Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems.)
For 20 years, the Falling Rock Taphouse was a given in Lower Downtown. It was the place to meet before baseball games, the bar to hang out in after the Great American Beer Festival, and a fallback for just about any other occasion.
It was always there – until it wasn’t.
The same was true of Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs. I took my kids there for Chicago dogs when they were little after trips to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. I saw its bright yellow walls every time I drove down East Colfax Avenue. It was a constant presence – until it was gone.
Dave and Erik Peterson know what it’s like to watch things disappear. Their English-style pub and brewery, the Bull & Bush, has been around for 53 years. Built and founded by their father, Dale, and their uncle Dean in 1971, the place has mostly stayed the same over the decades.
So permanent is the Bull & Bush that it’s where Falling Rock owner Chris Black came to commiserate with the Petersons before he closed his bar in 2021, and it’s where Steve Ballas spent an evening before closing his hot dog joint last week after 18 years.
In other words, it’s where the people who provide comfort go to be comforted.
“A lot of old-school places are vanishing, so people are thankful we are here,” Erik Peterson said. “Every day, there are so many regulars, so many smiles and so much positive feedback. To be as busy as we are after 53 years, that is what keeps you going.”
And it will keep going. When Ballas asked Peterson when he planned to retire or close the pub, the answer was never. “Not while I’m alive,” he said.
It’s easy to see the appeal. Dark wood paneling surrounds well-worn tables and chairs (most of which are original from 1971). Candle cages provide much of the light, which means that it takes customers a minute for their eyes to adjust after walking in from outside. Once they do, they’ll see a long bar on one side, backed by whiskey bottles and taps full of beer brewed onsite, and in the back, a raised living room complete with warm couches and a gas fireplace.
Two different covered outdoor areas continue beyond the original building, and there is a brewery out back. On the walls, visitors will find a wide variety of memorabilia, painted pub signs, hand-carved pieces, trophies and bobbleheads. Ask Peterson to show you around, and he’ll show you his favorites, give you their history and let you in on what makes them special.
Oh, and then there’s the beer. The Bull & Bush just won two more medals at the Great American Beer Festival, bringing its total to nearly 15 awards over the years in categories as varied as pale ales, barrel-aged stouts, barleywines, ESBs, pilsners and Belgian-style wits.
But Peterson believes that the biggest draws are hospitality and consistency.
“Service is a financial transaction. Hospitality is an emotional transaction. It hits all of the endorphins and good juices in your brain,” he explained.
“And consistency is the name of the game,” he added. “It’s comforting to go somewhere when we know what it is, and that it’s always there. “Enjoy those places while they’re still going, and celebrate the real Denver, because you never know when they’ll be gone.”
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