Investor says shuttered RiNo winery’s equipment is ‘held hostage’ by landlord

An investor in a shuttered RiNo winery says he’s just going after what’s his — and that its former landlord’s position is just sour grapes.

Monty Cleworth, a longtime executive at investment consulting firm Monticello Associates, owned about 25% of Infinite Monkey Theorem, the winery that closed at the end of 2024. In February, he said, he acquired its assets in exchange for paying off a $900,000 loan.

The assets include inventory, a canning line and rights to the brand, which he claims are collectively worth $428,000.

But several months later, Cleworth says his newly acquired possessions are being held hostage by IMT’s former landlord at 3200 Larimer St.

“The equipment and inventory belongs to me, but the landowner will not allow us access to this equipment,” Cleworth, who filed a lawsuit against building owner Son Power LLC on June 30, told BusinessDen.

Cleworth said despite several attempts to reach Jonathan Palmer, the man behind Son Power, he has not heard back since mid-March. He theorized that Palmer is holding the equipment as a sort of collateral because he’s owed money by the winery.

In a lawsuit filed in November 2024, Palmer claimed the business paid rent in full through April 2024, then made partial payments through August before paying nothing after that. On June 10, a Denver District judge ruled IMT owes Palmer $350,000 in damages for defaulting on its lease, which is set to expire at the end of 2030.

Palmer declined to speak on Cleworth’s lawsuit, saying his lawyers are still “actively evaluating the claims.”

Infinite Monkey Theorem opened in 2008. Cleworth said he made an equity investment in the business 14 years ago, which gave him the 25% stake. He later co-signed a loan from MidFirst Bank to get IMT a better rate, he said.

When the winery closed, Cleworth said, he felt both financially and morally obligated to repay the debt. As part of the deal, the bank and IMT’s board signed over to him the assets and equipment, which were used as collateral for the loan.

Cleworth said he left the physical property in the former IMT space because he and Nicki McTague, the winery’s former CEO, were negotiating with a potential buyer for the business.

“We went to the landlord and said, ‘Look, we think we found a tenant for you and we want to leave the equipment because they want to move in and keep making wine,’” Cleworth said, noting that the landlord also had direct discussions with the potential buyer. “We were doing everything in good faith, trying to help them out.”

The deal fell through in early March because the buyer couldn’t finance it, Cleworth said. Weeks later, IMT was evicted.

“They had a sheriff and movers on-site, and they moved all of the stuff that they wanted to move onto the patio and gave us 24 hours to do something with it,” McTague said, and smaller things like bar supplies and tables were left outside while inventory and winemaking equipment stayed.

“They left a lot of items inside that were of value, which they think they have a legal right to and Monty thinks he has legal right to,” added McTague, the current Attimo Wine chief operating officer. She started the position with the Denver winemaker in May.

“We grabbed some stuff that we could, but then they just locked it down and said, ‘You can’t take all this equipment because we’re upset that you’re behind in rent,’” Cleworth said of the day.

Cleworth said he has buyers lined up for several items, plus the Infinite Monkey Theorem name. But he’s worried a dragged-out process of getting access to the stuff could scare them off.

Cleworth is also worried that Palmer could try to sell the materials if a new tenant moves in.