M and M’s

If you like Snake and Jake’s Christmas Club Lounge, give this place a try. Great little hole in the wall.

As a 71 year old Caucasian man from San Diego, I recently visited Five Points where nearly fifty years ago, as a 22 year old starting out my life as an adult in the 1960’s, often frequented the area and particularly enjoyed the blues and jazz music at DJ’s, where two talented young Black musicians played fantastic jazz and blues on two Hammond organs, both facing each other and mounted on a platform that gently rotated in a circular motion, the sounds of which absolutely blew me away. .. deep heart and soul! Five Points is no longer an active hot spot today, but I was overjoyed to find that M&M’s lounge remained open and was able to relive the spirit of a bygone era, enjoying the camaraderie and playful fun of local patrons as well as the absolutely best Long Island Iced Tea I have ever had, prepared effortlessly by Sherri, the engaging and friendly bartender that Sunday afternoon. This was definitely a highlight of my trip to Denver!

Simply one of the best times I’ve had in Denver since I moved here five years ago. Went with two buddy to escape the heat of the five points jazz Festival. It was PACKED at 2:00 in the afternoon. the single best Jukebox in the city if you like soul, r&b and blues. Beers were two dollars and everyone was very friendly. It wasn’t fancy, but it was the first of many many times I will go back.

I am reluctant to review M&M’s. I’ve only been there once. And it is the type of place that I imagine Bar Bar once was, way before, yes, I’m about to say it, way before it became popular. Part of me wants M&M’s to stay off the map, so that the crowd of patrons who frequent that place on a regular basis don’t have to deal with curious crowds of people looking for the next best hole after 404 and Bar Bar. But shit happens, and we deal. So here I go.
I like the place. A lot. Being there made me feel like I was back in St. Louis, hanging out with a small gang of strangers, who are just doing their own thing, and living life day by day. To enter the very small bar, you must walk up stairs and pass by the toilets, which you can not miss by the smell. Then you must open the door and, if you are lucky, you will not get too many looks that say, «who the hell are these people, and what are they doing here.» I could almost hear the record scratch when the group I was with walked in. There was seriously a collective halt in conversation. But then all things normal resumed, and we made our way over to one of the (2? 3?) booths. The bartender came over, asked for ID’s, and brought us our bottles of Bud. I believe we paid a buck a piece. We were there on a Sunday, and by the looks of it, several of the people in there had come straight from church. I felt slightly underdressed, but when I go to church, I don’t go to a Baptist Church anyway, so there is little chance that I’d have a church hat, even if I did happen to praise the Lord that morning. Anyway, I enjoyed soaking in the new surroundings for our round of beers. The music box was playing a variety of soul, which is a plus in my book.
They have good deals on drinks and if you are a smoker, they don’t seem to care about the ban. If you are Caucasian and uncomfortable with being in the minority when it comes to the ethnicity front, I wouldn’t recommend going to M&M’s. I’d also suggest, as a courtesy to fellow humans, not to go with a big group of friends to attempt strength and comfort in numbers. The place is small and part of it’s charm, at least for me, is that going there is a vacation away from the mainstream. If you bring the mainstream to M&M’s, you kill the magic.