Walk past 7401 E. First Ave. at any point during the last two years and you would have seen a building that felt out of sync with the rest of Lowry Town Center: boarded windows, a mostly empty parking lot, and an address that used to anchor Friday nights in the neighborhood.
If you have lived in Lowry for a while, you probably watched the decline happen in real time. The upstairs bar went dark first. The music venue below it followed. Then came the long stretch of vacancy that made one of the neighborhood’s most familiar gathering places feel unfinished.
That building reopened this month. But the thing Lowry got back on August 15 is not exactly the thing that closed in 2024, and the difference matters if you have ever wondered what happened to your old Friday-night spot.
The former Soiled Dove Underground has returned as The Dove Underground, with Rising Phoenix Restaurant now operating upstairs. For people who live nearby, it is a meaningful change for one of the neighborhood’s most visible commercial addresses and another reason Lowry remains a community where restaurants, parks, housing, and everyday conveniences are close to home. For a broader look at the area, visit my Lowry neighborhood guide.
Two dark years at a Lowry Town Center anchor
Tavern Lowry closed first in February 2024, amid family ownership disputes and unpaid taxes within the business that operated it. The music venue in the basement, Soiled Dove Underground, followed within months. Its concert calendar gradually emptied during what the operators described as a restructuring before the venue went fully dark by May 2024.
What came next is the part longtime residents remember. The building sat empty for roughly 20 months. Vagrants broke in more than once. RVs occupied the north side of the lot for much of an eight-month stretch before the issue was resolved. Eventually, the windows were boarded, a visible signal that the property had stopped functioning as a neighborhood asset and had become a neighborhood concern.
In October 2025, local general surgeon Dr. Jacquelyn Glenn bought the property for $3.5 million. Glenn is also a bass player, and she had performed at the Soiled Dove Underground years before she imagined owning it. That connection helps explain why the building was not simply converted into another generic commercial use.
The original plan, reported after the sale, was to transform the upstairs bar into classrooms and a recording studio for a music school while continuing concerts downstairs. Glenn later pivoted toward a full restaurant-and-bar concept upstairs, a decision that brought the property closer to the role it had always played in Lowry.
Here is the timeline:
Date | What happened |
|---|---|
February 2024 | Tavern Lowry closes amid ownership disputes and unpaid taxes. |
May 2024 | Soiled Dove Underground formally shuts down. |
October 2025 | Dr. Jacquelyn Glenn purchases the building for $3.5 million. |
June 19, 2026 | Rising Phoenix Restaurant soft-opens upstairs. |
August 15, 2026 | The Dove Underground reopens with Hazel Miller headlining. |
That is roughly 20 months of vacancy, followed by a little more than 10 months from purchase to a fully reopened building. For anyone walking past those boarded windows last winter, it was a faster turnaround than many Lowry residents expected.
The name stayed behind, but the venue stayed in Lowry
This is not a simple renovation story. The Soiled Dove name was not included in the sale of the Lowry building.
Frank Schultz, who built the original venue and operated it for two decades through Tavern Hospitality Group, allowed the federal trademark to lapse. However, he has argued that his long history of using the name gives him continuing rights to it. Glenn’s team registered The Dove Underground federally and considers the issue settled. Schultz has publicly discussed a possible cease-and-desist letter.
Schultz did not leave the music business behind. He added a stage and sound system at Chopper’s Sports Grill, the Cherry Creek North bar he has owned since 2015, and launched Soiled Dove Live at Chopper’s. The Railbenders opened the new stage on May 9, 2026, followed by an Opie Gone Bad reunion the next week. The Samples played July 31, and Paizley Park followed on August 8.
Schultz has been clear about the concept. Chopper’s remains a sports bar first, with ticketed concerts scheduled around Nuggets games instead of competing with them. He has projected four to six ticketed live-music shows each month. Westword covered the Cherry Creek opening and Schultz’s plans for the new stage.
Denver now has two music rooms connected to the Soiled Dove story, but they are not the same venue.
Venue | Location | What it means |
|---|---|---|
The Dove Underground | 7401 E. First Ave., Lowry | The original Lowry concert room, reopened under new ownership and a new name. |
Soiled Dove Live at Chopper’s | 80 S. Madison St., Cherry Creek North | A separate live-music program operating inside Chopper’s Sports Grill. |
If you heard that “Soiled Dove is back” secondhand this spring, there is a real chance you heard about the Cherry Creek version. The room with the original Lowry address, familiar acoustics, and walkable Town Center location is the one that has reopened as The Dove Underground. The name moved to Cherry Creek. The building did not.
What changed inside 7401 E. First Ave.
According to the building’s general manager, Joseph Augusto, the downstairs layout is largely unchanged. No walls came down, and no walls went up. What changed is the equipment, the atmosphere, and the experience surrounding the room:
- A new sound system from Denver-based audio company Listen Up, replacing the original rig.
- New lighting throughout the venue.
- A backstage restroom for performers, which the original build did not include.
- New tables and chairs, reupholstered booths, and a redesigned boomerang-shaped bar upstairs.
- A fully renovated kitchen with new equipment.
- New beer taps installed across all three bars in the building.
Upstairs, Rising Phoenix is the new restaurant. The name fits the building’s comeback story, but the restaurant is intended to stand on its own as a Lowry dining destination. Chef Daniel “Chef D” Young, a longtime figure in Denver dining, leads an American menu that includes burgers, pizzas, pastas, salmon and seafood dishes, salads, and desserts.
The restaurant initially served guests from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. A breakfast buffet was added during the summer as Rising Phoenix moved toward fuller daily service ahead of the music venue’s opening. Happy hour is planned, although details have not yet been published. For current menus, operating hours, and event information, check the official Rising Phoenix and Dove Underground website.
What the reopening looks like
The Dove Underground’s August 15 grand opening brought Hazel Miller back to a stage she has played for years. The event was designed as a full-day opening celebration rather than a single evening concert.
Miller’s history with the room reaches back to the early years of the original venue, alongside performers including the Avett Brothers, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, and B.B. King. Bringing her back to headline the reopening was a statement of continuity for a room with deep roots in Denver’s live-music history. Westword reported on the Lowry venue’s reopening, renovation, and August 15 grand opening.
Going forward, talent buyers Jesse Wehling and Patricia Duncan are curating a mix of local, regional, and national touring acts. Comedian Terri Barton Gregg is booking standup programming. The stated plan includes concerts across genres, comedy, karaoke, and poetry nights, creating a broader entertainment calendar than the old Soiled Dove offered.
For Lowry residents who used to walk over for a weeknight drink, a weekend show, or a casual dinner upstairs, the ownership history and name debate may not change the practical experience. The room is still the room. The capacity remains 300 seats, and longtime regulars have always said there is not a bad seat in the house.
What changed is who owns it, what it is called, and the fact that after two years of boarded windows, it is once again doing what it was built to do.
Why this matters for Lowry homeowners and buyers
Real estate value is not only about square footage, lot size, price per square foot, or what a home appraises for. It is also about the daily experience of living in a neighborhood. People choose Lowry because they want access to parks, trails, restaurants, neighborhood services, schools, and places that make it easier to enjoy a Friday night close to home.
The reopening of Rising Phoenix and The Dove Underground restores a prominent gathering place near Lowry Town Center. It adds another restaurant, another entertainment option, and another reason that residents can enjoy more of their lives without leaving the neighborhood.
Lowry is a master-planned Denver community built on the former Lowry Air Force Base, with a mix of single-family homes, townhomes, condos, parks, schools, open space, and neighborhood retail. It often appeals to buyers who want a more structured community feel without leaving the city. Learn more about housing, lifestyle, amenities, and current real estate opportunities in my complete Lowry real estate guide.
Buyers comparing Lowry with other amenity-rich Denver neighborhoods often look at Central Park as well. Both offer parks, newer housing options, community amenities, and a more planned feel than many of Denver’s older neighborhoods. Lowry tends to feel more established, more compact, and closely tied to its former military-base history.
If you are still narrowing down where to live, these guides can help:
- Where Buyers Are Flocking in Denver Right Now
- Best Denver Neighborhoods for Remote Workers
- Denver Neighborhoods That Feel Like Small Towns
- How to Choose the Right Denver Zip Code
- Explore All Denver Neighborhoods
A familiar Lowry address is active again
The reopening does not erase the two-year gap. It does, however, restore something Lowry had been missing: a place with dinner upstairs, music downstairs, and a reason to walk over instead of driving across town.
For longtime residents, The Dove Underground is more than a new venue. It is a familiar Lowry address coming back to life under new ownership and a new name, while the original Soiled Dove name begins a separate chapter in Cherry Creek.
If you are settled in Lowry and simply wanted the real story behind the reopened building down the street, that is it. And if you are thinking about what a home in a neighborhood like this is worth, whether it is time to buy, sell, or make a move within Denver, start with my Lowry neighborhood guide or visit Sallie Simmons Real Estate to start a no-pressure conversation.
