Denver nostalgic-themed bar opens after lengthy permitting delays

South Broadway's newest bar in Denver is a "nostalgic-forward neighborhood cocktail bar" called the Good Luck Club. However, it's been anything but lucky.

"It would have been really helpful to have a road map of here's how you open up a bar," said Ben Hamilton, Good Luck Club's general manager. "Here are the steps you need to take."

It's finally open, six months behind target, thanks to a guessing game they didn't know they were playing.

"I was like jumping over hurdles and navigating a maze to try to figure out and put all the pieces of the puzzle together," Hamilton added. "There was a good list of complications that we ran into when we were filing for our liquor licenses, our zoning permits, our assembly permits."

However, the city knows about the problems behind the permit process.

Tuesday marks exactly one year since Denver Mayor Mike Johnston signed his first executive order overhauling the city's permit process with a new office.

"It's really hard for our customers to understand what is needed for every type of construction project that could be out there," said Robert Peek, the director of development systems performance with the Denver Permitting Office.

Hamilton says that was exactly what he and his team faced:  "It seemed like it was never the full answer."

That's why the Denver City Council approved a $4.6 million contract with ComplyAI for a tool that will help streamline and speed up the process.

"It'll do an initial review of their applications and their plans and identify anything that I'm missing or anything that is approvable for the city," Peek said.

The software could shave weeks off the process, and hopefully, in the future, businesses like the Good Luck Club can serve the community more quickly.

"We see this as part of our larger effort to really revitalize our local economy by getting these businesses and homeowners to move into their homes," Peek said.

The permitting office is just beginning the implementation process to integrate the artificial intelligence tool into the system. They hope to launch it to the public by the end of the year. 

Meanwhile, the Good Luck Club is having its grand opening on April 30.