The space that formerly housed Joel’s bar in downtown Durango has a new business moving in that will also serve drinks.

Chip Lile, owner of El Rancho and The Garage, entered a lease agreement for the bar space in July after Joel’s closed permanently in June. The new bar at 119 W. Eighth St. will be called The Oxford as a tribute to the Oxford Hotel building where El Rancho is housed.

The bar will be dedicated to serving traditional cocktails like martinis. Lile described it as being a place where business can be conducted while enjoying a drink.

“We’re looking forward to meeting new clientele in Durango that aren’t being taken care of,” he said. “I think there’s a professional crowd that doesn’t really have a place where they can go after work.”

He said there are several casual bars in town, but they tend to be too loud to conduct business.

“This will have a quieter atmosphere, and it’s more of a lounge,” Lile said.

Unlike El Rancho and The Garage, The Oxford will offer a wider variety of high-grade well spirits.

In partnership with his brother Chris Lile and Clinton Holnback, the team hopes to have that bar open by the start of Snowdown on Feb. 1. But their estimated opening date will be in 30 to 60 days.

The partners had plans to connect the new bar with The Garage but decided it would be better if the two locations remained separate. Lile has been renovating the bar over the last couple of months replacing floors, repainting and adding new furniture.

While the bar may not share the same atmosphere as El Rancho and The Garage, it will be a late-night hangout on the weekends and open till 10 or 11 p.m. on weeknights.

The bar will also be available for private parties and other events, Lile said.

tbrown@durangoherald.com