10/03/2026
It feels so strange trying to sum up 11+ years in a post, but I’m going to try my best.
This is incredibly bittersweet, but we have made the difficult decision to close The Bluegrass, with our last day being October 31st.
Life and business have pulled us in other directions — directions we are incredibly grateful for — and we also know how much love, time and care a restaurant deserves. And as hard as it is, we know this is the right time to close this chapter.
When we first had the idea for The Bluegrass, it sounded a little crazy.
Coffee and bourbon?!
Some people loved it. Some people were confused. But it was completely true to us and our roots — Kentucky, southern hospitality, good food, good drinks, and making sure everyone who walked through the door felt welcome.
It was the first business Drew and I started completely on our own, without outside partners. We were both in our late 20s and honestly had no idea what to expect. But sometimes being a little naive and dreaming really big pays off.
On opening night, Saturday, August 1, 2015, we were SO excited to finally open those doors. I had done the artwork inside. Drew had helped build every detail. I wrote the chalkboard signs. We hired a band.
And that entire night, we didn’t even crack $300 in sales.
The band alone cost us $250. 😂
We went home thinking, “What did we just do?”
But we kept going.
And wow…look what happened.
I bartended a lot of those early nights and continued doing it until 2019. Somewhere along the way, we hired the kind of staff restaurant owners dream about. They became people our guests loved, became friends with, and in so many cases, became family.
There are far too many people to name, and I would never want to accidentally leave someone out, but every person who has ever worked for The Bluegrass left an imprint on this place and on us.
And our daughters, Mia and Ella, practically grew up at the restaurant. Mia was only 7 when we opened, and The Bluegrass became a huge part of her childhood. She eventually worked for more than two years at the Candelas location. Ella worked special events and was always part of the action in her own way.
Mia’s first “job” was making breakfast burritos with Faviola’s daughter, Amaya, on Wednesdays when they were 12. Those are the kinds of memories that will stay with us forever.
People always said Bluegrass felt like Cheers.
And it really did.
Our guests and team celebrated birthdays together. They went to each other’s weddings. They showed up for one another during losses and hard times. They watched babies grow up. They celebrated promotions, engagements, graduations and everything in between.
We hosted engagements, baby showers, wedding receptions, graduation parties, celebrations of life, surprise parties and more big moments than we could ever count.
But I think the best memories are actually the quiet ones.
A drink and a pizza. Live music playing in the background. Sitting at the bar talking to someone you knew you’d probably see again next week.
The ordinary nights you didn’t realize at the time would someday become some of your favorite memories.
And we had FUN.
Wh***ey Wednesdays. Crawfish boils. Our annual pig roast. Noel. Live music. Parties. Events. So many traditions we looked forward to year after year.
And somehow this little crazy coffee-and-bourbon idea won a lot, too.
Best wh***ey bar. Best coffee. Best pizza. Best wings. Best happy hour. Best neighborhood bar. Best holiday bar. National recognition for our wh***ey program.
None of that happens without an incredible team and a community that chooses to keep showing up.
Then came COVID.
We had signed on our second restaurant just months before the world shut down, and like every restaurant, we had no idea what was going to happen.
But once again, our community showed up.
You donated. You ordered takeout. You bought gift cards. You supported our staff. You found ways to keep this little restaurant going when restaurants everywhere were fighting to survive.
Anyone remember the Quarantine Special? ❤️
And then, in 2020, when Drew and I lost our daughter, this place became something even bigger to us.
We were surrounded by love from relationships that started inside The Bluegrass. People showed up for us during the darkest time of our lives, when we couldn’t see our own way through it.
People say it takes a village.
Ours was here.
And I cannot close this chapter without specifically thanking Josh.
Josh IS The Bluegrass.
He is the epitome of everything you could ever hope for in someone you trust with your business. He has loved this place, protected it and cared about our guests and team as a true partner.
More than 200 people attended his wedding, and so many of those relationships began at The Bluegrass — including meeting his wife.
That says everything.
Josh, you will forever be part of our family and part of this story.
And there are so many others who gave years of their lives to this place. You know who you are. We know who you are. And we love you all.
Eleven years ago, Drew and I opened a little restaurant with a weird idea, a chalkboard sign, a band that cost almost as much as we made that night, and absolutely no idea what it would become.
It became so much more than a restaurant.
It became a community.
And now, as life and business take us in new directions and increasingly out of state, we’ve made the difficult decision to close this chapter rather than make commitments we aren’t sure we can give everything they deserve.
Arvada will always have a huge place in our hearts, and we hope The Bluegrass has a little place in yours.
So please come celebrate this last month with us.
Have your favorite drink. Order your favorite pizza. Sit at the bar. Tell us your Bluegrass story. Bring back the people you used to meet here.
Let’s make this last month one we never forget.
Because while October 31st may be the last night we open the doors, I don’t think places like this ever really disappear.
The Bluegrass will live on in stories told over dinner, friendships that started at the bar, marriages that began here, songs that take you back to a certain night, and maybe every once in a while when you pour a really good bourbon and think of us.
To every employee who wore a Bluegrass shirt, every musician who played here, every vendor who believed in us, every regular who had “their” seat, every person who celebrated something here, and every single person who ever walked through our doors:
Thank you.
You gave us 11 years we will never forget.
With nothing but love and gratitude,
Sheena & Drew
The Bluegrass
2015–2026 ❤️
