My Brother's Bar Is on Hiatus

After 147 years, the bar is closed...for now.

March 15, 2020

Evan Semón

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For 147 years, the building at 2736 Platte Street has been pouring out the hospitality for Denver; for the past fifty, it's been doing so as My Brother's Bar. And on the evening of March 14, it was as welcoming as ever, even if the crowd was considerably smaller than usual.

My Brother's is never open on Sunday. But tomorrow it will be empty, too.

"Through blizzards, stock market ups and downs, and even world wars, we’ve always been there for our guests and for our staff," says co-owner Danny Newman in a Facebook post. "And now in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are choosing to put our guests and staff first once again, by temporarily closing our doors and slowing the spread of this virus."

Newman doesn't give a date for when the beloved joint might reopen, but notes: "This is not a closure, this is a chance for our staff and our guests to stay safe, and continue to practice social distancing. The heart and soul of the operation at My Brother’s Bar has and always will be our incredible staff. My Brother’s Bar will do everything in our power to take care and help all staff during this brief hiatus away from work."

One of the key members of that staff has long been Newman's mother, Paula, who started at My Brother's Bar as a waitress more than three decades ago and was pretty much managing the place when she, her husband and Danny Newman bought it just over three years ago from the Karagas family. Brothers Jim and Angelo Karagas had moved from Detroit to get into the restaurant business here in the late ’60s; while Jim oversaw My Brother's, Angelo ran the Wazee Lounge and Supper Club, where Morin is today. Angelo and Jim are both gone now; brother Alex, who wound up working at My Brother's, too, passed away last year.

But despite all the changes, Danny Newman promises that the closure is temporary and that My Brother's will return to continue its long run. "This was the hardest decision we’ve ever had to make, and we’re doing it because we love our guests, our staff, and we love our Denver community," he concludes.

Save a table for us.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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