Soon after opening the first one, he knew he wanted a second, said Steve Cominsky, founder of Social Bar & Lounge. 

The business marked the launch of its Littleton Village location with a celebration attended by one mayor, three city council members and scores of Littleton Business Chamber members and guests in February. The after-work crowd milled around the establishment’s U-shaped bar and admired its plush couches and colorful armchairs.

“It looks just like Littleton Village’s living room in there,” Littleton Mayor Kyle Schlachter said to the crowd moments before Cominsky cut a red ribbon strung across the stairs leading to the bar’s double glass doors. 

The new Social Bar & Lounge is housed on the first floor of a three-story apartment building in Littleton Village. The development, located on the east side of Broadway at Dry Creek Road, was proposed in 2014 as a walkable community with shops, restaurants and residences but, for the most part, the metro district still lacks commercial enhancement. 

“I think it’s great for the entire community, specifically for Littleton Village,” Schlachter told Colorado Community Media. “I know that the commercial development in this area has been kind of lagging and slow. It’s great that there’s a place for people that live here to walk to, hang out and socialize.”

Larger than the original, the 3,500-square-foot space opened Dec. 15. Like its predecessor, the new spot bills itself as an upscale establishment in a comfortable, conversation-friendly setting for the 21 and older crowd. It offers a creative cocktail menu, beer and wine on tap, and a smattering of small plates from its cold prep kitchen.

Dawn Cominsky, Steve Cominsky’s wife, was responsible for decorating the lounge, selecting every end table, ottoman and throw pillow. Pointing to the clean lines of a pair of red leather chairs near the entrance, she said looked in local stores for fun pieces with a mid-century modern feel. 

“We were trying to go for the same thing (as the first location),” Steve Cominsky said. “The same leathers, the same colors, the same energy. The same, quite honestly, the same clientele. Because our first one has been fantastic for the past four years.”

In May 2019, Cominsky opened the first Social Bar & Lounge on West Bowles Avenue, not far from his own home, with the intention of making it the kind of place he and his wife felt was missing in the suburbs. 

“We couldn’t find that little quiet bar, cocktail lounge, to go have a drink on a Saturday night,” Cominsky said. “And funny enough, after joking about it for 10 years, I said to Dawn one day, ‘Let’s open that bar.’”

Based on feedback from customers, Cominsky thinks there’s a lot of neighborhoods that would welcome what Social Bar & Lounge offers. In fact, he started looking for a third location before construction even began in the Littleton Village spot, he said. He hopes to have a lease signed on number three before the end of the year.