A new non-alcoholic bar, Denver Cafe and Kava, to open in Park Hill, according to a building permit application. The upcoming cafe is opening on 5501 E Colfax Ave.
The founding team at the upcoming cafe is made up of a group friends who met at another sober bar, Golden Kava Lounge. The team is made up of Kevin Bloom, Elizabeth Leung, Cam Webbe, Jayden MacDonald and Jack Kestian. Kestian also owns the aforementioned Golden Kava Lounge. The owners obtained their keys in October and began the buildout, documented on their Instagram page.
“Our main goal really is to establish a safe place for people to come and feel like they can have community and good mocktails without feeling the pressure to drink alcohol,” Leung says.
Denver Cafe and Kava will serve an array of classic coffees with in-house syrups and Chinese and Vietnamese teas, following Leung’s family’s recipes. The key attraction at the new cafe is the other half of its name, Kava. Kava is a plant native to the Pacific Islands. When consumed, it produces a relaxing effect and has been increasingly seen as an alternative to alcohol, especially in Colorado, one of the larger hubs for kava bars.
The team at Denver Cafe and Kava are positioning themselves as a transitional space for people who might not know a lot about kava and want a familiar setting to experience something new. “We’re really trying to do it right so we could pave the way for more businesses to pop up like us in Colorado,” Leung says.
Denver Cafe and Kava is aiming to open toward the end of March.
