Eleanor Cheetham

Owner, Fort Greene

Denver

I grew up in Austin, Tx and went to school for studio art and art history, working in art galleries and in vintage clothing along the way. I moved to New York after to college to pursue a career in fashion, where I worked for a few years for Fashion week. Needing a break from New York (I lived in Fort Greene), I visited Denver (Globeville to be exact). Feeling lost and completely unsure what to do with my life I began to work at a dive bar called Crash 45. I ended up working there for three years, being one of two employees. When the owner decided to sell it, a friend of mine from Fort Greene, Brooklyn decided to buy the business. Together we did a complete makeover, from the wallpaper to the interior design and so on and renamed it Fort Greene. After two months the old owner gave up on the business and abandoned ship. I kept the bar going despite not being paid, bills not being paid (since I did not own the bar yet I was unable to take on the financial mess the old owner left behind). With no capital or investors, I did all I could to buy the bar, once I did , I changed the design of the space and the concept. Its been almost three years now since I've owned the bar and there have been a lot of challenges and struggles along the way, but the community that has been built around the bar and the incredible people I have met because of Fort Greene have made it beyond worth it.