Golden businesses fight to keep outdoor seating along Miners Alley

GOLDEN, Colo. — Miners Saloon and the Golden Moon Speakeasy are hoping to change city officials’ minds about ending their outdoor seating program after Labor Day.

On Aug. 16, City Council decided against continuing a one-year pilot program to host outdoor seating areas in the 1100 block of Miners Alley. The goal was to reopen the alleyway to traffic, including pedestrians and cyclists.

The councilors said they wanted to activate the space long-term and were open to revisiting the conversation once Miners Alley Playhouse finishes moving into the Meyer Hardware building.

With outdoor seating set to end after Labor Day, the two businesses have turned to the community to gain support, posting on social media and hosting a “save the patio” party Aug. 27 to raise awareness.

Aimee and Dean Valdez, who own Miners Saloon and the speakeasy’s building, and Golden Moon Distillery co-owner Stephen Gould all said they felt the city had created a system of winners and losers.

Because of COVID-19, customers now expect an outdoor dining option. For the speakeasy, Gould said outdoor seating now accounts for 40% of its total seating.

So, by ending the pilot program during a busy season, the city’s taking away the saloon and speakeasy’s ability to compete with other businesses, Gould told officials at the Aug. 23 City Council meeting.

He pointed out how businesses along Washington Avenue continue to host outdoor seating in parking spots, which is a separate program that runs April through October. The city’s reasoning, he said, was that the alleyway was right-of-way versus parking spaces, but Gould commented that it’s all public property.

He asked the councilors to sit down with all the businesses along the alleyway and see if they could find a solution for the rest of 2022.

Councilors Paul Haseman and JJ Trout said they were interested in talking about it more, but their colleagues seemed opposed.

“I think the opportunity to discuss that is there (long-term),” Councilor Don Cameron said at the Aug. 23 meeting. “In the near-term — for a variety of reasons we may disagree with — it’s just not going to happen between now and Labor Day.”

Discontinuing the pilot program

During an Aug. 16 study session, Community & Economic Development Manager Rick Muriby asked council whether the city should continue the outdoor seating program, and if so, what it should look like.

The business owners described later how they weren’t invited to participate and felt Muriby hadn’t fully conveyed all the information they’d given him.

Officials later clarified how study sessions are about directing city staff, and non-staff members can attend but generally aren’t allowed to participate.

At the study session, councilors had concerns about the five-foot-wide walkway between the businesses’ exteriors and patio areas. The walkway is required for ADA accessibility, fire safety and other reasons, Muriby stated. He and the councilors felt the five-foot width has been difficult to maintain, as chairs and tables keep sliding.

Councilor Casey Brown said he was willing to see it continue, believing it was a good way to activate the space. If it stayed, though, he wanted to see a clearer designation for the walkway.

Mayor Laura Weinberg wanted the alley activated long-term, but felt the current setup wasn’t welcoming or comfortable for pedestrians.

“I think it’s the opposite of what we said we wanted to do,” she continued. “ … Having businesses use it as private space — that was great for COVID, and I’m ready to be done with it.”

Cameron and Haseman also expressed concerns, which Councilor Bill Fisher said he echoed. Thus, City Council directed staff end the program by Labor Day.

“It’s good for those restaurants, even though COVID has ended,” Haseman said. “It’s a benefit to them, but it’s not a benefit to the citizenry of the city. My feeling is that they got a good deal going and they want to hold onto it, versus the original reason why we put it there.”

Fighting to keep it going

Like Gould, Aimee Valdez was extremely upset to see outdoor seating closing amid one of the saloon’s busiest seasons. She described via email how Miners Saloon has formal contracts for customers to use the outdoor seating for events through October.

She also didn’t appreciate how no one from City Council reached out to her or her business before making its decision on Aug. 16.

For Valdez, the No. 1 issue is the safety of those using the alleyway. When it was open to vehicle traffic before COVID-19, vehicles drove down it in both directions, often at very high speeds, she remarked.

In public comments submitted to City Council on Aug. 12, Valdez and her husband described how this safety issue returned immediately when the business temporarily moved its furniture for Comcast work earlier this summer.

“People were afraid to walk in/out of our businesses for fear of being hit,” the couple wrote. “If the alley remains open to through traffic, it’s only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed. We are not exaggerating this point; it is a serious concern.”

The two also stated how they’ve been hesitant to invest more money because they were uncertain how long the program would last. If seating becomes permanent, they’d make it “a truly enjoyable space with nice seating, plants, a bike rack, etc.” and would maintain the walkway.

The business owners believe “in a vision of what the alley could be,” Gould said before the Aug. 23 City Council meeting. With cities nationwide using COVID-19-era seating arrangements to activate public spaces, he felt Golden should build on the current arrangement for its long-term activation plans.

“It’s going to harm our business,” Gould said of ending the outdoor seating program. “The biggest month for the patio has been the first one when the Mines students are back. … We want the city to back off and give us the same timeline (as the Washington Avenue businesses). Don’t throw us out with a week’s notice.”

This story first appeared in Colorado Community Media.