Donations may help keep The Lion s Lair on Colfax from closing for good
The Lion s Lair has been a well-known music venue in Denver for five decades. Now, the community is trying to save it from closing. Author: Lori Lizarraga Updated: 11:08 AM MST December 29, 2020
DENVER The Lion s Lair on Colfax has been a pillar of the city s live music scene since the late 1960s, when it was bought and renamed by John Lyons.
Under current ownership since the 90s, it has thrived in Denver as an entertainment venue for local and big names alike.
After eight months of being shut down due to the pandemic this year, co-owners Doug Kauffman and Tony Meggitt said they were starting to fear the worst that is until they started receiving hundreds of donations to help them stay afloat.
“We ve been closed for eight months, except for a brief six-week period where we observed all the restrictions and kept things real safe for folks,” Kauffman says. “But people weren t going out that much.”
During the period the Lion’s Lair was open, Kauffman says it wasn’t possible to book live bands with 25 percent capacity because of COVID mandates, and he had to cancel about two and a half months of bands that were on the books.
“The Lair has a community that is supportive,” the GoFundMe page states. “LL s community consists of people that live for this bar. People that need the bar for support, friendship, expression of music or art, and sometimes you just need a place dark and calm to grab a drink.