Tapping back in: Second Street Tavern opens for business in beloved Eagle spot
'It was an Eagle project. It was all the people that have been here and knew what it meant to all of us just trying to get it back up and going'
Special to the Daily
Nate Peterson/Vail Daily
The new Second Street Tavern in Eagle is officially open for business this weekend and will welcome the community back with a grand opening event on Saturday, Aug. 19.
After nearly two years of quietude and construction, the scenic corner of downtown Eagle once again flowed with drinks, conversation and music during its soft opening at Block Party Eagle. The tavern is already well on its way to reviving the communal “Cheers”-like atmosphere that locals cherished in its predecessor, Bonfire Brewing, before the brewery’s doors were shuttered in 2021.
Owner Brian Kunkel, who worked as Bonfire Brewing’s tap manager for eight years, described the first night at Second Street with the warmth of a family reunion.
“It just fills my heart to be in here again,” Kunkel said. “All of these regulars that used to come in but weren’t able to gather for the last two years were reintroducing themselves, going, ‘I know you, how do I know you?’ and I’d be like, ‘You guys were both regulars here, that’s how you know each other!’ It’s just fun to watch the community reconnect.”
“I just don’t ever want to close this place down again. Now that they’ve got it back, it just feels wrong to take it away. For those who don’t have family to be with, I want to be the place where they can come find their local family.” — Brian Kunkel
Now, Kunkel and his business partner Jesse Echtler, are ready to keep the doors open for good. Second Street will begin serving at 11 a.m. Saturday and will host two live music acts in the evening. The Multiple Personalities Tour, a three-piece band headed by Echtler’s father and performing this weekend under the name, Dusty Pan and the Runaway Brooms, will open from 5:30-7:30 p.m. followed by Denver-based band Dragondeer from 9-11 p.m.
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The tavern will begin operating on a regular schedule following its Saturday opening as the space and alcohol selection continue to evolve in the coming months. Hours will run from 11 a.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays, 3 p.m to 10 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Live entertainment — including music, comedy, trivia nights and other engagements — will be scheduled most Thursday-Saturday nights. Artists who are interested in performing at Second Street can reach out to amber@2ndstreeteagle.com.
Kunkel said that he intends to keep the bar open 365 days a year, even on holidays, giving reassurance that locals will always find a home on second street.
“I just don’t ever want to close this place down again. Now that they’ve got it back, it just feels wrong to take it away,” Kunkel said. “For those who don’t have family to be with, I want to be the place where they can come find their local family.”
A place for everyone
Second Street is about community, but it is also about history, and the owners went to great lengths to preserve the integrity of the building despite many logistical barriers and setbacks along the way. The result is a bar that has been redesigned for a new chapter but will still feel intimately familiar to any local who walks through the door.
“To see peoples’ faces and how happy they are — it’s like a long-lost family member you get to see again,” Echtler said. “They walk in and just beam… even though we changed the look of the inside, it still has the same feel, the same vibe, and a lot of that is just keeping this building. It has a soul.”
One significant change is the removal of heavy brewing equipment, which has transformed the formerly cramped interior of the building into an open and airy space. Rather than produce its own craft beer products, Second Street will offer a 16-tap selection of curated beers featuring local, domestic and international brewers.
While craft beer will remain a focus, the bar will also serve popular labels such as Budweiser, Coors and Miller as well as a selection of wines, liquors and an ever-rotating craft cocktail menu.
“We know that this was considered a craft beer place, but in all truth, I felt like that excluded a lot of people because there are some people who just don’t like craft beer,” Kunkel said. “I’m trying to get something across the board that everyone can associate with and enjoy.”
Inclusivity is a core value at Second Street, one that Kunkel also applies to pricing. He plans to keep well drinks under $5, the majority of beers under $6, and craft cocktails under $12, in addition to a daily happy hour from 4:30-7 p.m. and specialty deals each Sunday.
“We’re trying to keep the price point low for the working class of the valley,” Kunkel said. “We’ll still have some top-shelf stuff if someone wants to come in and be fancy, they’re more than welcome to do that, but if they’re sitting right next to someone who doesn’t have the same disposable income that person can also come in and enjoy a drink every day.”
The updated layout is designed to encourage connection, where people from all walks of life and all corners of the Eagle community can swap ideas and stories in a comfortable environment. The focal point of the room is a large horseshoe-shaped bar that accommodates 30 barstools, serving as a central gathering place for patrons. There is also indoor and outdoor table seating available and a multitude of televisions, just in time for football season.
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A new food truck by Uriel Escobar, former chef at Grand Avenue Grill, is opening in conjunction with the bar and will be parked alongside the patio seating. The truck, “La Diosa,” serves a combination of traditional Mexican recipes and creative takes on bar food staples like wings and burgers.
Escobar, who runs the truck with his family, said that he wants the Hispanic population of Eagle to feel comfortable and included at Second Street and that his menu reflects that intention.
“The idea is, again, to bring everybody in here, so I did a little bit of everything, thinking about everybody,” Escobar said.
The tavern has been refurbished with an eye to the future, but odes to the past are deeply entrenched in the design. Kunkel and Echtler, both born and raised in Eagle, plan to fill the wall with a photo timeline of the town starting in the 19th century that will show its evolution from ranching to the present day.
“We want people to understand the history of this place and how it has changed because while change can be good you still have to remember where you came from,” Kunkel said.
“A lot of people have moved to the community and don’t really understand Eagle’s roots, which is OK, and this is kind of a way for us to help tell our story.”
There are also subtle homages paid to Bonfire Brewing, including the name of the bar. Kunkel said that the Bonfire staff used to refer to the taproom as “Second Street” to differentiate it from the company’s brewing facility on Chambers.
Another discreet nod is the custom bartop, which is noticeably higher than most. This design is a tribute to Bonfire’s late founder Andy Jessen, who built out the original taproom to accommodate his tall frame.
“Anybody who worked for Andy realized that everything he built was for a 6-foot-6 man — I always had to get on stools to do anything — so this is the kind of height of a bar that he would have wanted to build,” Kunkel said. “While we are not Bonfire 2.0, I want to make sure people understand that his legacy does still live on, even though he does not.”
Built by the community, for the community
It is fitting that Second Street has been created to strengthen community bonds because Kunkel and Echtler stressed that they could never have gotten the business off the ground without the hands-on support of friends in Eagle and Colorado at large.
From contractors to electricians to craftspeople to staff, Echtler said that Second Street is built primarily on relationships and people eagerly willing to lend a helping hand. He recalled nights that volunteers showed up willing to do anything from scrubbing floors to rearranging furniture.
“It was an Eagle project. It was all the people that have been here and knew what it meant to all of us just trying to get it back up and going,” Echtler said. “It’s just awesome how the community has come together for this. That’s how bad everybody wants it.”
Today, standing at the end of a long startup project and the beginning of a bright new chapter, the Second Street team’s message is one of immense gratitude to the town its staff looks forward to serving for many years to come.
“There’s the saying that locals take care of locals, but we got to literally see it in action,” Kunkel said. “It’s been a long haul but it’s unbelievably worth it so far. The community, how they have come out and just shown us the love that they’ve shown us these last couple days, have made all this heartache and all this stress that we’ve been under for the last two years so worth it.”
For the latest information on Second Street events and developments, follow @2ndstreetEagle on Instagram and Facebook.
