Recess!

I read in the Denver Post yesterday that Recess Beer Garden, located in Denver's Lower Highlands (LoHi) neighborhood, will be adding a location in the Tivoli Student Union on the Auraria Campus, which is the home of the University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State University, and the Community College of Denver. They will be occupying the space vacated by Tivoli Brewing Company, a brew pub which operated at that location for 10 years, until closing in 2023. And by the way, the Tivoli Brewing Company building, which is now the student union, was built in 1864 and housed the original Tivoli Brewing Company, which was a major brewery until it closed in 1969. I have patronized the later version of Tivoli Brewing several times, but never heard of Recess Beer Garden until yesterday, and decided to check it out. However, the website said its address was on 17th Street, and when I walked up the hill, found an entrance to the place in a back alley, and went in that way. It was not until I was leaving that I found the main entrance, seen in the photograph on the left, which in fact is on Erie Street, not 17th. Very confusing indeed. 

In any case, Recess Beer Garden is in the very heart of LoDo (aka Hipster Central), and is actually very much like a garden, with trees and landscaping all around its patio, as seen in the photograph on the right. This brewery has been around since 2015, and I find it strange that I have never heard of it for the past 11 years. Perhaps the hipsters wish to keep it a secret from the non-hipster set, who would probably crowd into the place if was better publicized. That would explain the address that leads you to a very non-descript back entrance in the middle of an alley. Originally, I was just going to take a photograph of the garden area from the street and not actually go into the bar, but there was a very tall fence that completely hides that garden from view. Well folks, the secret is out. Now that the great unwashed know about the place thanks to my blog, the LoDo hipsters will be competing for tables with a whole new crowd.

Recess does have an inside bar and dining area, which is what I saw when I first came through that back-alley entrance. And I must say, it is a really nice space, but it is the huge patio which is the real draw, and I headed straight past the bar and went outside, where I took the photograph on the left. They do serve food, and have a happy hour, too, although only Bud Light and Labatt Blue are on that happy hour menu. The one thing I found unusual is they have separate dog hours for their patio, unlike places like New Terrain in Golden, where you can bring your furry friends anytime they are open. While dogs are welcome open to close Sunday thru Thursday, they are restricted to 11am to 5pm on Fridays and 11am to 2pm on Saturdays. To me that is strange. Imagine you and your dog being evicted at 5:01pm, just as happy hour is starting to get going full steam.  Kiss your Bud Light or Labatt Blue goodbye, people!