Hush will put a nightclub in the former Tambien space in Cherry Creek

Lori Midson

Michael Olsen, who ran the original Hush on Larimer Street, wants to put a new Hush in the subterranean space at 250 Steele Street that Tambien surrendered in September. But Olsen isn't going in alone: He has the support of the Little Pub Company, which owns nineteen joints in the metro area, including the Pioneer, the British Bulldog, Don's Club Tavern, the Irish Hound, Wyman's No. 5 and the Old Man, which took over the original home of the now-defunct Rooster's Roadhouse.

Little Pub will provide some back-office help, says owner Mark Berzins, who'd heard that Tambien was closing from owner Jesse Morreale (who also owns El Diablo, Rockbar and La Rumba) and put Morreale in touch with Olsen. The Steele Street spot definitely wasn't a Little Pub-type space, "although we do take some weird space here and there," Berzins acknowledges. But it could be a good space for a dance club, and Olsen's going for a cabaret license; his hearing with the city is March 25.

In the meantime, Berzins is looking to add a twentieth bar in the Little Pub lineup. "A lot of our divier places are reaping the benefits of Denver's newfound tightness," he says. "Much like at Don's Club Tavern, it's suddenly cool to be cheap...it's suddenly cool to be drinking PBR. It's a generational change: Kids are drinking whiskey cocktails, PBR, Coors Banquet...the stuff we used to drink in college."

That generational change is one reason why a dance club that appeals to an older crowd could do well in Cherry Creek. "It would be pretty sweet to have a place to dance," Berzins admits.

As for the younger crowd? The original home of Hush (which has no connection to Hush Denver, Phil Armstrong's private dinner club) is now occupied by Wicked Garden.