DENVER — Music City Hot Chicken on South Broadway remains open and is taking steps to preserve some of the heavy-metal vibe left behind when TRVE Brewing Co. closed in July.
“We have recently taken over the lease here. We are going to be here for a bit,” said Steven Skinner, the general manager of Music City Hot Chicken’s Denver location, whose new lease is through 2029.
Colorado-based Music City Hot Chicken, with two other locations in Fort Collins, resided within the same building as TRVE Brewing Co. in Denver since 2021. The abrupt closure was hard on a lot of people, Skinner included.
“It definitely hurt on a personal level,” he said. “The community that TRVE had build had become my second family. It was sad thinking that was going to go away. So, if there’s anything that we can do to help hold it together as best we can, I'm going to try.”
Music City has applied for a liquor license, and Skinner estimates that it should be approved before the end of the year. In the meantime, he said they are “able to tread water” and that current sales are enough to cover food, payroll, and utilities. Once the license is approved, Skinner expects alcohol sales to boost food business.
“Once we get that license, we’re going to be doing great,” he said. “I definitely think that Music City is going to thrive here. Not only do I have confidence in my staff to be able to do this, I have confidence in our food.”
Skinner plans to keep much of the space’s aesthetic that customers associate with TRVE, including the pitch-black walls and large banners on the wall above the draft beer taps. He admits that he wants to get a few more lights to brighten up the space just a little bit, and wants to continue community-focused events such as rotating art shows for every First Friday.
The restaurants heavy-metal personality will remain, too.
Skinner said daytime playlists will skew toward more accessible and familiar bands, like Metallica and Judas Priest. As the night gets darker, so will the music.
Broadway has seen a wave of recent closures, such as The Hornet, Mutiny Information Café, Banded Oak Brewing, and Señor Burritos. Skinner is sad to see them go, but believes that change can create new opportunities.
“Yes, these places are closed, but something else is going to come in and something else is going to open up,” he said. “South Broadway will be different, but that’s not always a bad thing.”
Skinner credits employees and cooks for keeping the restaurant afloat, and it’s his trust in them that makes him so optimistic about the future.
“You can taste when the cooks care about their product,” he said. “You can definitely taste it when the employees want to be here. There’s 100 different restaurants they could go to, but they chose to come here. I want to make sure that they feel like they're getting their money's worth.”
The restaurant is planning on expanding their hours once their liquor license has been accepted, but, for now, their hours are reduced:
Sunday – 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Monday – Closed
Tuesday – Closed
Wednesday – Closed
Thursday – 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Friday – 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday – 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.