The nook in the Rockrimmon Shopping Center that now houses Wyatt’s Pub and Grill has changed as often as a sophomore changes clothes before the first day of school. For a while it was a casual Kansas City-style barbecue joint called Slayton’s. Then Slayton’s got all gussied up and moved downtown, and the owners, who also own Salsa Brava and Sonterra Grill, transformed it into Piazza Wine Bar, a stylish, midpriced trattoria of the white tablecloths and wines-by-the-glass sort, serving casual yet sophisticated pizza and pasta dishes that seemed aimed at well-off empty nesters.

One possible problem — it was 2010 and those empty nesters were still crying over their moribund 401(k)s. The place lasted about a year.

Now, the space is trying on something completely different.

Under new ownership, Wyatt’s Pub this spring as a neighborhood bar and grill serving such dishes as burgers and wings in a space festooned with beer signs and flat-screen sports streaming. In many ways, it’s the least-imaginative look the space has ever had. This outfit is a safe bet — the jeans and T-shirt equivalent of culinary endeavours. Save for a few Colorado microbrews, it could be any neighborhood bar almost anywhere. But it is also clean, friendly and competent, with a kitchen that turns out classics that, while a bit shopworn, do the job quite well. In short, any neighborhood would be lucky to have a place like this as its burger bar.

Wyatt’s likes green chilies. You can get them heaped on a burger with melted cheese and sweet relish ($9.50) or, even better, on a pizza, where the New Mexico peppers get that much more roasted, until slightly singed and smoky. Paired with a homemade crust both crisp and doughy, and good cheese, it is a much better pie than you’d expect to find in a little shopping center pub.

The green chili stew ($5) is good here, too. It’s a typical Front Range hybrid of the simple New Mexican sauce, which highlights the chilies, and Texas chili with all its spices and add-ins. This one is thick with cumin, tomatoes, and rich, tender pork. It is good on its own and even better over fries, with melted cheese ($4.50).

Homemade touches here go a long way toward making Wyatt’s worthwhile. While most bars increasingly rely on frozen, deep-fried supplies from huge food distributors, Wyatt’s hand-batters its fish ($11) and shrimp ($12) in a very nice beer batter. The dark amber result comes out light and incredibly crisp, if sometimes a tad too oily.

Other things that might be expected to arrive oily do not. A Reuben sandwich ($8.50), often a mound of melted cheese and corned beef on greasy grilled bread, here was toasted, with good, sharp sauerkraut and just a hint of cheese under a generous fist of beef. A potato salad on the side was fresh and eggy, mixed with plenty of mayo, mustard and chopped pickles.

A turkey, bacon and avocado sandwich ($8.75) had thick, freshly fried bacon — not the limp, insipid fronds most sandwich-makers store in the fridge. The avocado was ripe and sweet. The turkey tasted fresh. In all, it is a better  more healthful sandwich than you’ll find at most sports bars.

The roast beef here ($9) is cooked and sliced in-house, and piled perfectly within a crusty, salty pretzel role.

Wyatt’s has daily $7 lunch specials. One day it was a 9-inch pizza with a salad — a great deal.

Those salads, though, are a weak spot. The side salad is just shreds of iceberg with bagged croutons, cucumbers, much-too-firm tomatoes, and other off-the-shelf toppings. The taco salad ($4.50-$7.50) is the same with a little cheese, black olives, taco chips and seemingly pre-made guacamole. I get the feeling the staff does not think much about salads. Too bad, so many beer and burger lovers are married to salad lovers that they are missing out on a whole demographic.

Even so, I can’t help but think the new pub look for this address has staying power. It may not be fancy or particularly imaginative, but the service is good. The prices are fair. And the menu, while nothing out of the ordinary, is rife with nice touches.

Burgers and ribs at Wyatt are worth trying. Photo by