New Lounge Could Take Over Old Falling Rock Space in LoDo

A new business is in the works for the space at 1919 Blake Street that was home to Falling Rock Tap House for nearly two and a half decades and then, for a brief time, Cabin Tap House — which was closed after a shooting on January 1, 2022, that left two people dead.

But there are a few kinks to work out before the address is revamped. 

Falling Rock shuttered permanently in June 2021 after the building was sold to Valentes Corleons (legal name Hussam Kayali), who owned the neighboring Beta Event Center, at 1909 Blake; he transformed it into Cabin later that year. Both businesses were eventually shut down by the city for being public nuisances.

Shortly after the New Year's Day shooting, it was determined that Corleons had sold the Cabin building to Thomas Schaefer, and the liquor license for the address was voluntarily surrendered. Now, Tom Saifuldeen Zaidan is vying to open a new business called Sky Lounge in the space.

“Sky Lounge is going to be very regular,” Saifuldeen Zaidan described at a license hearing on May 30. “A place where people can have fun. ... It’s going to be a nice crowd. People would like to come and watch sports, drink, enjoy their food.”

Saifuldeen Zaidan lives in Aurora and owns several businesses, including a trucking outfit and a bar and lounge in Grand Junction. He’s applied for a new liquor, cabaret and restaurant license for Sky Lounge under the entity Western Barn LLC, and the city is currently in the process of determining whether it will approve the request and under what conditions. The May 30 meeting before hearing officer Ryan Brand was part of that process.

Sky Lounge will be a 21-and-over business with a full bar and wings, pizza and other sports bar-type food items, according to Saifuldeen Zaidan. The basement of the building will be used solely for bathroom access. The plan is to keep the lounge open seven days a week with varying hours; Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be the biggest days. There will be TV screens showing sports, and possibly cabanas on the patio.

“It's more like a sports bar,” he said. “It's not going to be different than Hayter’s. Nothing is going to be different than ViewHouse.”

The license Sky Lounge is applying for requires the business to make at least 25 percent of its revenue from food; Sailfudeen Zaidan had originally estimated that only 20 percent of the revenue would be from food. Assistant City Attorney Blake McCracken asked the prospective owner to clarify that during the May 30 hearing, and also worked to nail down exactly what the business would be.

Saifuldeen Zaidan cited examples from around the area, comparing the concept to Hayter’s, ViewHouse and Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row — to no avail.

“I apologize,” McCracken responded. “I don't get out very much, so when you reference a lot of these other bars, I have no idea what they're like.”

Eventually, Saifuldeen Zaidan clarified that Sky Lounge would be more like a restaurant in the day before switching to a more club-like space at night. While there aren’t currently plans for live music, he said he hopes to have DJs perform at times for ambiance.

“The place is not that big for live bands,” he explained. “I’m not trying to have something crazy there. I just need a regular business where people can have fun, eat, enjoy it and then leave by the end of the day.”

He said the music would not be hip-hop because of previous issues with hip-hop-oriented businesses in Denver. The plan is to have house music playing over the bar’s speakers most nights.

At one point during the hearing, there was also confusion around whether people would be allowed to dance in the space, since it is not applying for a dance cabaret license. Saifuldeen Zaidan and his attorney, Robert Runco, clarified the plan after McCracken brought up the question.

Saifuldeen Zaidan said that while Sky Lounge wouldn't be like the town from Footloose pre-Kevin Bacon, it won’t be a space for dancing, either. “Let's say the people, they hear the background music, and then I cannot prevent him from walking,” he said. “They just want to make a little bit of a move and then just go back to their seat, but there's no dedicated dance floor for that area.”

Despite his occasional confusion, Saifuldeen Zaidan was aware of the building’s recent history and said he wanted to make things right. “Sometimes it's kind of hard for me to understand a couple of wordings,” he concluded. “I'm more like a soldier on the ground, to be honest, just trying to get it right.”

Saifuldeen Zaidan has already signed a Good Neighbor Agreement with the Lower Downtown Neighborhood Association and agreed on two license conditions with the registered neighborhood organization.

“We are excited that that space will be filled, and we wish that Tom will have a very successful business in that location,” said Don Ku, the association's secretary, at the hearing.

The two conditions are that Saifuldeen Zaidan will notify the Lower Downtown Neighborhood Association of any transfer of ownership at least ten days before an application is filed, and will provide licensed security personnel from 10:30 p.m. to 2:20 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, as well as during any special events.

At the hearing, Ku proposed a third license condition stipulating that the business will not employ anyone who has previously been subject to show-cause or revocation proceedings from the Department of Excise & Licenses. “We had gotten some information yesterday about some potential folks from Roo-Bar or Purple Martini becoming involved with this place of business,” Ku said, referencing two bars that have been in hot water with the city and neighbors in the past. “We are very wary of any business that employs people that have been in violation of Excise & Licenses before.”

Saifuldeen Zaida responded that he has no plans to employ any of those people and would be comfortable with that condition.

Although McCracken said he understands the reasoning for the condition, he noted that it could be difficult to enforce and said that Molly Duplechian, the executive director of Excise & Licenses, may need to address whether enforcing it is possible when she makes the final licensing decision.

“This will be a good test case about whether or not the condition is something that the executive director is happy with,” Brand said. “If not, she is welcome to craft whatever condition she would like.”

Once Brand issues his recommendation, Duplechian will give a final decision. Saifuldeen Zaidan plans to open Sky Lounge a week to ten days after the licenses are approved.