DENVER — Number 38 in Denver's River North (RiNo) neighborhood has reached a settlement with the city over its noise violations.
The director of the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses ordered Number 38's cabaret license be suspended for six days and $2,000 fine. The suspension means Number 38 is not allowed to have any form of live entertainment, but can still serve food and liquor to the public.
In the settlement, the venue admitted to 13 violations, which happened between May and August. The attorney who represented several people who live near the establishment told Denver7 the settlement is a slap on the wrist, saying he's concerned for the people who live nearby.
“What they don't want is for them to be on conference calls and Zooms or trying to play with kids and to have their wine glasses in their house shuttering falling over and for it to be disruptive and not sleeping,” said Tom Downey.
One of Downey's clients told Denver7 he sees the settlement more as a delay and is concerned Number 38 won't follow the rules down the road. According to the settlement, if Number 38 receives another violation within the next year, they will have to close for 10 days.
In a statement, Number 38's CEO Andrew Palmquist said they have filed a modification request to adjust their cabaret license.
"Number Thirty Eight has always been a vibrant gathering place. Two years ago, with overwhelming approval from our neighborhood, we opened in RiNo, Denver’s liveliest arts district. Since then, and after discussions with representatives from the City, we have operated within what we believed to be the guidelines of the restrictions on our cabaret license. As of last week, we received confirmation on the nuances of our operations related to live and background music and some clarity on what we may currently provide. Moving forward, we have filed a modification request to our cabaret license which meets the needs of both our community and our customers, continuing Number Thirty Eight’s celebration of Colorado.”
The Denver Department of Excise and Licenses also released a statement:
“There are many factors considered when the city issues a fine for a business that has violated city rules and regulations, including conditions on a license. Generally, the city considers if this is the first violation, if the penalty addresses the type of violation, if the consequence provides motivation for the business to get in compliance and if the penalty is consistent with consequences for other businesses with similar violations. The city also speaks with neighbors and complainants before and while fashioning a settlement to understand and address their concerns as well. The penalties issued to this business evaluated all those factors, especially when you consider this is the first need for disciplinary action to be taken against this business. In addition, the settlement agreement lays out much more severe consequences if there are any other violations in the next year, including a total shutdown of the business for at least 10 days.”
