Punch Bowl Social finishes its transformation of the old Stapleton Airport

Renovations are finally complete at what was once Stapleton Airport. Beneath the control tower that helped guide planes in and out of Denver now sits a new and very different Denver institution: Punch Bowl Social.

The Denver-based company with its flagship location on the corner of 1st and Broadway opens its second hometown location and 10th overall Saturday.

The new restaurant, bar and game hub has been years in the making and, as promised, the final product pays homage to the building's history.

More than any other location, Punch Bowl Stapleton is heavy on the midcentury modern design, said Robert Thomson, Punch Bowl Social’s founder and CEO. There are tributes to air travel throughout the two-story space, including retro luggage and luggage tag decor.

And while the menu will offer a lot that's familiar to any previous Punch Bowl customer, it'll also have unique items that tip a hat to aviation. Naturally, one of those things in an Aviation cocktail. There's also an In-Flight Snack of chile-lime fried peanuts for each table and a Pre-Flight Check — any breakfast, salad or sandwich with a single-serving cocktail for $15 served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The two-story space houses multiple bars and dining areas, six bowling lanes, an arcade, two private karaoke rooms, darts, a photo booth, shuffleboard, an eight-person foosball table and giant, wall-mounted Scrabble. For outdoor space, there's the space travel-themed Moon Deck and 14,000 square feet out front with bocce courts, ping pong tables, an “astro pool,” an indoor/outdoor bar, stadium seating and a fire pit.

And as a reminder, no, you won't be able to access the control tower — though they did spruce it up on the outside.

“We couldn’t figure out a way to make it ADA compliant and make it make ADA-compliant money in 400 square feet,” Thomson told Denverite in September. “[But] it’s not out of the picture for the future.”

Punch Bowl Stapleton's grand opening is tonight, starting with a $20 ticketed event from 7 to 9 p.m. That'll include featuring tastes of the menu, unlimited select drinks, free games and live music. And fitting in nicely with Homelessness Awareness Week, all of the proceeds will be donated to local hunger-relief nonprofit We Don’t Waste.

The party opens to the public at 9 p.m.

Here's more of what you'll find there: