Sancho’s Broken Arrow closes permanently as part of city settlement, former owner says

The city of Denver on Thursday said it had reached an agreement with the embattled Sancho’s Broken Arrow bar that allowed owner Tyler Bishop to avoid his public, long-delayed liquor license hearing.

The settlement has not been approved, but it includes the closure of the Grateful Dead-themed bar, former owner Jay Bianchi wrote on Facebook Wednesday.

“Sancho’s Broken Arrow has been an institution in Colorado for 22 years and I am very sad to announce that it will not be in that location anymore,” he said of the Capitol Hill bar at 741 E. Colfax Ave.

Bishop, Sancho’s owner and Bianchi’s business partner, reached the settlement with the Denver City Attorney’s Office in what’s known as a “show cause disciplinary case.” It required him to argue why Sancho’s and his other Grateful Dead-themed bar, So Many Roads, should not have their liquor licenses revoked.

The hearing was originally scheduled for June, but was postponed until October. Since then, So Many Roads has been ordered to close for the month of November after an undercover sting by Denver police allegedly found cocaine dealing there. The craft brewery and Grateful Dead memorabilia museum at 918 W. 1st Ave. also served two underage police cadets during the 2021 sting, according to DPD.

The city said it will provide a copy of the settlement agreement after a determination is made whether it has been approved. Molly Duplechian, executive director of Excise and Licenses, will review the settlement and make a decision on whether to approve it, a spokesman told The Denver Post on Thursday.

In addition, Bishop and Sancho’s violated a temporary restraining order from the city by opening Wednesday night for an impromptu send-off with diehard patrons. The restraining order, which was intended to prevent them from doing business, stems from a public nuisance case related to the undercover drug stings, according to public documents.

The public nuisance case is set for trial on Dec. 6 in courtroom 100K at Denver County Court, said Marley Bordovsky, director of Prosecution and Code Enforcement at the city attorney’s office.

Most recently, two women accused Bianchi of sexual assault after an alleged incident in the basement of Sancho’s on Nov. 1, 2020. So Many Roads has also been the site of picketing and protests against Bianchi organized by the Colorado Musician’s Union.

Bianchi, who sold his businesses to Bishop, has repeatedly denied the allegations in interviews with The Denver Post, but has admitted to roughing up a musician who was playing at his former bar Be on Key Psychedelic Ripple. That bar caught fire on May 27, 2020, one week after Bianchi was cited for opening the Uptown venue against city orders.