Reflections on Tracks Nightclub with Bartenders Matt Mikulas and Pablo Serna

If you find yourself in the RhiNo Art District on any Thursday to Saturday night and you see a line forming and you hear the slight echo of music, you’ve found yourself outside Tracks Nightclub—one of Denver’s premier gay hot spots. Tracks Nightclub celebrated its 50th year last year and incorporated that success into its Gay Pride float during the parade. What makes Tracks Nightclub the place to be is more than the drinks or the music; it’s their staff. I have the honor of highlighting two of their exceptional staff members in this article.

Matt Mikulas is a bartender at Tracks and can be found on any given Friday or Saturday behind a bar, smiling and joking with patrons. He works a full-time job outside of Tracks.  Matt is a manager for New Energy Equity, where he estimates site costs and works with contractors to help build projects. Matt’s husband Justin works for Stride Health Care Clinic. I sat down with Matt to find out what keeps him working at Tracks when the money he makes those two days is not needed to sustain his lifestyle.

Matt is setting up his bar to prepare for the swarm of guests that will soon be lining up through the doors. He does his final checks prior to waiting for the first patron to come to his bar. Matt Mikulas has been bartending at Tracks for three years, and when asked why he chose Tracks, his response was, “It’s for the friends and fun from the staff to the customers. I have made so many friends and connections.” Matt is from Yuba City, California, and his husband, Justin, is from Corona, California. They were married in 2021 after being together for seven years.

When Matt was asked what Tracks means to him, he said, “It’s a home. Justin and I, during COVID times, had our reception in the lounge. I have seen people grow and become so much more, from baby drag queens becoming stars to the party boy becoming the master event planner. It’s a club, yes, but it’s honestly an amazing place to feel a part of something.”

As the first guests come up to the bar, they’re met with Matt’s welcoming smile and charm. He pours the liquor into the cup and leaves them with a smile as they walk off. This and the occasional joke is how each person is treated when they come to Matt.

The power of community runs deeper than any one person. However, this person deserves the spotlight because he’s proof that you can make a substantial amount of money, but some things are more important than that. Matt doesn’t give up his weekends to bartend because he needs the money. It’s because being a role model and being involved in our community is a higher priority for him.

The question I left Matt with was, How would you define community? He says, “Community isn’t for one type of person; it’s for those that have the heart and mindset to just be accepting. I give up my Fridays and Saturdays to work at Tracks, but what I get back is so much better.”

While this does focus on two bartenders of Tracks Nighclub, that’s not to say the remaining staff isn’t exceptional in their own way. It’s the whole team that makes Tracks Nighclub what it is and why people show up weekend after weekend. From the door staff to the management, they all give people a reason to show up again and again and feel welcomed.

Pablo Serna is another bartender who deserves credit for the work he puts into Tracks Nightclub. Patrons can usually catch Pablo at the main bar as they enter Tracks Nightclub, but what most are unaware of is his work outside of bartending for Tracks. Pablo, who is originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been bartending for five years. He visited Denver for Gay Pride a few years back and knew he wanted to be a part of the community.

After he moved to Denver and started at Tracks Nightclub, he wanted to be more involved and started working on the decorations within Tracks under the lead decorator, Rufio Jimenez. Pablo has a passion for bartending but an eye for decorating as well. Pablo says he enjoys seeing an idea in his head and then seeing the finished product after it’s completed. Those finished products can be seen throughout Tracks Nightclub, from the hanging decorations to the ever-changing photo areas.

Pablo walks me through the warehouse where they keep the decorations, everything from New Year’s Eve, Christmas, and other decorations for events Tracks Nightclub and ReelWorks host throughout the year. His current project is making more Tracks Nightclub symbols out of the metal from a wooden barrel and Styrofoam.

He says his favorite project with decorating was building a Barbie box after the movie came out. He shows me pictures of it and says, “It’s more enjoyable to create, so if I am able to build something myself rather than buy it, I do that.” After the warehouse, he shows me where he’s typically at when bartending for Tracks, the first face you typically see after turning the corner when you walk in.

When asked how often he’s at Tracks, Pablo says, “Typically, I’ll tear down what I built for the prior weekend on Tuesday and start the next project either that day or Wednesday, depending on the project.” Some days, Pablo is setting up the decorations and changing into his outfit to start his bartending shift. There is a deco team, but if it’s something Pablo says he can complete, then he’d rather give the others rest and knock it out himself.

Unlike Matt, Tracks is Pablo’s only career, but it’s the same reasons that keep him there and make Pablo enjoy what he’s doing. When asked why he works at Tracks, Pablo says, “It’s my family, my actual family is six hours away and being gay we can choose our family, and Tracks is mine in Denver. I’ve met my closest friends working at Tracks, and I’ve learned so much from everyone here.”

Pablo was asked if he gave up anything to be a part of this community, and his response was, “My actual family, I’m really close with my sisters, and I left home to be able to be a part of something bigger. I can’t see my family as much as I want to now, but I have family here because of Tracks.”

What do you hope the guests get out of Tracks? Pablo says, “I want them to feel they’re in a safe space and can let loose and enjoy being there as much as I do. We’re bartenders, but we still want to make the guest experience memorable so they come back. I enjoy seeing their faces light up when they see a new photo booth or when they tell me that Tracks is the only place they enjoy going.” Community is a powerful thing to have, and in times like we’re living in now, it’s also the most important thing to have.

Check out what’s going on at Tracks.