Sometimes all it takes is a good makeover. Like that guy who you went to high school with who used to sit in the back of theatre class breathing a tad too heavily, and then one day went to college, grew a beard, donned an ironic sweater and suddenly exuded sex appeal (almost).

Spanky’s Urban Roadhouse—excuse the pubescent analogy—has undergone a similar transformation, at least in terms of its interior aesthetic.

It might seem counterintuitive to channel your childhood piano teacher’s ‘70s home decor. Then again, olive and bright orange may have actually come back around to achieve trend status. Spanky’s old-school color scheme sheds a more positive light on the green naugahyde couch.

Spanky’s has upped the ante, trading in its former lackluster (yet still endearing) college sports bar interior for a space that truly lives up to its middle name: urban. With entrée prices in the $12 to $15 range, Spanky’s is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday through Wednesday and until 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Obligatory exposed brick (because nothing says trendy like a mortar peep show) is set off by minimalist light fixtures, automobile-themed wall hangings and an abundance of HD flat screen TVs to keep the sports bar vibe intact.

Hub caps as wall decor may seem odd at first, but nothing says all-American nostalgia like paying homage to the automobile (They used to be made here, right?) And one might get a good guffaw out of envisioning Spanky’s employees scouring Denver for hubcaps to adorn their freshly painted walls, even if the more likely version of the story is far less amusing.

Spanky’s hosts a variety of seating, from tufted olive-green leather booths along the periphery, to retro orange bar stools, to a number of streamlined high-top tables accompanying equally modern chairs. Any design junky knows the details count, and Spanky’s new look has it all, down to the adorably retro salt and pepper shakers.

But sometimes reinvention comes hand in hand with overcompensation, the way that kid from high school feels the need to constantly boast his knowledge of formalist literary theory, oddball experimental music and an excessive guitar collection acquired without the skill to justify it.

Spanky’s menu is rife with fusion; nearly every option has a twist. Beer-battered fish and chips have been replaced by citrus Mahi Mahi fish and chips with aioli. A classic reuben discarded for a reuben/latke love-child. It makes a foodie admire the creativity, while simultaneously lamenting the obsolescence of a regular old burger or french fries sans truffle-oil.

Don’t get me wrong: A breakfast themed hamburger atop a donut sounds unreasonably delicious, but the reality of it is slightly overwhelming. And this grinder cannot resist a Coca-Cola tempura-battered Monte Cristo sandwich, but six bites in, an uncharacteristic yearning for fresh vegetables might eclipse cravings for fried decadence.

Spanky’s drink menu includes a selection of beer, cocktails and wines. And with fish-bowl drinks, Spanky’s happy hour may be its best attribute, especially if you’re craving some offbeat finger foods like the Amazeballs, which are fried balls of mac n’ cheese with bacon and jalapeno bits. However, while glass beer pitchers are nice in theory, for those who have already abandoned fitness-related New Year’s resolutions, a full glass pitcher offers unwelcome heavy lifting (although this might shed some necessary calories after eating some form of donut for an appetizer, entrée and dessert).

So check out Spanky’s. You’ll probably end up jamming out to an eerily Guitar Hero reminiscent playlist while feeling younger than the upwardly mobile postgrads that make up the majority of patrons. Just order another fish bowl and try to forget that you have to be employed after graduation, and unfortunately, velocipedes don’t grow on trees.