very short amount of time. Thanks to Floyd, Coops, Cathy, Weylin, Jessica, Scott, Cooley, Chad, Joey, and Hailey for your dry walling skills. We can say with certainty that if for any reason the bar business falls through, we have an arsenal of friends and family that could make one hell of a handyman service. (We’ll just call that “Plan B” for now.)
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| After a long night of working... |
Finally, we have been busy with the fun part of the bar lately: the booze. As a great sacrifice to our future customers, we have been sampling as many beers as possible. It’s a tough job, but somebody has got to do it. (By the way, if you haven’t tried the new New Belgium seasonal, Dig, yet, you really should; it’s awesome.) Keep in mind that our vision for this bar was to focus on Colorado products. With that in mind, you can expect a variety of craft beers from Avery, Ska, Palisade, New Belgium and Revolution Brewing. Of course, we will have the standards on tap (Coors Light, Bud Light, Blue Moon, etc.), but we will be the only place in Delta to offer a variety of craft brews and really favor the more sophisticated tastes that Colorado has to offer. Next stop: wine.
So, until next time, we will be plugging away. Hang in there folks; CB’s Tavern will be worth the wait. Look for us towards the end of March to be hiring. We not only want to serve local products, but we want to employ local barkeeps, cooks, and servers!
