Regas Christou, the veteran Denver club operator behind venues from The Church to Club Vinyl, is facing a wall of neighborhood resistance after filing to open a pizzeria and sports bar in La Alma–Lincoln Park. A recent licensing hearing drew a packed room, as residents told city staff they worry the site’s troubled history could bring back late-night crowds, noise, and safety problems.
Christou has applied to convert the single-story storefront at 778 Mariposa St. into a pizza-and-sports-bar spot that would serve alcohol. The La Alma Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association had already voted against an earlier license application tied to the plan, and residents turned out at the hearing to press their objections. The city previously denied a liquor license for the address, and Christou later sued in an unsuccessful attempt to overturn that decision. A licensing officer will now issue a recommendation on the current filing before the department makes a final administrative decision, as reported by BusinessDen.
Public property records show Christou paid about $595,000 in 2022 for the roughly 3,000-square-foot building at 778 Mariposa. He has spent decades building a Denver nightlife empire, with local reporting tracing a long list of clubs and entertainment venues across the city. Background on the property and his past projects can be found via Homes.com, Westword, and our earlier Hoodline coverage of his crumbling Five Points church bet.
Neighbors Fear Return Of Troublesome Nightlife
At the hearing, neighbors told officials that a strip club had previously operated in the space before Christou bought it and alleged years of sex-trade activity, drug use, and frequent police calls tied to the former tenant. One resident said her car was hit in a drive-by shooting she connected to the bar’s crowd, while others argued that nearby families and new development on the block make another late-night venue a poor fit. Those accounts and the association’s earlier opposition were documented by BusinessDen.
What Comes Next
The licensing officer’s recommendation will be forwarded to the city’s licensing director, who can grant, deny, or attach conditions to the permit. Draft rule changes discussed this spring would give the director more discretion over when to schedule public hearings, a shift that has drawn criticism from both operators and some neighbors. Christou has warned that the proposed changes could concentrate too much power in the hands of staff, while city officials say the goal is to streamline approvals unless a neighborhood requests a hearing. For more on the proposed rule changes and Christou’s objections, see Westword.
For now, the 778 Mariposa plan remains pending. Neighbors say they will watch the administrative timeline closely, and the association plans to weigh the licensing officer’s recommendation before the department issues a final decision. Whether the block ends up hosting pizza and game nights or continued pushback will hinge on that forthcoming administrative call.
