A curved bar built around a champagne bowl, velvet curtains, and more than 120 bottles of bubbly are set to fill the old Noble Riot space in Denver's RiNo Arts District when La Vie En Rose opens its doors on Friday, September 4. The Parisian-inspired cocktail and champagne bar takes over 2636 Walnut St., a space that shut down as a natural-wine haven less than a year ago, and reinvents it as an elegant homage to French cafe culture.
The new venue comes from Scott and Nicole Mattson, who, according to Westword, are reoccupying a space they know intimately: the couple co-owned Noble Riot alongside founder Troy Bowen from 2019 until 2023 before stepping back, and have now taken full control of the property to launch their new concept. Noble Riot itself closed permanently on August 30, 2025, after six years in business, with Bowen citing rising operating costs and declining sales, per Westword's reporting on the closure.
During its run, Noble Riot built a reputation on high-low pairings of fine wine and fried chicken, earning a spot on Esquire's 2021 list of the Best Bars in America and winning Best Fried Chicken in Westword's Best of Denver 2023, according to the same outlet's coverage. La Vie En Rose is aiming for a different register entirely. The space will carry a long list of wines by the glass, over 120 champagne options by the bottle, and a craft cocktail program built around French spirits like cognac and armagnac, with cocktails named after classic French poems, stories, and places.
A Menu Built Around French Indulgence
The food menu leans into the same theme, with savory petit fours served on tiered platters, a grand gougère finished with mornay sauce, steak tartare, popcorn fried chicken, hors d'oeuvres, small plates, and the Paris-Brest for dessert. The design, an Art Nouveau-style build-out with plush seating and velvet curtains, comes from Kevin Nguyen of Regular Architecture, who worked in partnership with the owners on the buildout. Nguyen has previously designed several Michelin-recognized Denver dining destinations, including Brutø, Beckon, The Wolf's Tailor, and Hop Alley, according to Denver Life Magazine.
Beyond the main room, plans call for an outdoor alley patio, a glass-walled wine cave, and a private dining room for intimate gatherings, expanding the footprint into the alley space adjacent to the Mattsons' other venue. The bar takes its name from the Edith Piaf classic, and Nicole Mattson said the name is meant to carry more than nostalgia. “La Vie En Rose is much more than a well-known song,” she said, adding that the bar represents an optimistic view of the world. Her husband, Scott Mattson, framed the desired guest experience as one that prioritizes finesse over flash.
The Mattsons' Decade in RiNo Hospitality
La Vie En Rose is billed as an elegant counterpart to Nocturne Jazz & Supper Club, the Mattsons' adjoining venue, which they opened in March 2015 inside a converted 1920s warehouse and which marked its 10th anniversary in the district earlier this year. Hoodline previously featured Nocturne's live jazz and later included it among the city's top cocktail bars for special occasions. Before opening Nocturne, Scott Mattson worked in luxury property management and trained as a certified sommelier, while Nicole Mattson managed luxury hotel properties in Beaver Creek and earned an MBA from the University of Denver, according to background reported by Meetings + Events.
La Vie En Rose plans to open Wednesday through Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m. at 2636 Walnut St. The launch also marks Hoodline's return to a familiar address: the outlet first reported on Noble Riot's opening back in 2019, before the space cycled through ownership changes to become the Mattsons' new champagne bar.
A Polished Opening Amid Industry Headwinds
The RiNo Arts District, as Westword describes it, is undergoing something of an identity evolution, and La Vie En Rose's polished arrival lands squarely amid turbulence elsewhere in the neighborhood's drink and dining scene. Nearby, The Block Distilling Co. on Larimer Street has a pending closure after nearly a decade in business, a shutdown Hoodline reported was driven by broader slumps hitting the craft beverage industry. That contraction isn't isolated: Denver Distillery, the city's first distillery pub, closed in March 2026, according to KUSA 9NEWS, part of a pattern of independent craft drink spots shutting down across the city throughout the year.
The neighborhood has also lost longtime dining anchors. Ten-year-old cafe Port Side closed permanently on July 5, and Filipino spot Magna Kainan shut its doors on June 26, both popular fixtures along Larimer Street, according to DiningOut's reporting on the wave of closures. Against that backdrop, La Vie En Rose represents a bet that a higher-end, more polished concept can succeed where casual neighborhood staples have struggled, using real estate the Mattsons already know well to build something new rather than opening in unfamiliar territory.
