In the early 2000s, Denver was all about the creative class. Author/big thinker Richard Florida had labeled the metro area one of the top creative spots in the country, an honor that John Hickenlooper used to promote the city that had just elected him mayor. Fifteen years before, he’d been…
Vitamin Cottage opened its first store fifty years ago in Lakewood. Today the natural-foods enterprise has morphed into Natural Grocers, with locations in a dozen states — including a brand-new store that opened this week in Capitol Hill, at 1433 Washington Street. But while the store was definitely welcomed by…
Clear your calendar and unbuckle your belt: The tenth annual Denver Restaurant Week is only days away. And unlike past years, when it sprawled well into March, this time DRW is really a week long: From February 22 through February 28. (For the first time this year, there will also…
The Emily Griffith Opportunity School could soon be history — literally, since the circa 1926 school building at 1250 Welton Street has been recommended for landmark status. But the name of this pioneering educator will live on. This morning, Denver Public Schools will announce the name of its ambitious project…
“Start sessioning!” That was the cry when Session Kitchen opened last fall, and although the menu — and the portion control based on “sessions” — has been tweaked, in her recent review of Session Kitchen Gretchen Kurtz says she could still do without having to even mention “sessioning” to her…
Its menu boasts that Mexico City Lounge has been family-owned for over forty years — and every year shows in the depth of flavor this modest kitchen gives its green chile (offered hot or mild), its fried tacos, its steak and breakfast burritos, even that squeeze bottle of salsa. Although…
First the lines formed outside Dunkin’ Donuts, which opened on Broadway last September. Then they moved to East Colfax for Voodoo Doughnut’s opening in December. And on Friday, the crowds descended on the three locations of Trader Joe’s that finally opened in metro Denver. See also: Slide show of Trader…
Clear your calendar and unbuckle your belt: The tenth annual Denver Restaurant Week is only a week away. And unlike past years, when it sprawled well into March, this time DRW is really a week long: From February 22 through February 28. (For the first time this year, there will…
After almost twenty years in lower downtown, longtime restaurateur Kenny Sonoda is calling it quits, and at the end of service tomorrow, the Sonoda’s at 1620 Market Street will go dark. When Sonoda opened this second location of Sonoda’s — in the former home of the Manhattan Cafe, a pioneer…
Over the thirty years of the Best of Denver, we’ve made a few changes: We now do our Readers’ Poll in two rounds, for example, and the first round of voting ends tonight; a second round with just the five finalists in each category will start late next week. And…
Clear your calendar and unbuckle your belt: The tenth annual Denver Restaurant Week is only days away. And unlike past years, when it had sprawled well into March, this time DRW is really a week long: From February 22 through February 28. (For the first time this year, there will…
When Tincup American Whiskey hit liquor-store shelves, it came with plenty of Colorado trappings. The bottle makes multiple references to the state, as does the leaflet attached to the neck. Its website is plastered with whiskey bottles positioned picturesquely in Colorado mountain backdrops, and the company boasts of its connection…
Michael Herrera grew up in Greeley and Brighton, where the fields were full of chiles, and green chile was often on the table at home. But he didn’t know that his future would be very, very green. Instead, he began his career with KFSC, the station started in the early…
State representative Bob Rankin has waved the white flag. Last week, HB 1071, his proposal to take the new state brand to a vote of the people, failed to get out of committee, clearing the way for Governor John Hickenlooper’s Making Colorado campaign to continue rebranding this state. Just the…
Although the Emily Griffith Technical College will soon be leaving the building it’s occupied since 1926 — Denver Public Schools is moving the facility into a renovated building at 1860 Lincoln Street — some traditions will never end. And today, the school will honor the birthday of founder Emily Griffith…
Who has the best burger in Denver? The best tater tots? The best gluten-free dish? The best draft-beer list? The best dim sum? The best pizza — thin-crust, thick-crust or deep-dish? It’s time to bring out your best. The first round of voting in our Readers’ Poll for the Best…
Denver got two new burger joints last week, both the first forays into the market by regional chains. Bad Daddy’s Burgers, a joint effort by the North Carolina-based Big Daddy’s and Good Times, got cooking in Cherry Creek, and 5280 Burger Bar & Creamery, a renamed concept from a Texas-based…
Last year, Concept Restaurants took on the challenge of transforming the former home of Strings. “This was a legendary space that had a legendary restaurant,” says Sean Huggard, operations director for Concept. “We did need to put effort into it to do right by this restaurant.” The result was Humboldt,…
Colorado’s first Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar opened Monday in Cherry Creek, in the former home of Tony P’s. The chain was founded by Frank Scibelli, who opened the company’s first Bad Daddy’s in North Carolina in 2007; this location is a partnership between Scibelli and Boyd Hoback, the president and…
Our boilers are antiquated,” says Jeff Barratt, head of the Emily Griffith Technical College. “I swear, some of them are out of the Titanic.” Close. Emily Griffith, who’d worked as a substitute teacher in Denver Public Schools until she got the okay from the district to start a less traditional…
Think Denver is hungry for more barbecue joints? Krewe Crescent City BBQ opened on Sunday in the former home of Cantina (and many other restaurants before that), right on the corner of 11th and Lincoln. The owners of Stoney’s, which is right next door, are the crew behind Krewe, and…
The owners of Racines have just chosen the winners of the restaurant’s thirtieth anniversary contest — and while the grand prize is a trip for two to Paris, home of the original Bouillon Racine restaurant, France hasn’t exactly been rolling out the welcome mat. But the second-place prize — the…
