A group of Avalanche fans from across metro Denver united this week to cross a major pandemic milestone.
Megan Walters, 31, had watched every game this season mostly isolated at home. But on Wednesday night, surrounded by Avs faithful at a table inside Esters Neighborhood Pub, she ended a year-long hiatus from enjoying sports with friends in a public setting.
Sweet, vaccinated, and mask-less, relief.
“The best thing is the noise, being in a crowded spot, and having that environment,” said Walters amid roars from the table after each Avalanche goal in a 6-3 victory over St. Louis. “When is the last time you high-fived a stranger?”
The Sunday decision from Gov. Jared Polis — ending mask mandates and capacity restrictions for most retail businesses — was well received by Denver area sports bars, restaurants, hangouts, and their sports-obsessed guests. All just in time for the NHL and NBA playoffs, with the Nuggets opening playoff action Saturday night.
“We are hopeful and optimistic that the recently relaxed social distancing rules and capacity restrictions at local restaurants and sports bars, in tandem with the upcoming hockey and basketball playoffs and July’s All-Star Game, will give our eating and drinking establishments a much-needed boost,” said Sonia Riggs, CEO of the nonprofit Colorado Restaurant Association, in a statement to The Denver Post. “Colorado restaurants collectively lost $3 billion in 2020, but they have begun walking to the path to recovery and playoff games will be an important part of that journey. … Even with some mandates eliminated, restaurants and sports bars will do everything they can to keep their guests and staff safe.”
Local eateries such as Esters, with locations in the Virginia Village and Oneida Park neighborhoods, welcome the projected revenue increase that coincides with deep Avalanche and Nuggets playoff runs. The pubs avoided closure in the pandemic with community support and the help of to-go pizzas, owner Paul Sullivan said. They are now 100% open with no masking requirements for vaccinated guests (honor system).
Esters’ staff will continue to wear masks, though, until its percentage of vaccinated workers eclipses around 85% in the coming weeks. It mirrors the early policies in place at a number of local sports bars.
“Overall, it’s been tremendously positive and a breath of fresh air,” Sullivan said. “Right at the beginning, we were slightly hesitant. It’s just been crazy for all of us to be wearing masks every day, and then, you don’t have to. We’re not requiring our customers to wear them right now. We still make them available to people.
“But seeing our bars open again, people hanging out with each other, cheering for the game and watching sports? It’s so great. I can’t even tell you.”
At Sports Column, a LoDo mainstay for more than two decades, general manager Kyle Hesseltine trained new staff this week in preparation for larger crowds during the playoffs. The first two Avalanche games, with late-night starts on weekdays, didn’t quite sell out the place. But he senses fan momentum building.
“It will just grow from here because of the way they’re playing,” Hesseltine said. “Every little bit is going to help. Obviously, we’ll never make up those dollars (lost in the pandemic), but it gets us back on the right track.”
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
Bartender Brittany Bogard clears dishes as patrons watch the Colorado Avalanche take on the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the NHL playoffs at Ester’s Pub in Denver on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.
Back at Esters, where a handful of self-described hardcore Avs fans witnessed Nathan MacKinnon’s hat trick, some inside the pub still wore masks. Denver resident Wally Waters, 35, explained why he felt at ease sticking with some COVID-19 protocols that he doesn’t view as obtrusive.
“We feel comfortable,” Waters said. “We’re all fully vaccinated. I still wore my mask to the bathroom and washed my hands, thoroughly. The habits are better, for sure.”
Being a social sports fan has proven challenging in the pandemic. Charles Lainson, 31, was among the handful of Avs supporters at Esters who relished a chance for normalcy.
It’s a reminder of why he loves sports.
“There is something about seeing somebody else, who you never met before,” Lainson said, “and they’re cheering for the exact same moment that you’re cheering for.”
