Growing up in a small town in the Midwest, Sudy Kudva attended a lot of high school weddings at the local Elks Lodge, and he’s got a lot of great memories from those celebratory nights.
So next year, Kudva plans to open Larimer Liquors, at 3122 Larimer St., a beer and shot bar inspired by that time. “At Elks Lodge, they have chilled beer glasses, inexpensive beer and one-ounce shots,” Kudva said, adding that he drank a lot of Pabst Blue Ribbon and Stag.
“It’s decorated with wood paneling, and it’s just very warm and comforting. But you couldn’t get an old-fashioned there,” he added. The idea is to juxtapose Larimer Liquors with Gold Point, which is a more high-end cocktail bar that Kudva and his investors own right next door.
Kudva and his team — Savanna Phibbs, Colin Hankins, Corey Costello, Michael Reilly and Caleb Sanford — also own The Squire Lounge, The Matchbox and 715 Club. Later this month, the team, except for Sanford, plan to open The Marigold, a bar and plant store in Five Points.
“Our big thing is high volume, low margin, especially now when some bars are charging people $10 for a Whiteclaw,” Kudva said. “We don’t want to be that bar. After six bars, it’s not about getting rich, it’s about keeping the mentality we have at all our bars, which is focusing on the employee first and staying humble.”
Larimer Liquors will be located inside what is now Urban Element Tattoo, but renovations won’t begin until the tattoo shop moves into its new South Broadway space. Once that happens, Kudva will start construction, including the addition of an old-school bar and booths.
“I want this to be a neighborhood hangout spot,” Kudva said. “I’ve met some of my best friends in bars, and I’ve never done an app in my entire life. Having a neighborhood joint was such an integral part of my 20s and 30s and a part of who I was.”
