Low temperatures and some snow flurries didn’t stop community members from coming out en mass to the Colorado Tap House on March 9 for the long-awaited grand opening of the expansive facility on 69th Avenue in west Arvada.

The tap house, founded by husband-and-wife duo Eric and Jen Zeitlow, has been in the works for years, but experienced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Zeitlows first got approval for the project–which includes two levels, an outdoor patio, 820 square foot private event room, fire pits and a game area–in March of 2020.

Since then, the pandemic slowed the Zeitlow’s timeline, but allowed them to work out some of the details that would go into the tap house.

“If anything, I think the time gave us more time to think about details and what we wanted to add to it. We have a horse hitch and post out here that the horse community asked us to put in. We have the bike repair station and 70 bike spaces. It was kind of nice to think of all these details that would add something to our taphouse,” Jen said.

The community support has been overwhelming, according to the Zeitlows, who have lived in Arvada for 25 years. Eric said in a 2021 interview with the Arvada Press that he and Jen wanted a place where people can hang out with their family and friends and socialize on the city’s western side.

“One guy told me he took today off (work) to come to the grand opening. It’s been awesome, the community support,” Jen said. “That’s been the number one comment we get. People are like, ‘thank you, we need this here, and it’s a great location off the path,’ they say. Because, you know, the trail is well used from people in this community–when it’s nice, not today.”

I think we just want to make this a hub in the community that everyone can come and enjoy because we need it so badly,” Jen continued.

Despite the inclement weather, Jen said that a line of people started forming in advance of the tap house’s 8:30 a.m. opening.

“We opened at 8:30 for coffee because we’re doing coffee in the morning–a pretty full coffee menu, I mean not anywhere near what Starbucks can offer–and we actually had a small line out the door at 8:30, just a little line of freezing people out there. It’s really been great. In the morning some people came in with their laptops and worked,” Jen said.

Eric added that the crowd was steadily growing throughout the day, with some folks coming in the mornings and making plans to return with friends later on in the evening.