If the name makes you smile, the concept might too. Dude IDK is bringing comedy, food, drinks and plenty more under one roof at Denver’s York Street Yards.
Plans call for a retail suite at 3869 Steele Street to be transformed into an entertainment venue with room for up to 210 guests. Naked Denver first reported on the project.
Dude IDK owner Nick Holmby told What Now the idea goes well beyond stand-up comedy. “We’ll host live comedy, live music, live podcasts, bingo, trivia – basically anything entertaining that does well in the space, we’ll put it on. Our goal is to be fair in wages for employees and fair in pay for entertainers. We don’t want to steal from them like a lot of comedy clubs or music venues do – they deserve their share,” he said.
Plans for the space include a stage, bar, green room and sound booth, but Holmby said the team is designing it with flexibility in mind.
Holmby added that the room is going to be built out with a kitchen and lofted green room to allow more space on the main floor. It’ll also include some cool finishing touches like a marquee, some arches, a bar and a mobile stage. “We want to be able to run any show in any part of the room. We hope to bring art and community together and partner with some places and people that are already doing that at an underrated level,” he said.
Food will be a significant part of the Dude IDK experience, too.
Chef and partner Patrick Dawson, who has helped open multiple restaurants and worked as a sous chef at restaurants in Puerto Rico, Southern California, Denver and Portland, told What Now the restaurant will operate from 11 am to 4 pm Wednesday through Saturday, before switching to its evening menu at 6 pm.
“There’s the menu at night is what we’re basing the lunch menu off of. It is made for people to eat small bites, so they can watch a show or eat quickly while music is playing. We’re going to have a lot of what I’ve been calling is, like, high end bar food and high end gastropub food,” he said.
The daytime menu will have a different feel. “During the day, it will be traditional lunch menus with sandwiches and salads and soups and specials and pastas,” he added.
Founded by Holmby, Dude IDK has grown into a comedy and media company producing stand-up shows, podcasts, sketch comedy and private events. The York Street Yards location will give the company a permanent home while adding food, drinks and a wider mix of entertainment.
An opening date has not yet been announced.
