In just five months since Stem Ciders acquired Howdy Beer, the two brands have been busy working on growing wider national distribution. Now, Stem Ciders and Howdy Beer have more plans. After nearly 10 years at its original 2811 Walnut St. location in Denver, Stem Ciders announce that it will be moving its RiNo taproom just a few blocks down to 3040 Blake Street. The building which previously housed The Preservery comes equipped with a full kitchen, enabling Stem to grow its burgeoning culinary program while also expanding music programming through an indoor and outdoor stage and roof-top patio.
Founded in July 2013, Stem Ciders began its cider-making operations from its current Walnut Street location before moving all production to its Acreage cider house and production facility in Lafayette in February 2018. And while the RiNo tasting room has remained successful in serving as a tentpole in the RiNo neighborhood for innovative tradition-inspired cider, the opportunity to move into the new space proved just too good to pass up.
Meanwhile, Stem’s move down the street also opens the doors for the arrival of Howdy Bar. Serving as the flagship location for fans of Howdy Beer, 2811 Walnut St will be transformed into a no-frills Country Western-themed bar in the heart of the RiNo Arts District.
“The state of Colorado is still in many ways the Wild West,” said Stem Ciders Cofounder Eric Foster. “With Howdy Bar, we’re hoping to channel that Western spirit of peanut shells on the ground, old school country music blasting, shots of whiskey, pitchers of Howdy Beer flowing, crisp refreshing ciders, and generally an approachable place for industry friends to come hang post shift.”
Howdy Bar will receive a quicker transition with plans to open to the public by the first week of October in time for the Great American Beer Festival. Howdy Beer will also be prominently featured at the fest with a whole slate of programming throughout the week at the Colorado Convention Center as well as at its new home in RiNo, offering plenty of opportunities for fans to wet their whistles.
Stem Ciders expects to vacate its current building by September 30 and aims to re-open at 3040 Blake Street by the end of the year (property pictured below).
“The neighborhood has certainly evolved over the last ten years, and we’re thrilled to grow into a new space that will better reflect how Stem has also evolved over the last decade,” said Foster.
That evolution for Stem Ciders will be most noticeable in the addition of a full kitchen and bar program, which will serve up approachable, down-home menu items like a flat top burger, coney dog, sandwiches and small plates helmed by Acreage Executive Chef, Matt Ochs. And while initially the Stem Ciders RiNo restaurant will open with limited hours, the intent is to eventually operate from Lunch through Late Night seven days a week with brunch offered Friday-Sunday.
“The RiNo neighborhood is already home to some tremendous culinary talents, so our goal is to bring extremely well-crafted comfort food that’s still very approachable,” said Ochs. “We’re also excited to offer a late night dining option in an area where not many currently exist.”
.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.