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A cowgirl country bar is opening in downtown

There’s a new country bar in town, downtown specifically.

Belles & Boots, a barbecue restaurant and country dancing venue, will open at 1930 Blake St. in Lower Downtown on Friday, April 4, in time for the Colorado Rockies’ opening day.

The new bar will take over the space once home to the Sports Column sports bar, which closed last year.

The country bar will have a wide array of entertainment from line dancing to mechanical bull riding on “Bullcifer,” bottle service, live musicians, DJs — all under a glittering cowboy boot-shaped disco ball. Belles & Boots will also feature a dining experience centered around barbecue foods, sourcing high-quality meat cuts from local ranches, according to its website.

The bar will serve hand-crafted cocktails and a selection of local craft beers.

Sushi-Rama is closing

The last location for the conveyor belt sushi restaurant in Denver’s River North neighborhood is closing.

Sushi-Rama announced it will close its restaurant at 2615 Larimer St. on April 12.

The RiNo restaurant spearheaded by Chef Jeff Osaka has been open since 2015, but rising costs have pushed the restaurant to close, according to the announcement. Sushi-Rama cited higher ingredient costs, larger operational expenses and “complex labor regulations.”

Denver has one of the highest minimum wages for tipped restaurant workers, spurring the local restaurant industry to push a controversial state bill to bring down wages in cities like Denver and Boulder.

“When we first opened Sushi-Rama, the RiNo neighborhood was just beginning to find its place in the city as a dining destination. We took a risk with a fresh approach to sushi—inviting diners to experience Japanese cuisine through a playful, accessible lens,” Osaka said in a statement. “To the community that gathered around our conveyor belt, shared countless meals, and embraced our vision: thank you. To the staff made that vision come to life: we couldn’t have done it without you.”

Local brewery preparing to quadruple production

Colorado-based Westbound & Down Brewing is expanding, the brewer announced.

The brewery founded in Idaho Springs said it will add six fermenters, one brite tank and will make major upgrades to its canning line and glycol system. The changes will help Westbound & Down Brewing to double its production, according to the brewer. With more upgrades, the brewery plans to quadruple its production by 2028.

Westbound & Down Brewing has been growing since its acquisition of Endo Brewing’s Lafayette facility in 2021, which is now its main production facility and brewpub.

The company opened a taproom in Downtown Denver’s Dairy Block in 2022 and then acquired two mountain-town brewers: Aspen Brewing Company and Capitol Creek Brewery. Westbound & Down Brewing said it grew 1,835% over the last six years.

For its next phase, the brewery announced it’s launching a crowdfunding capital campaign through Dealmaker, an investing platform.

Anyone can make investments into the company starting at $750, with tiers offering perks for investors such as free beer, discounts, a yearly party and private barrel-aged beer selection. The brewery said it chose this route to raise capital to include beer enthusiasts into the company’s growth and keeping control of their product from investor influence.

“The craft beer movement exploded because of regular beer drinkers like the ones we see in our brewpubs each and every day, not just a handful of wealthy investors,” said Jake Gardner, CEO & director of brewing operations for Westbound & Down Brewing, in a press release. “Beer is the drink of the people, and by opening this opportunity up to the people who drink our beer and frequent our pubs allows them to be part of the movement.”