Cocktail company founder concocts hub for music, art and community in Idaho Springs

By Rebecca Toy

Julie Stevens knows how to shake things up. As the founder of BeTini, a Colorado-based line of ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDs), she built a brand on the idea that good times with loved ones should come easily. Now, she’s pouring that same creative energy into Idaho Springs, where she’s renovating a historic space into a recording studio and arts center. It’s a project that blends her entrepreneurial spirit and love for community and is raising spirits in more ways than one.

Julie Stevens | Photo provided by Denver Headshot Co

From patchwork jeans to perfect cocktails

Stevens’ journey into spirits started during a girls' weekend. “I would look forward to it every year. Especially as moms, these times with your girlfriends are so precious.” Yet, while RTDs reduced the hosting duties that pulled Stevens away, the group couldn’t help but muse that they could do it better.

Plenty of big ideas are born on weekends away, but few fully launch. Even though life pulled the other partners away, Stevens didn’t give up. “I’ve really had to stretch and grow with business, sales, manufacturing and distribution.”

Finding the right flavor house still animates Stevens. “The one we have now is magic, and they put up with me,” she laughs.

She’s referring to artistic precision; it took her two years to land on the formulation for the Lemon Drop vodka martini that tastes straight from your local bar.

The persistence has paid off. Since BeTini’s launch in 2015, the line has grown to six cocktail offerings, expanded its distribution network, and won awards for both design and flavor. A new mocktail line is coming soon and the Betini brand is sponsoring regular fundraising for charities. Stevens seems to surprise herself as she recalls how far the brand has come. “I’m just a sweet little artist who likes to stay in my room.”

But she also gives a nod to the creative passion that drives her – and a bit of tenacity from her upbringing. Stevens grew up in a military family of seven, her design career starting with her excitement at getting to choose her own patches for hand-me-down jeans. It’s an apt start for her portfolio, one that balances beauty and function across everything from residential and commercial spaces, glassware and golf products.

For Stevens and her team, BeTini was always about bringing people together. Now she’s taking another step that goes beyond the bottles. Three years ago, Stevens began the search for a unique abandoned space.

Be Tini Pink Cranberry | Photo by Cara Harman Photography

Crafting Creativity for the Community

Idaho Springs was already home base for BeTini. As the Front Range’s gateway to the Rockies, its historic downtown is undergoing significant renovations to amplify tourism opportunities. Idaho Springs’s opera house – The Mines Theater – was past its glory days. Stevens laughs as she recalls the way some had converted corners of the spacious theater. “There was a building inside of the building, a very green and brown buildout to look just like a standard accounting office.”

Stevens saw potential, and it's come with a lot of patience. She didn’t want any of the tenants to be stranded, giving them two years to relocate. The foundation of the 113-year-old theater, with 14-inch-thick brick walls, was built on rubble, and now the team is underpinning the building.

Despite the delays, it’s all coming together. The renovated space, named River Sound, will feature a world-class recording studio with equipment selected by Grammy-winning music engineer Neil Citron. Musicians will be able to record, perform, and live stream to audiences.

Yet, River Sound will be for everyone, with classroom space for kids to create music and art.

Hands-on experiences will include the renovated original theater piano, kilns and 3D printers. Artists will have retail and gallery space to showcase their work and apartment space to use during their residency.

Launching and growing an RTD brand and overhauling a historic landmark: it’s natural to wonder where Stevens finds the time. “Sleep is for rookies,” she laughs. “Really, if I’m being creative, I can work 20 hours a day, no problem.”

Whether it’s carefully crafting spirits or bringing new music to a mountain opera house, it is clear Stevens has found inspiration in Colorado.

Rebecca Toy is a freelance writer who covers wine, spirits, beer, travel, history – anything with passionate people doing inspiring things. She has contributed to National Geographic, Wine Enthusiast, Fodor’s Travel and others.