Bars offer a form of intimacy: You're shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow drinkers, face-to-face with your bartender and only a few feet from the source of your next drink. Conversation and camaraderie flow like beer from the tap, and toasts among strangers (if there is such a thing as a stranger at your favorite watering hole) are common — whether to celebrate, commiserate or just knock back another shot. But bars have suffered greatly during the pandemic. Most bar stools have been eliminated, leaving customers scattered around what little table seating can be found, and those saloons that haven't figured out some form of food service have had to close entirely because of COVID-related restrictions. Many watering holes throughout Denver remain in a state of limbo, either hibernating for the winter, trying to make a go of it with takeout booze sales or offering only occasional special events until capacity restrictions ease enough to make reopening worthwhile.