• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
    • Our Advertisers
  • Distribution Locations
  • Past Issues

The Denver North Star

Your Guide to Community, Politics, Arts and Culture in North Denver

Hot off the Presses!
Check out the Jan 15 – Feb 14 issue here.

Help Us Improve!

Take our community survey and help
guide the direction of the The Denver North Star!

 

  • Community
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Arts
  • Dining
  • Community Calendar
  • Become a Member

New Bar Sees Awakening of Sober Movement in North Denver

December 15, 2020 By Abigail Seaberg 2 Comments

Does a bar need to serve alcohol to be a bar? A new Jefferson Park business says no.
Photos courtesy of Awake Denver

There’ll be a new bar in town come spring, and owners Billy and Christy Wynne want you to know that it is, in fact, a bar.

“It’s not a juice bar, it’s not a cava bar, it’s not a kombucha bar,” Billy Wynne said. “It’s a bar.”

Why the clarification? Awake Denver is a zero-proof bar currently serving coffee, breakfast, and alcohol-free beer, wine, and spirits from their in-house “liquor” store. Although COVID-19 restrictions are forcing the Jefferson Park establishment to rely solely on window-service at the moment, Awake Denver will be Denver’s first alcohol-free bar when the mocktails start flowing in the spring.

“We want it to feel like a bar,” Billy said. “It’s an interesting thing to try to create a sense of community and comfort without alcohol… so we’re gonna do all we can to make the drinks interesting, make the music interesting, make the atmosphere welcoming.”

Billy and Christy’s drive to create such a place grew from their own experiences with alcohol. The two have both been sober for almost two years, and Christy has been working as a sober coach for about a year and a half. They believe the sober-curious movement is gaining traction, and want to play a part in its growth. Christy said that even though drinking was at an all-time high during the pandemic, she had still seen people seeking “a higher-conscious sort of life.”

“They’re ready to wake up which is exactly what Awake is about,” Christy said. “It’s about providing a safe space in the community for people to go and to understand that alcohol-free can be just as amazing and beautiful and fun as what they perceived drinking to be.”

Being the first zero-proof bar in Colorado, Awake Denver is a unique undertaking for a state with a complex health identity. Denver Public Health reported in 2019 that more than one in four Denver adults binge drinks.

“There’s sort of this weird paradox in Colorado,” Christy said. “We’re all so active and fit, but we also have some of the highest binge drinking rates in the U.S..”

But Awake was not made to judge anyone who likes to drink. This bar is meant for the sober, sober-curious, and drinkers alike. 

“We want everybody,” Billy said. “Whether they are in recovery or they just wanna have a night out without alcohol, we wanna be a place for them.”

In order to make their alcohol-free drinks stand out, Awake will be working with a mixologist to create specialty concoctions designed to do exactly what alcohol can’t. Stress-reducing herbs called adaptogens and other ingredients with healing properties will be combined in thoughtful creations that touch on different parts of the palate.

“I know Billy is really into the craft beers and those kinds of things, but I am so into the drinks that we’re gonna create,” Christy said. “It’s not just gonna be like a typical mocktail that you would think of.”

Take Ghia, for example. This aperitif is a selection of “social tonics” currently for sale in Awake’s zero-proof store, though it will make an appearance behind the bar come spring. With forward-facing notes of herbal and botanical extracts, this Mediterranean-inspired drink is flavorful to say the least, and perfect for someone looking to craft a beverage that stands out from other alcohol-mimicking offerings.

But the Wynnes are not solely focused on their unique drink options. They also want to support the surrounding community with 20 percent discounts for veterans, active service members, and people on Medicaid and food stamps. They will also donate 2 percent of sales and 20 percent of profits to local charities that focus on providing help with mental and behavioral issues, addiction and recovery through a monthly rotating program. Their charity partner for December is Housed Working & Healthy, a community business collaborative established to help people become self-sufficient by simultaneously addressing people’s housing, mental health, and employment status.

Awake Denver is located at 2240 N. Clay St., Unit 100, and open from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day. You can also find them online at awakedenver.com.

Filed Under: Dining

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Linda says

    December 16, 2020 at 1:52 pm

    Great Article!! Very interesting!!

    Reply
  2. Nicholas Fichter says

    December 16, 2020 at 1:44 pm

    An excellent write-up of a fascinating concept!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive email updates about The Denver North Star, your new guide to community, politics, arts and culture in North Denver.

Community Events

The Denver North Star community calendar is coming back! We’ve updated our form to better accept physical and virtual events, as well as to collect additional information possible attendees would like to know.

Please use our new form to submit your event!

Jan 15 2021

Councilwoman Sandoval Virtual Office Hours

Jan 19 2021

Denver’s Housing Challanges

Jan 19 2021

Berkeley Regis United Neighbors (BRUN) Monthly Meeting

Jan 19 2021

HUNI January Board Meeting

Jan 23 2021

Local Quilt Shop Day

No event found!
Load More

Connect With Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Keep Up With Us

The Denver North Star

Recent Comments

  • Emilio R Dominguez, Jr. on Dominguez Family Las Posadas Enlivened North Denver
  • Natalie on One Neighbor Takes on City, RTD in Fight to Stop 776 Horns a Day
  • Patrick O'Brien on Det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlige klær.
  • Joanne on Dominguez Family Las Posadas Enlivened North Denver
  • Patrick O'Brien on Dominguez Family Las Posadas Enlivened North Denver
  • Stacy Heidt on 2020 Holiday Online Security Awareness
  • Ann K Long, a retiree on Northside Sustainability Alliance Endorses Denver’s Climate Recommendations

Our Columnists

  • Educator and mom Jill Carstens writes about parenting in her column, Letters from Miss Jill.
  • Librarian Hannah Evans discusses great reads in her Checking Out: Book Reviews column.
  • Dennis Gallagher tells all in his column, Shaping Our Future by Remembering Our Past.
  • Erika Taylor advocates for community wellness in her Taylored Fitness columns.
  • Kathryn White focuses on issues of interest to older adults in her column, The Gray Zone.
  • District 1 Community Resource Officer Bob Anderson focuses on public safety issues in his monthly column.

Our Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019

All Categories

  • Arts and Culture
  • Cannabis
  • Checking Out Book Reviews
  • Community
  • Community Voices
  • Coronavirus News
  • Denver North Star News
  • Dining
  • Editorial
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Featured
  • Globeville
  • Guest Column
  • Health
  • Legislature
  • Local Dining
  • Opinion
  • Parenting
  • Politics
  • Public Safety
  • Shaping Our Future by Remembering Our Past
  • Student Voices
  • Taylored Fitness
  • The Gray Zone
  • Transportation
  • Uncategorized

Copyright © 2021 · All Rights Reserved