By Jennifer Pund
SILVER PLUME
The Bread Bar, reopened recently in Silver Plume’s former Sopp & Truscott bakery, honors the area’s history while creating a comfortable neighborhood space. Serving modern crafted cocktails named after local legends and Colorado-only beer, the bar gives the feeling of stepping back into history while providing a laid-back, friendly environment to enjoy the high country location. The goal of its four owners is to have a place that is considered a “relatively high-end cocktail bar” accessible to anybody.

Silver Plume was a bustling town in its mining heyday, but more recently, activity on Main Street has been hit or miss, except for an occasional melodrama or holiday gathering. That was before Stephen Fenberg, Casey Berry, Sam Alviani and Rob DuRay opened the Bread Bar earlier this summer. Although the iconic 1890s building was most recently occupied by DRAM Apothecary, its Bread Bar was rarely open to the public.

The building has served several purposes over the years. “Besides the grain and feed supply, which was probably the first thing on the site, [it] has been a bakery or a saloon, for the last 150 years. It kind of went back and forth. Sometimes it was both at the same time,” Fenberg said.

The four-way partnership was unplanned and came together in a rather serendipitous way according to the co-owner. “For whatever reason, I’ve always wanted to own a bar, and I came up here with my buddy Rob who I went to college with,” he said. “We talked to the previous owners, and we were just like, ‘Wow, this is just a really bad idea.’ But, we really wanted to do it.”

Steve Fenberg

Then, on the drive back to Denver, the two received a text from a pair of friends who said they were also looking at the building. “At first, it was like, ‘No! We’re getting it, not you guys.’ Then we were like, this could be a lot better if all four of us went in on it,” Fenberg explained.  “It’s a part time passion project for all of us… Casey runs Two Parts and Sam is in restaurant PR, and then Rob and I are just weirdos who don’t formally have a lot of to with restaurants. We basically all came together bringing something else to the table, and went for it. And, somehow, here we are.”

The four partners have done everything they can to preserve the building’s history while celebrating its new era as a unique, specialty bar serving specialty cocktails, spirits and craft beer.

“I have always loved this place. The others in the group have always loved this place. And, we all kind of have a different attachment to the place.” Fenberg said. “It’s a community space and for people that want it to be a destination. We wanted to make sure this wasn’t a place that locals felt they couldn’t come to. So, we are trying to merge the “get out of town and come up for a drink in the mountains” with being the neighborhood living room.”

The menu, created by the Way Back Denver, plays homage to some local legends and lore. The Clifford Griffen—a unique rye based cocktail with amaro liqueur, lemon and a Colorado red wine float—is named after a beloved mine owner that is buried up in the surrounding hills. The Baby Doe Tabor, a vodka, sage jam, citrus and soda cocktail, pays homage to the woman known as “the most beautiful, flamboyant and alluring women in the mining west.” The G.A. Jackson is an interesting mix of honey, lavender, and lemon paired with gin. Beer served from an antique cooler is from local breweries like Denver Beer Company, Station 26, Great Divide, Avery and more.

The owners have done some renovations to open up the room, but intend to keep the look and feel of the building. “We went to work as soon as we took ownership to do the small amount of remodeling we wanted to do. The bathroom had not been updated for a very long time, so that is totally remodeled, and slightly more modern,” Fenberg said. “And, we built the deck out back. We are open for weddings and special events and cooperate parties. The deck is perfect for that,  plus we have a great view.”

Community members have been welcoming of the new owners. “We are learning something new about the place or the town almost everyday. When locals come in, they tell us stories we’ve never heard, or they will tell us that the story we heard is full of shit,” he said. “In a lot of ways, I think they are really grateful because there is not a lot in Silver Plume. At different times there has been, so it kind of comes and goes. A lot of people have been here for 20 or 30 or 40 years, and they remember when there was a little bit more going on. And, I think they appreciate people coming in and doing something that is new, but is also inclusive of them.”

The Bread Bar opens at 4 p.m. on Fridays and 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Beginning in December, it will also open on Sundays.

The Bread Bar is located at 1010 Main St. in Silver Plume. For more information, find them on Facebook, call 720-722-7323 or e-mail info@breadbarsp.com.

Originally published in the November 2016 issue of the MMAC Monthly