From 2006 until 2012, the Rockbar era at the All Inn motel was all sweaty dance parties, rainbows of Mad Dog and blurry memories. It was a hell of a time to be partying on Colfax, but those of us who partook in that particular debaucherous scene have (mostly, kind of) grown up, and now Rockbar’s former space is back as FiNO, a much more grown-up concept that offers a very different kind of fun. The restaurant has been hosting previews ahead of its official debut on Monday, March 23.
“It’s very different than the days of old in there. … Rockbar had such an incredible following, and people found it very beloved,” says FiNO owner Steven Waters, who has Rockbar memories of his own. “We wanted to make sure that we are never trying to recreate that or keep it intact, because I just don’t think that’s possible.”
Instead, Waters, along with consulting chef Sheamus Feeley and the team behind the revamp of the All Inn (which is now elevated to a “hotel” rather than its former “motel” status), has created a sleek bar and restaurant where MD 20/20 has been replaced by colorful displays of wine and spirits. “Ultimately, I think we succeed if people find that kind of love and attachment to the restaurant. … The hope is that people find some of that magic they had at Rockbar and rediscover it in a different way,” says Waters, who also owns one of the city’s best cocktail bars, the subterranean Run for the Roses in LoDo.
Inside the All Inn, MD 20/20 is out, wine is all-in.
Resurrecting a Colfax Classic
The building that houses the All Inn at 3015 East Colfax Avenue was constructed in 1950 and has been resurrected by a team that includes owner Brian Toerber, who has been working toward reopening the hotel for a decade. On March 26, the All Inn Hotel will officially debut; Maximalist Experience Designed, founded by Abigail Plantier, who is also an ownership partner in the project, is behind the look of the revamped space, which pays homage to the hotel’s mid-century roots while incorporating modern cool.
It was Plantier who connected Waters with Toerber. The bar pro had already been running a food and drink program at a New York City hotel, so he was intrigued by the prospect of becoming part of the All Inn’s comeback. “Originally, it was just solely because it was Rockbar and the building and memories there and being on Colfax,” Waters recalls. But he also found that “Brian and I really hit it off. He had a like-minded vision and was really looking to bring something good to the neighborhood. He didn’t want a standard, cookie-cutter place, so the idea developed from there.”
Of course, openings are always full of surprises. In FiNO’s case, that meant a broken pasta die, forcing a temporary, last-minute swap from bucatini to mafaldine for one dish. There was also “furniture that didn’t work as it showed up five days before we were supposed to have people in there. Our walk-in went down, so we had to rent a trailer and get the walk-in fixed. It’s just all the joys of a new opening,” Waters says.
FiNO’s take on the dirty martini is made with pickled tomato water.
What Is FiNO?
The original idea was to build something “refined and intentional,” Waters says, drawing inspiration from various countries across the Mediterranean. But as the vision evolved, more emphasis was put on creating something “fun and high energy.”
The concept’s name has various meanings. Fino is a type of sherry, but it’s also a Spanish word that means “refined,” and it’s used as Spanish slang for “drunk.” The capitalization of everything but the “i” was an intentional reflection of the concept. “As we started writing text and copy for websites and things like that, we were randomly capitalizing or not capitalizing things, and so we started doing that in the name, and we just really liked the way it looked. It just goes back to the intention of, it’s fun and playful. It’s not traditional, it’s not what you expect, and just throwing the rules out the window,” Waters says.
FiNO’s space includes comfy booths, a welcoming bar and a large backyard that is still being built out as a wine garden. “The intent is like a beautiful, curated European garden meets Bacchanal-style wine place,” Waters explains, referencing the New Orleans institution that’s always a party. “There’s a service window at the bar, and we’re going to encourage people to walk up to the bar, talk to the bartenders, buy large-format bottles, bring them out to the table, sit in the backyard, and enjoy. Hopefully that happens by May.”
Also in progress are plans to bring music back to the All Inn, in the backyard, lobby and other parts of the property. “Part of it being Rockbar and where we are on Colfax in relation to the theaters is we want to have some live music and activations and fun art and cultural programming as often as possible, and have that be a constant throughline that’s happening,” Waters says.
FiNO’s menu design is decidedly non-traditional.
As is fitting for this place, the menu’s design is definitely not typical. The front lists cocktails divided into four sections: spritzes, freezer pours, easy sippers and “after dinner.” On the back, you’ll find beer and wine options. Open it up, and there’s a two-page spread of dish names and descriptions arranged haphazardly among whimsical doodles like a dancing tomato holding a martini. “Let’s make this menu that almost feels like a kid’s menu,” Waters says. “You open it up and it’s this hodgepodge of dishes all together, not sectioned or super structured. … Placing everything that way allows people to discover more things as they go through the meal — you’re gonna order the first couple of things your eyes see. As stuff comes out, the hope is that it’s very delicious and people start to look back at the menu and find new things and order those and continue to add to the table.”
The food is focused on shareable small plates. At the preview dinner we attended, the lineup included thirteen options ranging from warm marinated olives and a trio of toasts to veggie-forward dishes, two pastas and some larger plates such as a half-roasted chicken, though the kitchen had to 86 that before we were able to try it — hiccups like that are to be expected when a team is still in test-run mode.
There were also no prices listed on the menu; those are still being finalized. Still, there was a lot to love about the food we tried, and hopefully the cost will be as easy to swallow as many of the bites on offer. There are plans to launch “gold hour” deals on snacks and “tiny ‘tinis” as well.
While some staples and fan-favorites are sure to emerge, “The menu is still evolving and is meant to always evolve and change,” Waters notes. “That’s kind of the fun of doing smaller plates, smaller dishes. We’ll have things that come in and out pretty regularly, almost weekly.”
A trio of toasts: tomato, tartar and anchovy.
During our visit, these were the favorites:
Anchovy toast: All of the hotel’s bread and pastries come from Wheat Ridge bakery GetRight’s, and the three toasts on offer use its country bread as the base. The tomato toast got a bit soggy, while the tartar is a solid option. But the standout was the version topped with anchovies, herbed tonnato and crème fraîche, for a Caesar-like flavor profile that is saucy and satisfying with a nice touch of freshness from the herbs.
Medi nachos: There may be no greater bar snack than this tower of kettle chips mingling with prosciutto, the same herbed tonnato that’s used on the anchovy toast (cutting waste and cross-utilizing ingredients is a priority at FiNO), toum and a generous shower of pecorino.
Charred cabbage: Cabbage continues to be a trendy ingredient, and it shines here in the form of deeply charred savoy cabbage paired with brown butter, lemon and a generous amount of capers.
Vodka O’s: This grown-up take on SpaghettiOs is just plain fun. The “o’s” here are made fresh in-house using a pasta extruder, and are paired with a classic vodka sauce and small meatballs that look like a novelty but taste like grandma’s.
A grown-up play on SpaghettiOs is one of two pasta options.
Like the food menu, the wine selections will evolve. “That way we can bring in something we can maybe only get six bottles of, that way we can introduce people to some fun things,” Waters says, noting that everything offered by the glass is also available by the half-glass.
In creating the cocktail menu, the team wanted to “lean into the fun and approachability aspect of having silly things,” Waters explains, like the Apera Spritz. “It’s our version of an Aperol Spritz. All we do is infuse Aperol with strawberries, then combine it with pink Malibu rum and sparkling rosé.”
But the standout so far is FiNO’s take on the dirty martini. Unlike the simplicity of the spritz, “it’s very complicated and has like seventeen ingredients,” Waters explains, including pickled tomato water brine made from the waste of food items like the tomato toast, along with fino sherry, dry vermouth, vodka and cornichon-infused gin. “Then we’re pouring it from a freezer so it’s perfectly diluted, perfectly cold, and it just goes right out.”
Other intriguing options include the mascarpone ramos. “It’s been the fourth highest-selling drink, which I could not believe,” Waters admits, citing preview orders. “People are literally drinking a cheese cocktail, it’s pretty wild. We had this idea of making a savory, fruity cocktail that had mascarpone in it, and the first few versions were really bad. It somehow ended up in a really great place, and it’s super fun and people love it, which is awesome.”
Catering to Hotel Guests
While guests are, of course, welcome to partake in the fun of FiNO, the lobby area, dubbed All Is Well, “will function as the main social space for the hotel,” Waters notes, describing its design as a living room from the ’50s. It’s decked out with a bar of its own, where coffee service, GetRight’s pastries and crowd-pleasing fare such as breakfast burritos and sandwiches will be available during the day. In the evening, it will serve “nostalgic Americana food, more leaning into the things people want when they’re traveling,” like a tavern-style burger, a French dip and a classic Caesar salad.
We’ll be back for another charred cabbage with brown butter, capers and lemon.
Would We Return?
Hell, yes. Especially because we’re excited to see how this space evolves as it settles into the Colfax rhythm. And because we need another one of those martinis, stat.
Waters hopes many people will want to return frequently, from hotel guests to Denver residents, including those who lie in the neighborhood.
“There’s no better feeling for us who do restaurants and openings to have people in for the first time and seeing people enjoy what you’ve dreamt up. That’s such an exciting part of it,” he says of the first days of previews. “For us, there’s always going to be ways to improve and get better, and my hope is that we’re constantly doing that and evaluating how we’re doing service and what dishes are on the menu and what people are liking and what people are asking for.”
As FiNO prepares for its first reservations on March 23, he concludes: “My biggest excitement is being able to have people that came into Rockbar before, or heard about it, and them come in and see it under new eyes and share their memories about it and hopefully get some new ones, too.”
FiNO is located inside the All Inn Hotel at 3015 East Colfax Avenue and will be open from 5 to 11 p.m. daily starting Monday, March 23. For more information and reservations, visit finocolfax.com.
Dining and Cooking