Greenlight Lab Brings Back-Alley Booze and High Design to RiNo

A glowing emerald lightbulb above a doorway in the alley at 1336 27th Street will be the only exterior evidence of RiNo’s newest cocktail lounge, GreenLight Lab, still awaiting final inspection before it’s officially green-lighted to open. Expected to debut within the next few days, what’s perhaps most remarkable about this new project from local design firm, LIVstudio – responsible for projects including Il Posto, Bar Fausto and Red Leg Brewing – is that the intimate destination will simultaneous serve as a bar and the city’s first living design laboratory. That means the 700-square-foot space will encourage real-life experimentation with the furniture, fixtures, materials and the general flow of the room.

Grid View

“We will be experimenting and changing the cocktails and design of the lounge frequently and encouraging input from our guests,” says Brandon Anderson, principle and co-owner of LIV.

Whereas the rest of RiNo is busy and bustling with frantic growth and change, Anderson aims to create a quiet place for people to come together to carry on conversation over a drink. Bargoers, which cannot exceed 40, will be asked to share their feedback, receiving a packet to rate the look and feel of the space and each of the dynamic pieces within it. Anderson and his team will then have genuine market research to share with existing and hopeful clients about seating, stylings and more.

Meanwhile, the craft cocktails – concocted by Dustin Lawler – previously of The Kitchen – will similarly be open for interpretation and iteration. Calling the beverage menu, “experimental,” Anderson says one idea is to hollow out spheres of ice and infuse classic potions – such Manhattans or gin fizz – inside, serving the orb with a hammer to break open and imbibe.

For food, Greenlight – which doesn’t have a kitchen of its own – will keep it simple, offering charcuterie boards and small desserts from neighborhood restaurants. According to the venue’s Facebook page, the watering hole will be open from 5 p.m. to midnight, Tuesday through Saturday.