Larimer Square Bar Ghost Debuts in Former Green Russell

A sneak peek inside Ghost, which was still getting final touches in place this week. Handsome Boys Hospitality

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"This block means a lot to me," says Josh Schmitz, owner of Handsome Boys Hospitality, which is opening its newest concept, Ghost Saloon, in the former Green Russell space on Larimer Square on Friday, September 6.

There have been a lot of changes to Larimer Square since Asana Partners purchased it in 2020, and Schmitz has been involved with several of them. The historic block is "near and dear" to him, he says, since it's where he started working in hospitality before starting his apparel brand, Ruckus (which has been on pause for several years), and opening his first bar, Bellwether, on East Colfax Avenue (it later became Slashers, then Heartbreak Kid, and is now in the midst of a possible sale).

Currently, Handsome Boys Hospitality operates dance club Disco Pig at 1414 Larimer Street.

Underground cocktail bar Green Russell was one of the town's first speakeasy revivals when restaurateur Frank Bonanno's group, Bonanno Concepts, opened it and the adjoining Russell's Smokehouse in 2010. Both closed at the end of 2022, a move prompted by Asana construction plans.

Those plans have since been postponed, and the space remained vacant. But starting this weekend, drinks will be flowing once again. Like Green Russell, Ghost Saloon is a speakeasy-like concept, with the bar tucked behind the "welcome room," as Schmitz calls it, that once was Russell's Smokehouse.

click to enlarge

Josh Schmitz, founder of Handsome Boys Hospitality.

Molly Martin

That space will include a retail section that includes Hats by Parker Thomas and the relaunch of Schmitz's Ruckus brand.

The back bar space has been transformed so that it "has a different feel than Green Russell," Schmitz notes, but no major changes were made to the actual structure of the space. "It would be sacrilegious to touch the bones," he adds.

Those bones include a Prohibition-era tunnel that connects Ghost Saloon to Disco Pig — a reminder, Schmitz says, of the deep history of Larimer Square.

The cocktail menu at Ghost Saloon is concise. It includes eight $16 classic cocktails, such as a Colfax Dirty Martini with gin or vodka, a Negroni, Old Fashioned, Paper Plane and Manhattan. There are also $8 beer-and-shot combos and Fernet on tap. Snack options are a $12 welcome board or macarons for $14.

"It's a very cool ode to old Denver," Schmitz concludes.

Ghost Saloon is located at 1422 Larimer Street and is open from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. September 6-7 for its grand opening weekend. After that, regular hours will be 6 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Thursday and 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit ghostdenver.co or follow it on Instagram @ghost_saloon_denver.