Several new local businesses (The Baking Room, Vanishing West Ciders, and Mile Hi Pickleball) opened in September and October, all owned and operated by northeast Denver residents who are fulfilling their dreams. Front Porch visited all three locations to talk to the owners and learn about their hopes for success and support from the community and each other.
It’s safe to say that business owners can’t control the timing of an election, or a snowstorm, or a power outage. They also can’t control all three things happening in the span of a few days in early November, like it did inside Stanley Marketplace in northwest Aurora.
The sale of wine in grocery stores created a convenient way for some shoppers to pick up a favorite bottle. For local liquor store owners, the change created the need to look for new ways to bring people into their stores after a “significant” drop in revenue.
Kinley Graves is an entrepreneur who started a dog treats business two years ago. In a neighborhood filled with many successful business owners, she may not sound all that remarkable until she reveals her age: she just turned 10.
Off I-70 in a sprawling business complex, changes are underway. In a spot where a drywall and tire business once operated, pickleball is moving in. The Mile Hi Pickleball Club, a 35,000-square-foot indoor business, is opening Oct. 18 at 3700 Havana St. Suite 305.
There isn’t always a big, shining sign pointing to the future. But on East Colfax Ave., there is, and the local arts community in northwest Aurora believes it’s a beacon of what’s to come for the neighborhood and its overlapping 16-block creative district.
After a series of break-ins at his cyclery shop in northwest Aurora, Mackenzie Hardt changed store policy to admit customers by appointments only—no walk-in business.
Opening one business can be daunting. Opening a second business in the same building can benefit from a built-in clientele or suffer from not diversifying geographically. Three Stanley Marketplace businesses have chosen second spots there and are banking on the support of the community they’ve built.
This month: 1) Mobile Visitor Center Electric Bike Stolen from Aurora Cycle Shop; 2) Fireworks and Fires; 3) More Apartments Coming to Central Park; 4) Campus Café Opens to Help the Homeless; 5) Big Changes for The Hangar at Stanley Marketplace; 6) A Multi-Million Dollar Gift from a Music Superstar; and 7) Celebrating Pride in August.
This month: 1) New Trees for Northeast Denver; 2) Travel Down Under at the Denver Zoo; 3) East Colfax Neighbors Take on Gun Violence; 4) Supporting the Bears at Stanley Marketplace; and Business Openings and Closings.
He brews the beer that goes in the can. She creates the beautiful imagery on the outside of the can. Amy and Ross Koenigs met on a Frisbee team, married in 2016, and one year ago opened Second Dawn Brewing in Northwest Aurora, a brewery that works to bring people together.
High Point, which started 10 years ago, still makes everything by hand, including all ice creams, waffle cones, mix-ins like cookies and brownies, and sauces as well as natural flavorings like mint.
