![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/TDP-L-buddies092223-cha-267.jpg\")
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\u201cWe just want to have a bar to come to where it\u2019s not so loud and you can\u2019t talk to your friends or anything like that,\u201d Glardon said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a dance club; we\u2019re not blowing your ears out with music. It\u2019s a come-as-you-are bar, where you can come out and hang with your buddies.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea for Buddies has been in the works since Denver Wrangler closed in 2018. Glardon, Newland, Herrick and Gonzalez all met while bartending at the longtime Denver gay bar. They then moved on to Denver Sweet, where they met Mansfield and Varsames as customers, and they were quickly interested in investing in the idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to be a part of a ‘gaybourhood again,’\u201d Newland said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing about Denver that we don\u2019t have anymore is that strip of gay bars to bounce back and forth between, but things are getting better with us here now, not far from X Bar, Charlie\u2019s and Tight End,\u201d Glardon added. \u201cFor the longest time, everything was so spread out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buddies has a pool table, darts, 12 beer taps and plenty of \u201cgay water,\u201d as the owners call vodka sodas with a splash of cranberry juice. The East Colfax bar also kept Prohibition\u2019s chef, Ryan Smith, who is serving up \u201cnever-frozen\u201d bar food, like bacon and gouda mac-n-cheese bites, chicken tenders, burgers and wings.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost every gay bar in town always has some kind of dance component, so we wanted to do something completely different,\u201d Newland said. \u201cWe wanted to add to Denver\u2019s gay bar community, not compete, and so far, it\u2019s paid off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each of the Denver bar veterans takes turns manning Buddies\u2019 bar, and you can tell who it is by what music they\u2019re playing that night. Gonzalez loves his show tunes night on Sundays. Herrick is strictly rock n\u2019 roll. But Glardon’s not afraid to throw on some Taylor Swift. Buddies hosts a pool tournament on Tuesdays, and eventually, they plan to introduce trivia night and darts competitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been working for other people for so long, but now we\u2019re finally doing this for ourselves,\u201d Herrick said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, you can\u2019t blame the boss anymore,\u201d Newland joked.<\/p>\n