Meet The Boss: Sian Gabbidon’s Path From Startup To Global Powerhouse
Sian Gabbidon is a British businesswoman, e-commerce brand owner, marketing agency co-founder, and public speaker. She also won series 14 of BBC’s The Apprentice.
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Small Business, Big Sales On Small Business Saturday
Success Strategies To achieve a short-term or longer-term jump in sales thanks to Small Business Saturday, consider taking one or more of the following steps to attra…
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Disability Accelerator Initiative Targets ‘The Next Generation Of Radically Inclusive Technology’
The Moonshot Disability Accelerator Initiative recently released a report, with accelerator pioneer Village Capital, about the state of the disability innovation ecosystem.
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Gov. Jared Polis signs four bills, including property tax relief, after lawmakers wrap up special session
Four of the seven bills passed by lawmakers during an emergency session aimed at softening property tax increases and providing other forms of relief to residents were signed into law Monday evening by Gov. Jared Polis, just hours after the legislature adjourned. The measures approved […]
BlogFour of the seven bills passed by lawmakers during an emergency session aimed at softening property tax increases and providing other forms of relief to residents were signed into law Monday evening by Gov. Jared Polis, just hours after the legislature adjourned.
The measures approved since Friday, in a session called after voters rejected Proposition HH this month, will affect nearly all Coloradans who are grappling with surging property taxes and a fast-rising cost of living. The owner of a typical $500,000 home will still see a significantly higher property tax bill early next year, but it will go up roughly half as much under the first measure signed by Polis.
Income taxpayers will see a flat refund of about $800 under another new law, which follows the flat-refund model used last year for rebates mandated by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights instead of a tiered system that provides more to higher income earners.
As many as 400,000 lower-income workers who qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit will receive double the state’s usual 25% match on their state returns early next year in another law signed by Polis.
And a rental assistance program that was funded with $35 million of federal money this year would receive another $30 million infusion to keep more renters from being evicted during the first half of 2024. The new money is slightly more than the city of Denver has committed to spending on a similar program next year.
Colorado may be known for having lower property taxes compared to most states, but historic increases in property values that will drive up tax bills prompted lawmakers to act.
“After the people of our state rejected both the Gallagher and the Prop HH amendments, we have a real-life situation where across the state, assessment went up by about 40%,” Polis said during Monday’s bill-signing ceremony in his office. “Most Coloradans’ income didn’t go up by that level. And we need to cut property taxes now.”
The property tax relief law will reduce spring bills by increasing the residential deduction from property values from $15,000 to $55,000, and then temporarily reducing the assessment rate that determines how much of that value is taxed. The impact depends on the home’s value and the mill levies set where the owner lives.
The Democratic lawmakers also put the focus on more than property owners, with different kinds of aid aimed at helping renters and lower-income households — policies driven by progressive members.
Colorado lawmakers passed seven bills during the four-day special session dominated by the majority Democrats, who rejected bills sponsored by Republicans.
The Democratic priority bills passed almost entirely on party-line votes, with Republicans criticizing the scope of the package as well as the decision to draw $185 million from the state’s $3.5 billion surplus to pay for the EITC matches, reducing TABOR refunds slightly for some Coloradans. GOP members also argued the legislature should have delivered even more property tax relief by drawing on the state’s reserves and reworking previous bills that used TABOR refunds for relief.
Ultimately, the Democratic lawmakers’ plan bore a resemblance to the strategy behind Proposition HH, though it applies only for the coming year, shedding long-term changes in HH that needed voters’ approval. Polis and other top Democrats championed HH, but voters rejected it by nearly 19 percentage points in the Nov. 7 election.
Senate GOP Minority Leader Paul Lundeen said during a news conference after the legislature’s adjournment that Democrats “failed to provide the honest property tax relief that we called for” and “failed to expand the protections of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights refund dollars … (that) we also called for in our proposals.”
Meanwhile, Democrats called their economic package a meaningful one that will provide relief to Coloradans by drawing on about $200 million in general-fund dollars that were previously set aside for relief to offset reductions in property tax revenue for school districts and other local governments, at least in part.
“There are a variety of different policies that came forward to address the high cost of living in Colorado and a real attempt to recognize that that looks different for people in different parts of the state — whether they be owners or renters, whether they be in areas where there’s high growth versus low growth,” said Rep. Chris deGruy Kennedy, a Lakewood Democrat.
The four bills signed by Polis so far are led by the Democrats’ marquee property tax relief legislation, along with an appropriation of money to the state Department of Treasury to staff the property tax deferral program, the increase in the EITC match and the flattened TABOR refunds. Sponsors of the last bill pointed out that most taxpayers will receive a larger refund than they would have under the normal six-tiered, income-based setup.
Other bills remain to be signed in coming days: one creating the Colorado Commission on Property Taxes to provide recommendations to lawmakers for a more sustainable and permanent property tax structure; the bill that would expand the emergency rental assistance program, providing the money to nonprofit organizations to distribute to landlords to help tenants who face potential eviction because they can’t pay rent; and a bill enabling the state to take part in a federal summer meal program for children in low-income families.
While lawmakers and Polis celebrated Monday, tensions boiled over in the final hours of the session during the House’s discussions of the summer food program late Sunday night and Monday. Rep. Elisabeth Epps, a Denver Democrat, unsuccessfully floated an amendment that would have restricted any purchase of food from the occupied Palestinian territories tied to Israel’s latest military campaign.
Her request was denied, but her commentary that ended with “Free Palestine” led to an uproar from Republicans. Rep. Ron Weinberg of Loveland, who is Jewish, gave his own speech in response. The House went into recess more than once during his remarks as Epps yelled from the House gallery, where she was sitting with other pro-Palestinian supporters, that he was “out of order.”
After that hiatus, lawmakers returned to voting on the remainder of their bills before concluding the special session on property tax relief.
Polis said during the bills signing that long-term solutions are needed to keep property taxes low and ensure that schools are fully funded.
“There’s one more chapter in this saga,” he added, “and that’s on all of our local taxing districts. I encourage all of them — now that they know what the legislature has done — to really take a serious look at floating their mill levies down, depending on the situation with the property taxes in their area, to help make living in your area more affordable.”
Senate President Steve Feinberg, a Boulder Democrat, pointed to more work ahead beyond the single-year solutions approved in the session.
“We need something more sustainable — something to replace the previous laws that governed us for decades when it comes to property taxes,” he said. “And I surely hope that we can come together on a bipartisan approach to what that should look like in the future.”
Staff writer Bruce Finley contributed to this story.
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Tattered Cover, leaner and with a lender, sounds optimistic at hearing
After shedding three stores and one-fourth of its employees, and securing $1.3 million in new financing, Tattered Cover is on track to emerge from bankruptcy before long. Testifying under oath at a bankruptcy hearing Friday afternoon, CEO Brad Dempsey said the bookstore chain, which filed […]
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Aurora HOA’s limits on solar installations “over the top,” residents say
Dick Cunningham and Walter Rozycki want to do what a lot of other Denver-area homeowners have done: put solar panels on their roofs. But the Aurora residents say their homeowner association board pulled the plug on their plans in defiance of state law. An attorney […]
BlogDick Cunningham and Walter Rozycki want to do what a lot of other Denver-area homeowners have done: put solar panels on their roofs. But the Aurora residents say their homeowner association board pulled the plug on their plans in defiance of state law.
An attorney and solar advocate who wrote an amendment to a law on HOAs and solar systems said the board at the Villas at Cherry Creek is flouting the state law designed to protect people’s right to use solar energy to power their homes.
The attorney for the HOA said the board’s position has been misrepresented and that the board’s policy is in line with state law.
Meanwhile, Cunningham and Rozycki say they’ve been waiting for a resolution. Both are former presidents of the HOA board and both submitted their initial applications more than a year ago to put solar panels on their roofs.
Both were turned down.
“I want to do this for the good of the environment, not so much to save money. The saving of the money is down the road,” Rozycki said.
Rozycki, like Cunningham, wanted to lease rather than buy the solar panels and equipment. The HOA board’s policy on solar, written in 2021 after Rozycki and others brought up the subject, includes several requirements that Rozycki and Cunningham said are “over the top.”
The policy also prohibits homeowners from leasing solar panels. The reason? The HOA said its policies don’t allow owners to lease a portion of their homes to third parties for commercial activity.
“We’re not the lessor, we’re the lessee,” Cunningham said. “This is no different than Xcel Energy putting a meter on your house. The board’s interpretation would be you’re leasing a portion of your wall.”
The subdivision’s 100 homes are duplexes where solar panels have been approved on a couple of homes. The HOA maintains the rooftops, but the residents own them. Rozycki sought advice from attorney Roger Freeman, who specializes in environmental and energy matters, after running into obstacles.
Rozycki said he recently capitulated on the leasing controversy. After his first application was rejected, he submitted another one, this time saying he’ll buy the solar-energy equipment. The board approved the new plan.
However, the board voted in early November against Cunningham’s plan to buy a solar system, citing engineering and insurance issues.
The board’s solar rules are “so outside the bounds of the HOA Solar Law that they are clearly illegal and unenforceable under the law,” Freeman wrote in March to the homeowners association.
In 2021, Freeman helped write an amendment to state laws referred to as the “Solar Bill of Rights.” A provision he wrote provides narrow exceptions to a broad prohibition against HOAs interfering with installation of solar energy systems.
One exception allows “reasonable restrictions” on the dimension, placement or external appearance of equipment as long as they don’t increase the cost or decrease performance by more than 10% and the review is capped at 60 days. Another allows “bona fide safety requirements” related to a building code or a recognized safety standard.
In the case of the Villas at Cherry Creek, the rules are “cumbersome, overreaching, illegal and unenforceable,” said Freeman.
Cunningham and Rozycki said they had to provide a record of a year’s worth of their electricity use and insurance information. The board even suggested design changes, said Cunningham, who got permits from the city but was turned down by the HOA board.
The HOA’s rules go beyond aesthetics to intrude into the technology, construction and design, Freeman said. The board doesn’t have the authority to impose a rule that residents use “the most recent technology available,” he said.
Freeman said the board also lacks the authority to mandate that residents buy rather than lease a solar system. That’s a personal decision that has nothing to do with aesthetics or safety, he said.
And a ban on leasing the equipment leaves out people who don’t have the upfront money, Freeman said. The leasing model “broadens the tent for solar,” he added.
“These are folks who want to power their homes and eventually their electric cars with the sun. It’s their roof, which is their property,” Freeman said. “The bigger issue is that the state and so many other governments and other entities have decided and told us that we need to make a conversion to renewable energy sources.”
And the state has specified the limits of HOAs’ authority, Freeman added. Recent laws have provided more protections for homeowners when HOAs move to foreclose on properties. A 2021 law prevents the associations from restricting residents’ use of xeriscaping.
Freeman said it’s common for questions to come up about HOAs’ oversight of solar-system installations.
“They will often say they don’t want to see it from the street. Great, but the sun’s shining on both sides of my house. If I put it just on the back of my house, it’s 50% less efficient. You can’t make me do that,” Freeman said.
Freeman said the Stoney Brook Homeowners Association in Denver revised its rules after the state law was updated. Stoney Brook’s policy was promoted as a template for the Villas, but Freeman said the suggestion went nowhere.
“Frankly, I think it’s a case where there are folks on the board who have been doing this for a long time, are used to a certain level of oversight and control and have their own views about solar,” Freeman said.
The HOA board members didn’t return requests for comment. The board’s attorney, Lynn Jordan, said in an interview that critics have misrepresented the board’s position.
“Applications have been approved, tweaked or withdrawn,” Jordan said of residents’ solar plans. “If we can make it work, we do.”
Jordan believes the HOA’s policy follows state law. “When the law changed we realized we needed to do a policy and obviously it had to be lawful.”
As for whether residents can lease the solar equipment, Jordan said, “We don’t care at all how they acquire it.”
But in an April letter to Rozycki, Jordan wrote that residents can’t host any third-party business “whereby a third party installs, owns and operates an energy system on any portion of the Residence.”
As a result, Rozycki said he has gone to Plan B. “I’ve given up the lease approach and I’m buying it because they won’t budge.”
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Why does billionaire Robert F. Smith’s family own a tiny craft brewery in Denver?
Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Spangalang Brewery was struggling. A tiny beer maker located in the former DMV office in Five Points Plaza, Spangalang had opened in 2015 and become a favorite for locals, but not the kind of regional draw that drives huge […]
BlogComing out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Spangalang Brewery was struggling. A tiny beer maker located in the former DMV office in Five Points Plaza, Spangalang had opened in 2015 and become a favorite for locals, but not the kind of regional draw that drives huge growth.
So when brewery owners Darren Boyd and Taylor Rees got a major investment offer from their landlord, the Flyfisher Group, they planned to accept. Flyfisher, which owns or operates several properties and businesses in the neighborhood, would take a 40% share, and as a Black-owned business, it would lend legitimacy in the historically Black neighborhood, Rees said at the time.
John Leyba, The Denver Post
Robert Smith, the wealthiest African American and DU’s graduate school commencement speaker was photographed on June 9, 2017. He is a graduate of East High School. In 2017, Smith overtook Oprah Winfrey as the nation’s wealthiest African American, according to the Forbes 400.
But then Boyd and Rees got another offer: Norman Harris, who is a longtime advocate for the Five Points neighborhood, the president of the Juneteenth Music Festival and owner of the Holleran Group real estate and development firm, said a family was interested in buying the entire brewery, at 2736 Welton St., outright, according to Boyd. They assumed the family was associated with the Harrises, who are longtime property owners and investors in Five Points. Boyd and Rees said yes, selling 100% of Spangalang in May 2022 to an entity called WSB Holdings.
The names behind WSB, however, were a bit of a surprise. The entity is funded by a trust that was created in 2018 by Robert F. Smith, the Denver-raised billionaire who is one of the wealthiest African Americans in the United States and one of the richest men in the world, according to liquor licensing documents held by the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses. The goal of the trust, which Smith no longer controls, is to provide for his five children, the documents say; trusts like this are commonly used to pass on generational wealth.
Smith’s two eldest daughters, Zoe Smith, 26, and Eliana Smith, 21, are the directors of WSB Holdings, according to documents that are publicly available from the Colorado Department of Revenue’s liquor enforcement division, which regulates liquor licenses in the state. Zoe Smith signed the documents. California attorney John N. Staples III, who oversees the Robert F. Smith 2018 Gift Trust, is also listed on the liquor license paperwork.
WSB has a mailing address at the offices of the City Park Law Group, which is owned by local attorney Wayne Vaden, who is also Robert Smith’s cousin.
The ownership makes Spangalang one of just three known Black-owned breweries in Colorado; the other two are Novel Strand Brewing in Denver and Outworld Brewing in Longmont.
But why would Smith — who is valued at $9.2 billion, making him the 214th richest person in the world, according to Forbes — or his two eldest daughters, both of whom have addresses in New York City, have an interest in a tiny craft brewery in Colorado that makes fewer than 400 barrels of beer per year (roughly 800 kegs)?
The answers don’t appear to be something anyone wants to talk about.
Boyd, who is now employed by WSB Holdings as the production manager for Spangalang, deferred questions about the brewery’s ownership to Vaden and Harris.
Harris declined to comment while Vaden didn’t return emails seeking comment. Staples responded to an email but declined to comment on his own behalf or on behalf of the Smith sisters.
Haroun Cowans, president of the Five Points Business Improvement District, who initially responded to an email from The Denver Post, didn’t return further emails seeking comment.
But part of the reason for the connection between Spangalang and Robert Smith’s family is likely his ties to Denver. Smith was raised in Five Points, attending Carson Elementary, Gove Junior High and East High School before heading to Cornell University, where he earned a degree in chemical engineering in 1986. After that, he worked as an engineer and then earned an MBA so that he could focus on technology investments.
And although he went on to found his signature software and technology investment firm, Vista Equity Partners, in California, Smith, who now lives in Austin, Texas, still has family and an extensive network in Colorado, including property and ownership of Lincoln Hills, a private fishing club in Gilpin County that was founded 100 years ago as a recreational area for Black families.
He sometimes talks about his parents and his upbringing in Denver in public appearances, like a 2015 commencement speech he gave to American University students in Washington, D.C.
But Smith has also talked publicly about Five Points. In 2020, The Denver Post reported on a keynote speech Smith gave during Denver Startup Week, where he talked about the “tens of millions of dollars” he has invested in the Welton Street corridor, “the portion of Denver once known as the Harlem of the West for its importance to Black culture.”
Smith’s business partner in Lincoln Hills also happens to be Denver businessman Matthew Burkett, who founded the Flyfisher Group, which runs the LLC that is Spangalang’s landlord (and which made the first offer to invest in the brewery). Flyfisher has also run other restaurants and businesses in Five Points, where Burkett lives, including Moods Beats Potions and Mimosas.
As for Boyd, he is simply happy to see the business he co-founded continue to thrive.
“It has been a pleasure to see new life breathed into the brewery with new programming and a renewed energy about growing the business,” he said.
Weld Food Bank hopes to collect 5,500 turkeys as more new people continue to turn to the food bank
Overseeing outreach programs that feed more than 25,000 people each year, John Ellis knows there’s a lot of need in the Greeley and Weld County area. “People can’t afford to go out and spend $100 on a turkey and all the fixings and that kind […]
BlogOverseeing outreach programs that feed more than 25,000 people each year, John Ellis knows there’s a lot of need in the Greeley and Weld County area.
“People can’t afford to go out and spend $100 on a turkey and all the fixings and that kind of stuff,” he said. “So when we’re able to help them with that, some of those people are just smiling ear to ear, thanking you the entire time. …
“It’s been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done in my life being able to help people when they’re in a rough spot and to see the happiness and joy when you help somebody out.”
For about four years, Ellis has run Living Grace Baptist Church’s Lighthouse Community Center and Food Pantry, 4800 Hill N Park Drive. The center, which operates a food pantry three times per week including a hot meal once per week, is one of 42 agencies working with the Weld Food Bank to provide holiday meals to people in need.
Weld Food Bank staff hope to collect more than 5,500 turkeys this year so agencies like Lighthouse can provide delicious holiday meals and find some comfort and joy on Thanksgiving and Christmas. The food bank will host its Hope for the Holidays Food Drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, collecting turkeys and fixings at 13 locations.
“We’ve seen the need continuously go up month by month,” said Weston Edmunds, communications manager for the food bank. “We have a lot of people who are hurting and in need in our community. But I continue to be amazed even as you fight feelings of exhaustion and you see all around you compassion fatigue, that there’s still so many caring people in our community.”
Participating locations include the food bank, Sam’s Club in Evans, any King Soopers in Greeley, as well as King Soopers stores in Windsor, Erie and Firestone, both Walmarts in Greeley, both Safeways in Greeley and the Safeway in Windsor.
In 2022, the food bank set a goal of collecting 4,500 turkeys — a goal the community exceeded by about 500. Food bank staff hope the community will again exceed the goal as they continue to see record numbers of people turning to the food bank for support.
Edmunds said twice as many people are turning to the food bank for help this year compared to 2022. Staff anticipate a large influx of people at the food bank’s monthly Saturday distribution this weekend. Regular food distribution increases about 20-30% during the holidays, Edmunds said.
“What parent doesn’t want to give their child something for the holidays?” Edmunds asked. “And so what little money they do have, they’re trying to give gifts and buy regular food on top of that. … I feel like we see a lot more people in November and December partly because of that need but also just that people want to provide that holiday meal for their kids.”
In addition to the food drive this Saturday, turkeys can be dropped off at the food bank at 1108 H St. in Greeley from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Wing Shack also accepts turkey donations for local food banks through Nov. 22, awarding donors a $5 Wing Shack gift card and a $5 donation to the donor’s local food bank.
Weld Food Bank Chief Development Officer Stephanie Gausch said the food bank continues to see more new households accessing the food bank.
“They are folks who are living above the poverty line, but they’re below that level of self-sufficiency,” she said. “So there are a lot of folks … where a $500 medical bill or car repair or whatever all of a sudden becomes a crisis situation, and you find yourself in need of help.”
The Lighthouse Community Center serves people from all over Weld County, including people in Greeley, the Milliken and Johnstown area and many people in the Hill N Park subdivision outside Greeley and Evans borders — where quite a few families are struggling to get by, according to Ellis.
By partnering with the food bank — “a priceless resource,” Ellis said — Lighthouse provides holiday meals for those in need. This year, Lighthouse will also continue working with a local dialysis clinic to provide meals for clients.
“Partnering with them was a no-brainer to me,” he said. “When you’re on dialysis, this may be your last holiday season that you are around for, so if we can help and bring your family together that one last time for that one last holiday you’re going to have to spend with them, that’s just priceless.”
The food bank will also collect shelf-stable food items for the holidays, particularly stuffing, canned green beans, canned corn, canned fruit, peanut butter and canned tuna or chicken. For those unable to donate food items, the food bank accepts financial donations, promising to provide 75 meals to families in need for every $25 donation.
For more information about holiday giving to the food bank, go to weldfoodbank.org/holiday.
The food bank also continues to need volunteers for its day-to-day operations. Staff hope those who can lend a hand around the holidays will find a way to continue that assistance. Edmunds estimated the food bank needs about 100 volunteers each day to operate efficiently.
“This is by far my favorite time of the year because you get to see such a tangible representation of community,” Gausch said. “And it’s just so nice to be able to see all of your neighbors coming together and helping one another.”
Top Workplaces 2024: Nomination deadline extended
The nomination deadline for The Denver Post’s Top Workplaces awards program has been extended to Dec. 15. So far, more than 300 Colorado companies have signed up to participate. Any organization with 50 or more employees in Colorado is eligible to participate (can be public, […]
BlogThe nomination deadline for The Denver Post’s Top Workplaces awards program has been extended to Dec. 15.
So far, more than 300 Colorado companies have signed up to participate. Any organization with 50 or more employees in Colorado is eligible to participate (can be public, private, nonprofit or government).
Workplaces are evaluated by their employees using a 24-question survey. Companies will be surveyed through January.
Energage, The Post’s research partner for the project, conducts Top Workplaces surveys for media in 65 markets and surveyed more than 2 million employees at more than 8,000 organizations in the past year.
To nominate your workplace go to denverpost.com/nominate or call 303-261-8253.
Google’s DeepMind builds AI for more accurate weather forecasts
By Seth Fiegerman, Bloomberg Google’s DeepMind has developed an artificial intelligence model that uses decades of historical weather conditions to produce accurate 10-day forecasts in less than a minute. GraphCast outperformed the gold-standard forecasting model from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on roughly […]
Blog US consumer inflation eased in October, driven lower by cheaper gas, cars and airfares
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER (AP Economics Writer) WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation in the United States slowed last month in a sign that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes are continuing to cool the consumer price spikes that have bedeviled consumers for the past two years. Tuesday’s […]
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Oskar Blues Brewery founder taps into the pickleball game
Dale Katechis is no stranger to turning his hobbies into businesses. The founder of Oskar Blues Brewery — and namesake of Dale’s Pale Ale — was already a restaurateur when he decided in 2002 to turn one of his favorite pastimes, homebrewing, into part of […]
BlogDale Katechis is no stranger to turning his hobbies into businesses.
The founder of Oskar Blues Brewery — and namesake of Dale’s Pale Ale — was already a restaurateur when he decided in 2002 to turn one of his favorite pastimes, homebrewing, into part of his business. The decision worked out, to put it mildly. Oskar Blues grew quickly, acquiring other beer makers and eventually becoming one of the largest craft brewers in the country, with production facilities in three states. Monster Energy bought the company in 2022.
But he wasn’t done there. Katechis, an avid mountain biker, also started his own boutique bike manufacturer, REEB Cycles, to help further his love of riding on dirt roads. Other investments have included a hobby farm in Boulder County and cannabis companies.
So, it’s no surprise that his latest passion, a sport he took up about a year ago, is the impetus for his newest venture, an indoor pickleball club and gathering space in Longmont.
This week, Katechis and business partner Adam Kahn will open 3rd Shot Pickleball, at 20 S. Bowen St. With five courts, it will offer coaching and clinics along with tournament play and — of course — a bar, called the Hidden Pickle, featuring local craft beer and spirits.
“I started this as a pet project thing, because I had fallen in love with pickleball,” said Katechis, who was using the building, which he owns, as a sort of private pickleball club. “After (Kahn and I) met, we hit it off and decided to take a shot at this together.”
Kahn believes indoor courts are part of the future of the rapidly growing game since noise complaints at outdoor courts around the country have caused problems. A Wheat Ridge location of 3rd Shot, which also opens in November, includes 13 indoor courts.
Related: Colorado’s largest indoor pickleball complex will open 13 courts in a space once called Lucky’s
But that’s just the beginning. Katechis and Kahn are thinking of mixing in one of Katechis’ restaurant concepts as well. Although Katechis no longer owns the brewery portion of Oskar Blues, he and his family retained four of the associated restaurants, in Longmont, Lyons, Denver and Colorado Springs. In the past, Oskar Blues has also run food trucks, a hamburger concept called ChuBurger and a Mexican restaurant.
Katechis couldn’t say yet what the food concept will be at 3rd Shot, but it will likely start out as a food trailer before morphing into a potential brick-and-mortar kitchen inside the building.
Eventually, the two would also like to build other co-located courts and restaurants around Colorado and in other states. “As we noticed in Lyons, Oskar Blues became a social hub in town,” Katechis pointed out. “For me, this is very similar to craft beer in that it brings people together.”
Aspen hotel taps Death & Co. creators for new restaurant and rooftop bar
Venerable cocktail bar Death & Co. , which started in New York City before expanding to Los Angeles, Denver and Washington, D.C., has earned a reputation for its artfully crafted drinks that honor the history of bartending while infusing originality into recipes. And soon, local […]
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