The century‑old brick building that once housed Carioca Cafe, better known to regulars as Bar Bar, at 2060 Champa Street is now on track for demolition, according to newly surfaced filings. The property has been shuttered since a June 24, 2024, fire, and then took another hit with a partial wall collapse on June 30, 2025. Musicians and die‑hard patrons tried to rally with fundraisers to save the spot, but the latest paperwork points to a complete teardown. If that happens, downtown Denver will lose one of its last classic dive venues.
According to documents reviewed by the Denver Business Journal, the building is slated to be “completely knocked down.” The filings, as described in that report, do not give a start date for crews or a clear demolition timeline. Even without a schedule, the paperwork all but closes the door on months of back‑and‑forth over whether repairs or restoration might still be in play.
The bar went dark after a June 24, 2024, fire that Westword reported as suspected arson. In a blunt Facebook post at the time, the venue wrote, “Somebody burned her. They burned our bar.” Owner and promoter Richard Granville had been organizing crowdfunding efforts and talking repairs in hopes of reopening the music room, but those plans stalled as structural problems kept piling up…