Next week’s scheduled opening for License No. 1, the upscale speakeasy that’s replacing the longtime Catacombs Bar at Boulder’s Hotel Boulderado, has been delayed because of a sudden change in the bar’s management and staff, officials confirmed Friday.

Frank Day, owner of the Hotel Boulderado, said License No. 1’s manager, Mike Larkin, gave notice because of a personal health issue.

“He couldn’t continue and had to leave as soon as he could; it sort of put the place in disarray and delayed the opening,” Day said. “I hired a new manager, but I’m going to let the new manager choose her team.”

On Friday, some employees were given notice that they would lose their jobs and were given the option to reapply, Day confirmed.

“We’ve delayed it (and) it was for good reason,” he said. “I’m not one to open any sort of place if we can’t do a good job with the customers. … When that first customer comes in, I want to make sure we’re in a position to take care of them 100 percent.”

Heading License No. 1 will be Jaci Aragon, a former Catacombs bartender who served in bar manager roles for restaurants such as the Walnut Brewery and Jax Fish House in Denver, Day said.

The bar and restaurant could open in two weeks, he said.

“Maybe we’ll get the thing together sooner with Jaci putting her team together and going through training,” he said. “Some of the people that have been here and had some training for a couple of days will be rejoining.”

Former employees told the Daily Camera that the entire staff, about 15 people, lost their jobs.

Jason Long, an assistant general manager who was given notice Friday, said he and other employees had worked 13- to 14-hour days to get the bar ready for its opening. The training included learning the new menu and learning how to make the new high-end cocktails.

“They had told us that they were keeping the entire staff on, so we worked really hard to make this work and to get all this stuff going and trying to do our best because we love this place,” Long said.

Long and other employees were told that the operators of the bar were going with another team. A couple of employees were told they had an option to reapply, Long said.

“That’s the thing I feel was going to bring a lot of people back in, was the fact we’re all going to be there,” Long said. “You have a completely new staff, completely new name, new place, it’s going to be a tall order for them to get people to come down the stairs.

Long, who has worked at the Catacombs for seven years, described the news was “heart-breaking.”

“We’ve been a family for so long,” he said.

Contact Camera Business Writer Alicia Wallace at 303-473-1332 or wallacea@dailycamera.com.