New speakeasy-style bar in historic downtown Eagle now open

Make your way to historic downtown Eagle for some sophisticated sips of cocktails, wine and beer at The Collective on Second, a brand new bar on Second Street.

The idea behind The Collective on Second came from Brian Kunkel, owner of Second Street Tavern, with business partners Jesse Echtler and Richard Butters.

Kunkel grew up in Eagle, attended Colorado State University for his undergraduate education, got a master’s degree in film in California and lived in Europe for a while, but missed Eagle. His grandfather was one of the first teachers at Eagle Valley High School and his father ran a civil engineering and land surveying company in Eagle.

“I decided I wanted to come back home and kind of fell back in love with Eagle. I love the people I grew up with here and love long-time locals, but it’s also always nice to see new people move to town. I think we live in one of the best communities in the country – in the world, really,” Kunkel said.

His love of Eagle is what drives Kunkel to offer experiences and gathering places in Eagle that draw people from all over.

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“I am a strong believer in that you have to set a scene in a town to really get people to come to Eagle. We’ve got a great synergy here, a lot of great locally owned businesses here, Casey Glowacki’s doing a great job getting people to Eagle Ranch with Wild Sage, Capitol Public House and Cut, and we saw the opportunity to bring in something that was not in the area that’s a little bit different that we thought could help attract more people into Eagle and the downtown area,” Kunkel said.

The opportunity came about when Roam, the restaurant next door to Second Street Tavern that was operated by chef-owner Adrienne Sirianni Cavallario, came up for sale.

“At the time, Richard was actually helping me refine my wine list next door at Second Street Tavern. We both agreed that we thought this would be a cool space to do something a little bit more refined, a little bit more upscale. And we both loved the idea of doing a speakeasy,” Kunkel said. Butters, who is a Level III Sommelier, worked on the wine list at The Collective on Second while Kunkel and his general manager, Kayla Back, worked on the cocktails.

“A lot of the drinks are a play on prohibition-style drinks. We make a Sazerac Old Fashioned. Sazerac Rye was actually used when they designed the Old Fashioned drink. We also have our Blackberry Whiskey Sour that we’ve developed that’s delicious. Some of them are the more traditional whiskey drinks like our Paper Plane on the menu,” Kunkel said.

Much like how the beers rotate at Second Street Tavern, Kunkel said that Butters is always looking for different wines that can rotate on The Collective’s menu. Kunkel said that they are also starting the Grand Crew Collective, which gives members access to exclusive wine, beer and spirits at the best prices and offers deals when you come into the restaurant. Membership is free, and Kunkel calls it “inclusively exclusive,” meaning everyone can join at no cost but membership does have its benefits.

“For example, in our daily email we will send out a password and if you tell the bartender that password, you either get a discount on the cocktails or discount on a bottle of wine to-go and it just keeps you up to date on all the fun activities we have going on in here,” Kunkel said.

Fun events and activities include live music and theme parties. Kunkel said that unlike Second Street Tavern, which is open to the public every day of the year, The Collective on Second can be closed down and rented out for parties and special occasions.    

“So far I’ve heard we want to have a ‘Great Gatsby’ party and a party for the popular show ‘Bridgerton,’ Kunkel said. “We can close down and you have have the place to yourself.”

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The space now consists of bar seating and a lounge indoors and a patio space that Kunkel said will mostly be enclosed to add an intimate feel.

“We want to give it that hidden garden feel. That’s why we’re going to do the faux ivy all around and blend in other living plants along with it. We plan to tent it so the space can be used all winter, too,” Kunkel said.

Future plans for The Collective on Second include a new entrance that is reminiscent of a speakeasy.  

“We’re looking to replace the two front doors, black out all the windows and then have a phone booth put out front. If you’re part of The Collective Crew, every day we’ll send out the password, and you punch in that password and the door slides open and that’s how you will get in. If you’re not part of The Collective, you won’t go get that password. So, it’s a good reason to join The Collective Crew, which is, again, 100% free,” Kunkel said.

To stay up to date on fun events and activities at The Collective on Second, go to their Instagram page. The Collective will also be home to the VIP area during the Downvalley Vibes Festival, a new musical gathering on Aug. 23 and 24 put on by Second Street Tavern and The Collective on Second.