Henry "Hank" Robinson, 87, on Thursday sat in his cramped office in Argonaut Wine & Liquor crammed with family photos, awards, old newspaper articles about Argonaut and a current Wall Street Journal.

He pulled down a dusty whiskey bottle from the early 1930s engraved with the name "Jack Speegle," the original owner of Argonaut, who shortly after the repeal of Prohibition opened the liquor store along East Colfax Avenue. The original site was just west of the current site on Colfax.

But Robinson's "most prized possession" is a Who's Who book of Denver's elite from 1931-1932, in which Charles Reuben had used a pencil to check off the names of his customers. Reuben bought the business from Speegle and built another store in the 1950s.

Robinson, his father, Lazer, and brother Jack bought Argonaut from Reuben's estate in the mid-1960s. The Robinsons tore down the building constructed by Reuben and built the current building in the mid-1970s at 700 E. Colfax Ave.

On Dec. 3, Robinson and the other owners will move the store into a new $5 million building immediately to the east at Colfax and Clarkson Street.

With 40,000 square feet of space, the building designed and built by the Buchanan Yonushewski Group will be just about twice the size of the current building.

"At my age, I don't get excited about much," Robinson said. "But I'm excited about this."

The current building will be closed the first two days of December, with a grand opening scheduled for 10 a.m. on Dec. 3. At that time, a 15-foot-tall sign shaped like a champagne bottle with a popping cork, will be unveiled on the corner of what will be known as the Robinson Building.

It's the latest in a huge number of changes witnessed by the patriarch of the Robinson family. "When I was growing up, Colfax was a great street, lined with mansions," Robinson said.

By the 1950s it was going to seed, and only in recent years has Colfax begun to be revitalized with some new townhomes, condos and spruced-up storefronts.

"Honestly, there used to be a lot more hookers and dope peddlers on Colfax," Robinson said. "I think at one time they probably sold more dope than I did liquor."

The new Argonaut store may spur other development along Colfax, said Ron Vaughn, Robinson's son-in-law and a part owner who runs the liquor store day-to-day.

"Here's a sneak peak of the future," Vaughn said as he opened the door to the new brick building.

Inside, the store is much more spacious than the current store, as well as housing more coolers and racks. The mezzanine level will include a wine-tasting area, a temperature controlled fine- wine room, and lockers for customers who want such a service.

Vaughn said the new building features solar panels, recycled materials, nontoxic paints, energy efficient lighting, heating and cooling and refrigeration systems.

He said if business picks up in the new store by 10 percent, "I'll have a smile on my face all day."