AURORA – In the beginning, Jim and Tina Pachorek believed that if they built a British-style pub in Aurora, “they” would come.
“They” would be Colorado’s rapidly spawning corps of die-hard beer fans who’ve made the state the epicenter of the craft brew movement.
It turned out that lots of ale geeks have been happy to jam the couple’s Royal Hilltop Tap Room since it opened in Aurora ten years ago.
Five years ago, after developing a passion for the great beers of Belgium, they flouted conventional thinking and opened The Cheek Monk Belgian Beer Cafe on a rough stretch of Colfax Avenue near the State Capitol in Denver. It’s been so successful that they’ve opened two more Cheeky Monks in Winter Park and Westminster.
And now, at a time when new breweries seem to open weekly in the metro area, the Pachoreks are launching Lost Highway Brewery next door to the original Cheeky Monk.
Ask what sparked their entrepreneurial zeal and they’ll tell you it was one simple thing.
“We both love great beer,” Jim Pachorek said.
Jim and Tina were both born in Pueblo but didn’t know each other when they were growing up. Tina earned a master’s degree in business IT and James’ degree in mechanical engineering took him away from Pueblo. On a visit home in 1995 they were introduced and married in 1996.
As their family grew to three kids – now aged 6 to 12 years old – their respective careers tended to take them away from home.
“We had always wanted to be entrepreneurs and follow both of our dreams to open a beer-oriented business,” Tina said.
Both had worked in bars and were serious beer fans from college onwards.
“I think I was the first female to finish the Beer Tour at Old Chicago,” Tina said. The Colorado-born brewpub chain invites regulars to taste their way around the world beer by beer.
Jim started out on regular bland American beers but soon hit the better stuff. “I used to hang out with my buddies and we were tired of really bad beer,” he said. His world morphed when Tina introduced him to Fat Tire Ale brewed by Fort Collins’ New Belgium Brewery.
“I thought it was a really great beer but I didn’t think anybody would buy it at the price,” Jim said.
The couple’s home was in the southern part of Aurora that later became Centennial. “We were living in the suburbs and tired of having to drive downtown to find a good beer,” Jim said.
“We would say ‘Somebody needs to open a pub out here.”
After a long work trip to Oregon, he came home convinced that the “somebody” was he and Tina. She immediately dove into web research on opening a tavern.
“We decided on a pub concept and importing British beers,” he said, especially the many beer styles that local brewers weren’t making yet. In addition, the Royal Hilltop was non-smoking from the day it opened, long before it was required.
On the culinary end, they initially focused on traditional brew-centric Brit fare including shepherd’s pie based on a recipe from Tina’s mom. Other Royal Hilltop menu items include beer-battered fish and chips, burgers, bangers (sausages) and mash (potatoes), and Irish nachos: waffle fries, corned beef, sauerkraut and melted cheese.
Over time as their patrons tastes have changed they’ve added other dishes and began pouring American craft brews and favorite Belgians to the Royal Hilltop taps.
Currently, the most popular brews include Wynkoop Railyard Ale and Dogfish Head Ale. “There’s a real cult following for Dogfish Head in Aurora,” Jim said.
Other best-sellers range from Maui Coconut Porter to locally brewed Victory Golden Money and various Dry Dock brews.
When Jim and Tina started talking about opening the Cheeky Monk Belgian Beer Cafe, friends and other skeptics questioned their decision to open a Belgian beer tavern … never mind placing it in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.
“We started tasting beers from Belgium and decided that Belgian brews were going to be the next big thing,” Tina said. Belgian beer taps and glasses were ordered.
The Pachoreks said they viewed Colfax near downtown as an area that had the potential to become a revitalized and cool urban neighborhood.
“Colfax was where we wanted to be located,” Tina said, “Looking back it sounds like a crazy idea. I mean, what WERE we thinking?” Jim said, breaking into a broad grin.
And yet, five years later, the location boasts 52 taps and 150 types of bottled beer and “the Cheeky Monk has become a destination spot,” Tina said.
A decade after opening in Aurora, they are taking the next step. Lost Highway Brewery is located next door to the original Cheeky Monk and is expected to start cooking mash in late spring.
It is so-named because Colfax, along with being one of the longest streets in America, was a major American highway in its time.
At first Lost Highway will simply supply the Pachorek’s taverns. “As a brewer you want to have your own niche and we’re focused on Belgian-style beer,” Tina said.
Jim Pachorek’s groundbreaking drive to introduce American tavern-goers to the wonders of Belgian beer brought him a rare honor for an American. He was “knighted” by the Brotherhood of the Mash Staff, a Belgian brewers’ guild, in 2011.
“We were never afraid to try new things,” Jim said, adding that he can’t wait for Lost Highway to open.
“One of the great things about having our own brewery is that now we can create beers that we like them.”