Trinidad approves liquor license transfer for former Sunset Bar site

Trinidad moved ahead with a liquor license transfer for the former Sunset Bar & Grille site on 900 W. Adams Street, turning an earlier caution into formal approval for RMJ, LLC, which plans to operate there as Savor the Flavor. The decision cleared a key hurdle for the new restaurant at a location that has long been familiar to Trinidad residents and travelers moving through the downtown corridor.

The issue did not move quietly through city hall. Trinidad City Council had already been warned by city attorney Les Downs that the transfer could raise concerns at the former Sunset Bar & Grille site, and the matter later appeared on the council’s public agenda as a transfer of ownership of a Hotel & Restaurant liquor license. The May 5 agenda identified the applicant as RMJ, LLC d/b/a Savor the Flavor at 900 W. Adams Street, formerly BJ&Y Restaurant, Inc. dba Sunset Grill.

City records show the council handled the matter through its regular public process. The city published the April 21 agenda in advance, and that agenda included a public hearing on the liquor-license item as well as a temporary permit application tied to RMJ, LLC at the same address. Trinidad City Council meets every first and third Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall, 135 N. Animas Street, putting the decision squarely before elected officials in a public setting rather than through a behind-the-scenes administrative action.

The May 5 agenda also showed the council entering executive session for quasi-judicial deliberation and or legal advice under Colorado law on the liquor-license matter. Trinidad’s liquor code includes procedures for changes in ownership and transfer of location, underscoring that the approval was part of a regulated municipal review, not a simple business filing.

The address has a long business history in Trinidad. Public records list BJ & Y Lodging, Inc., BJ & Y Restaurant Inc., the trade name Days Inn Trinidad, and the Sunset Bar and Grill trade name at 900 W. Adams Street. RMJ LLC was filed in Colorado on February 17, 2026, at the same address, signaling that the transition had already been taking shape before the council vote.

For Las Animas County residents, the decision matters because restaurants and liquor licenses remain among the clearest signs that a property is being brought back into active use. At a site as recognizable as the former Sunset Bar & Grille, the approval signals that Trinidad is still willing to support reinvestment downtown, but only after the city’s licensing rules, public hearing process and council review have been satisfied.