Denver sober bar Awake closes first location to spread its wings, searching for more accommodating space

Denver's first sober bar is going into hibernation while it looks for a new location.  Awake opened last year and has become a popular option for people who want a bar atmosphere without alcohol.

We visited the bar in the Jefferson Park neighborhood, where owner Billy Wynne told CBS4 this closure would be temporary. Awake bills itself as one of the only sober bars in the country. It's an idea that's made the bar so popular it's outgrown its current location.

Awake was expected to be open for business at its soon-to-be old location for the last time on Sunday, before closing on Monday to look for a new home.

"Making sober cool, making wellness cool," said. 

It's a groundbreaking step in normalizing sober nightlife

"We have seen people standing at the bar looking at it with tears in their eyes because they didn't imagine that a place like this was possible," Wynne explained. "We opened in may 2021, and we had a line going out of the door and incredible community response.

A coffee house by day, the bar offers non-alcoholic beer, wine and cocktails at night.

"It's no secret the issue of addiction and mental health and having a place like this that's alcohol free where people can go an socialize is so crucial," Awake patron Vince Huseman said. 

Awake will search for a new space that allows for more parking as well as room for live music.

"We'd like to be I a place where we have a little more freedom," Wynne said. "It's a little more accessible, maybe a little more central in town."

Wynne also wants to bring in operating partners and investors to one day spread the brand nationally.

But in the meantime, the closure is a blow to Denver's sober community.

"Just a very sad moment for me and the other folks in my recovery circle," Huseman said. "I don't think this is the end of Awake. I think they will come back bigger and better."

"I think we're ready to take a little bit of a hiatus and kind of look forward to the 2.0 era coming soon ," Wynne said.