Concept Restaurants opening Boulder Social in former, Ska, Fate space

BOULDER — Concept Restaurants Inc., a chain of eateries and watering holes in Boulder and Denver owned by local hospitality luminaries Frank and Gina Day, is now the latest group to try its hand at setting up shop at 1600 38th St. in Boulder, the former home of Fate Brewing Co. and the short-lived Ska Street Brewstillery.

Boulder Social is expected to open this summer and will serve as the sister restaurant to Stout Street Social in Denver.

The menu will include small and large plates, oysters, sushi, burgers, sandwiches and rustic specialty pizzas, a company spokesperson told BizWest.

The bar will serve draft beer from the in-house brewery and guest beer taps, frozen drinks, craft cocktails and wine, according to Concept. The location includes two outdoor patios for community and live music events.

The 38th Street location has been snakebit in recent years.

First, Fate filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late 2018 and closed its Boulder location in May 2019 after an unsuccessful reorganization effort. 

Durango’s Ska Brewing Co. secured much of Fate’s equipment in bankruptcy auction and partnered with Palisade-based Peach Street Distillers to take over the space in 2020.

Ska Street had a 30-tap taproom and 10-barrel brewing system that the company hoped would churn out 500 to 1,000 barrels a year. 

The facility had just opened for business when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and all Colorado bars and restaurants were temporarily shuttered. 

The establishment reopened about two months later for limited service but closed for business in early 2022.

The Days have been active in the hospitality scene in Boulder and beyond for decades. 

Among the groups they’ve owned or helped start are Rock Bottom Restaurants Inc., Old Chicago, Walnut Brewery and the ChopHouse & Brewery; Colorado’s first microbrewery, Boulder Beer; iconic Boulder watering hole The Walrus; upscale lodges Hotel Boulderado and the Table Mountain Inn in Golden; Downtown Boulder Inc., a nonprofit organization focused on promoting downtown Boulder; and the Day Family Foundation.

Frank Day is a 2003 Boulder County Business Hall of Fame inductee and was named an Entrepreneurial Innovator in 2004 by the Boulder Chamber. Gina Day is a 2018 Boulder County Business Hall of Fame inductee.

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