Trends & Insights

On April 24, 2015 Governor Hickenlooper signed into law Colorado House Bill HB 15-1204, creating a Distillery Pub Alcohol Beverage License. This new license was shaped in a manner similar to the Brewpub License, which requires that at least fifteen percent of an establishment’s gross sales come from food sales. All other requirements to obtain any liquor license, such as needs and desires of the community, good moral character of the applicant, etc., are the same. A Distillery Pub licensee can also hold other ‘on premise’ licenses, for example, a... Read More

In February 2014, one of my businesses received a certified letter from the Colorado State Treasury’s office stating “Our records indicate that your company has never reported unclaimed property.” It also stated “You may think that your organization is not large enough to have unclaimed property, but we have found that even small organizations may accumulate unclaimed property.” I had heard of the Colorado Unclaimed Property Act but was not aware of the reporting requirement, and frankly, I thought it was for larger companies. The state claims the purpose of... Read More

In March of 2013 the new Colorado food code went into effect.  As responsible operators, we all understand the importance of proper food handling and the need for uniform rules and fair enforcement.  If you own or operate a restaurant, below I have outlined some basic things you need to know about the operational changes required by the revised food code. What is the new code?  Throughout the last several years, the State Board of Health has adopted six CCR 1010-2 Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules and Regulations. And In November... Read More

Everyone knows that opening a bar or restaurant is risky business. But just how risky is it? If you ask Chef Rocco Dispirito from the popular reality TV show “The Restaurant,” he would tell you that 90 percent of restaurants fail in their first year! His millions of viewers would tell you the same thing, as would most American bankers, who rarely, if ever, give loans to people opening up new restaurants. Many people would also tell you that certain restaurant locations are “cursed,” and that simply leasing one of... Read More