Jason Romero is going for three even before No. 2 is open.
On Monday, the CEO of LoHi’s Recess Beer Garden announced he is adding a location in the Tivoli Student Union on the Auraria Campus in time for the fall semester.
“It came fast,” Romero said.
“Like a lot of good business deals, it’s all about who you know! We were introduced to the Auraria team by a mutual friend who saw the potential in this partnership,” he later added via email.
Recess has operated in LoHi since 2015. In March, Romero told BusinessDen he was adding another Recess location in Denver’s Virginia Village neighborhood. That spot is slated to open later this year or early in 2027, he said.
Details of the Tivoli space, like menu items and its hours, are still being ironed out. The bar and eatery, known for its smashburgers, will occupy the former Tivoli Brewing Co./Quad Side Tavern space.
Tivoli Brewing stopped making beer on campus in 2023 and closed the following year after a decadelong run. It was replaced briefly by Quad Side Tavern, which appears to have quietly shuttered sometime after the spring semester ended.
Recess signed a five-year lease for the spot. A copy of the lease obtained by BusinessDen shows the business will not pay a base rent but instead will fork over a portion of its sales. If gross sales for the month top $100,000, Recess will pay 10% of those sales in rent. If gross sales are below $100,000, it will pay 5% of monthly sales.
It will also pay $8.75 per square foot in building expenses for the 5,000-square-foot space. That amounts to $3,600 monthly.
“We are planning on staying true to all the elements that have made Recess successful: good food, great drinks and a fun, energetic place to meet your friends and have a good time,” Romero said.
“Recess Tivoli will have its own unique vibe and community, but it will still be built with the same branding, foundation and core beliefs that Recess LoHi continues to thrive on.”
