Mountain Sun Pubs and Breweries embeds arts in its ethos

Image courtesy of Vine Street Pub & Brewery. Chalkboard art by Tony Zellaha. 

Arts and culture have been a part of Mountain Sun Pubs and Breweries’ ethos since its beginning, nearly 25 years ago. The chain of pubs and breweries, which includes five locations across the Front Range, was honored by the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) on March 10 at the Business for the Arts Awards for its unique activation of arts in the Colorado community. 

“We always wanted to create a place where people wanted to come together and share, not only food and drink, but also ideas, philosophies, music, art, and creative energy in general,” says Kevin Daly, the Mountain Sun proprietor. “This ethos has only grown and become more important over time.”

Each of Mountain Sun’s five locations feature a rotating display of original chalk art and live music. In placing art and music at the center of each pub, Mountain Sun strives to serve as the focal point of the communities it serves. “Our pub culture is all about supporting each other, caring for each other and the environment, and being much more than just a place to grab a burger and a beer,” Daly says. 

One of Mountain Sun’s most recent engagements with the Colorado arts industry was at its Vine Street location in Denver. The pub turned an empty storefront window into an experimental rotating exhibit space for local artists at the encouragement of the City of Denver Public Art program. Since its activation, the storefront has seen 12 unique installations. 

“Colorado is a lot of things, great outdoors, great food and breweries, great people and generally great vibes. But the artists, musicians and other creatives truly highlight and make the place unique,” Daly says. “We are indebted to them and we want to support them and help them spread their talents.”

Learn more about Mountain Sun’s award-winning partnerships and activations below:

To learn more about the CBCA Business for the Arts Awards and to meet the other 2020 honorees, click here.