5280 Magazine March 2024 by 5280magazine

THE DENVER MAGAZINE

African Food THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO

1,197 OF THE TOP-SELLING REAL ESTATE AGENTS IN DENVER PAGE 98

THE ENDURING LEGACY OF COLORADO’S ALL-WOMAN BASEBALL TEAM BY ROBERT SANCHEZ

28 REASONS TO VISIT NEWLY HIP COLORADO SPRINGS PAGE 82

Ras Kassa’s Ethiopian Restaurant in Lafayette MARCH 2024

5280.com

We’re more powerful together.

Black Diamond – Individuals Individual brokers achieving a minimum of $15 million or more in sales volume. Ann Atkinson Scott Bernard Kay Bohan Whitney Cain Tricia Campbell Holly Carpenter Joy Castillo Linda Clure Lana Cordier Todd Crosbie Nick Duncan Lisa Fallon Chandler Fendler

Leigh Flanagan Katie Fredrick Todd Groth Angela Hacker Taylor Heslop Kristin Hill Crystal Hodge Katie Hoster Lisa Jones Sarabeth Jones Justin Joseph Tommy Karaffa Juli Kovats

Janet Kritzer Jenny Kurpinsky Susie Langford Taylor Lawton Nancy Levine Janci Lowry McClafferty Chris Merman Ryan J. Mulstay Ammy Nguyen Dyllan Nguyen Blake O’Shaughnessy Terry Oakes Jennie Parson

Kate Perry Scott Petersen Arn Rasker Symantha Rodriguez Coleen Sanders Barb Silverman Leisa Sollenberger Karina Stevens Elaine Stucy Hawk Vanek Molly Weiss Sarah White

303.893.3200 | livsothebysrealty.com Sales volume numbers are based off of 2022. Each office is independently owned and operated.

LIV Sotheby’s International Realty proudly congratulates our outstanding brokers recognized by 5280 as Denver’s Top Real Estate Producers.

Double Black Diamond – Individuals Individual brokers achieving a minimum of $30 million or more in sales volume. Chris Angelovic Mckinze Casey Stacie Chadwick Tammy Cooper Ann Durham

Anne Dresser Kocur Douglas D. Kerbs Connie Kraska Patti Maurer Williams Casey Miller

Liz Richards Kylie Russell Michelle Seward Gwenivere Snyder Lark Stewart

Shannon Tiger Deviree Vallejo Maria Vitale Audrey Will

Black Diamond - Teams

Double Black Diamond - Teams

Teams of brokers achieving a minimum of $20 million or more in sales volume.

Teams of brokers achieving a minimum of $45 million or more in sales volume.

Breslin Micheli Group Ciancio Team Emily Henderson & Jennifer Davenport Ford Fountain Team Heather Graham & Sean Endsley Jane Brennan & Beckett Brennan

Jeff Erickson Group Kelly Baca & Gail Wheeler Robin Lake Team Rule Properties Sheldon Team Team Denver Homes Todd & Tracy Cole Tom & Denise Barnwell

Delroy Gill & Stuart Crowell The Behr Team The Wolfe-Bouc Team Trish Bragg & Maggie Armstrong

NO BETTER

MOMENT

THAN NOW

CU Denver is rising to meet the moment — no matter how higher education or the world changes — by educating and supporting students at every moment in their journey. Our diverse learners fuel Denver's economy and create the workforce of tomorrow.

...to become the next business leader in Denver

I wanted to go to CU Denver because I knew a college degree would help me find financial sustainability. And it has. CU Denver helped launch my career in public service. Its flexible learning options let me hold a full-time job, start a family, and begin my career—all while earning my degree. As a transfer student and the first person in my family to go to college, CU Denver helped me meet my moment. - ANDREA ALBOFirst-generation College Graduate Studied Psychology Became Deputy Chief of Staff, Denver International Airport

TAKE THE NEXT STEP IN YOUR CAREER @ ucdenver.edu/how

the coolest brokers in town milehimodern (mhm) represents a new era in Colorado's luxury market and the artistic representation of homes. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the mhm brokers recognized by 5280 for uplifting our vision through expert guidance and a lens of artistry.

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black diamond teams of two // $20m+

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double black diamond — individual brokers // $30m+

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black diamond — individual brokers // $15m+

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A DV E R T I S E M E N T

Denver Restaurant Week Celebrates 20 Years

Denver has matured in countless ways over the past two decades, and, not surprisingly, so too has its food scene. The Mile High City’s culinary offerings have earned worldclass distinction, with local restaurants and chefs racking up James Beard Awards. And just last year, the inaugural Colorado Michelin Guide was released, a rare honor recognizing restaurants that offer elevated, sustainable dining experiences. If it wasn’t clear already, it is now: Denver is a premiere destination for foodies. Nowhere has that culinary evolution been better displayed than at VISIT DENVER’s Denver Restaurant Week presented by Superior Farms American Lamb, which for the past twenty years has given local diners an opportunity to connect with the diverse ingredients, exceptional service, and engaging characters behind each dish. What began in 2005 with 83 restaurants has grown vastly, with more than 200 restaurants participating last year and a similar number signed on for this year’s celebration from March 1 through March 10.

New Menus

In year’s past, participating restaurants could create multi-course meals based on one of three price points: $25, $35, and $45. New

this year, restaurants will also offer meals at $55, allowing kitchens to craft menus around higher-end offerings. Mediterranean restaurant El Five (2930 Umatilla Street), boasting one of the best views of downtown, will use the $55 price point. You’ll also be able to find $55 menus at Señor Bear (3301 Tejon Street), French 75 (1717 17th Street), and Noisette (3254 Navajo Street), which was recommended by the Colorado Michelin guide. As always, VISIT DEN VER’s Denver Restaurant Week presented by Superior Farms American Lamb will feature an array of international options including Asian-fusion inspired Ace Eat Serve (501 E. 17th Avenue), Mexican favorite Tamayo (1400 Larimer Street), as well as several others—including Ash’Kara (2005 W. 33rd Avenue), which features Israeli cuisine and was given a “Bib

Gourmand” distinction in the Michelin Guide for exceptional value.

Fresh Locales While many classic establishments are participating this year, a few that opened in the past several years are worth your attention— including Chez Maggy (1616 Market Street), a traditional French cafe, and Wild Taco (215 E. 7th Avenue), which opened its Cap Hill location in 2022. You might also check out The Greenwich in RiNo (3258 Larimer Street), a concept from Delores Tronco, who helped found Work & Class a decade ago. Her new restaurant, which opened in 2021, offers New American and Mediterranean cuisine in a laid-back setting. And don’t miss the new digs at Bistro Vendôme, from chef-owner Jennifer Jasinski, who left her Larimer Square location and reopened in Park Hill (2267 Kearney Street) in February 2023. •

T O V I E W M E N U S A N D T H E F U L L R E S TAU R A N T L I S T, V I S I T w w w . d e n v e r r e s t a u r a n t w e e k . c o m

“This celebration brings the industry together and it creates a sense of community amongst the restaurants. It’s a special time to highlight what all of our restaurants are offering—to showcase what you’re doing and really put your best foot forward. VISIT DENVER puts so many resources behind it and really tries to make it successful for the restaurants financially and otherwise.” - Delores Tronco, The Greenwich

“When Denver’s restaurant scene is at its best, it connects really well with the community, with the neighborhoods, with the people, and with the food systems. This brings people in who might not otherwise come to these restaurants. It helps people find us. And it becomes part of the culture of the city for ten days.”

“It’s an opportunity to get people to try out your restaurant that haven’t, to get people in the door. From there, you have to blow them away. Our restaurant community is diverse, vibrant, thoughtful, and homegrown. We have so much good stuff, so I hope people will get out there and try a new restaurant this year!”

Linger, El Five, Root Down, Ophelias, Vital Root

Rioja, Bistro Vendôme, Stoic and Genuine, Ultreia, The Ponti

- Justin Cucci, Edible Beats

- Jennifer Jasinski, chef/owner of Crafted Concepts

DEAR DENVER, This is love. Families breaking bread. Friends making memories. Partners savoring each moment. Create new memories with every bite and with one of four tasty prices. Love, Chef Tasty P.S. E x p l o r e m e n u s a t

DenverRestaurantWeek.com

C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S TO K E N T W O O D ' S

2023 TOP PRODUCING REAL ESTATE BROKERS

#1 INDIVIDUAL BROKER

#1 TWO-BROKER TEAM

Josh Steck ◊◊

Gina Lorenzen & Kara Couzens ◊◊

#1 MID-SIZE TEAM

#1 LARGE TEAM

Neir Team ◊

Savvy Group ◊◊

Alex Neir, Stacy Neir, Laura Fuller

Stacey Stambaugh, Meg Adams, Carly Anderson, Terra Augustine, Kendall Baker, Kat Brill, Belinda Cox, Katie Knowlton, Nicole Malone, Jillian Silkie, Stephanie Sulstrom

#1 COMMERCIAL BROKER Todd Snyder

TOP INDIVIDUAL BROKERS

Ann Kerr ◊◊

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Karen Brinckerhoff ◊◊

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Jim Rhye ◊◊

Wendy Lee

Keith Combs

Dotson Skaggs ◊

Wendy Glazer ◊◊

Andrea Bell ◊◊

Annzo Phelps ◊

John Hayden

Linda Hantman

Afshin Sarvestani

Julie Winger ◊

Soley Maria

Troy Strom ◊

Parker Loveless

Aimee Twarogowski

Amy Stevens

Edie Marks

Chris Ansay

Sean Larkin ◊

TWO-BROKER TEAMS

Jacci Geiger & Sana Wood ◊◊

The Kelly Team ◊

Denver Mountain Living ◊

Greg Margheim & Kelly Sophinos

The King Team Paula King & Matt King

Tom Gross & Brittany Armstrong

Tom Gross Team ◊

Sheila Schlifkin & Mitch Rothman ◊

Anna Brady & Brandon Brennick

The Doug Hutchins Team ◊

Patty Ryan Anton & Greg Card ◊

Al Larson & Todd Landgrave ◊

Andy Maguire & Dillan Powell

Harris Team ◊ Brian & Jamie Harris

Ann Lenane & Angela Beldy

Bob Kelly & Sean Kelly

Doug Hutchins & Leslie Monaco

The Modglin Collection

The Glucksman Team

Brigette & Jay Modglin

Gayle Glucksman & Tiffany Glucksman Appel

Vesta Homes ◊◊ Libby Levinson-Katz & Elizabeth Sacerdoti

Jason Weisgerber & Chuck Gargotto

Glery Ross Group ◊ Roy Lopez & Jonathan Lopez

Dutzer & Co Rosanne & Thomas Dutzer

MID-SIZE TEAMS

My Denver Team ◊◊

The Move Group Allison Smooker, Ron Smookler, Zach Gilbert, Greg Yoshida, Sarah Clark

Dee Chirafisi, Kevin Garrett, Matt McNeill, Dena Pastorini

The Aspen Collection

Kayla Schmitz, Michelle Olenick, Tasheena Penman

Kruse Nussbaum Team ◊

Steven Kruse, Jim Nussbaum, Staci Burns, Karl Lo

The Hotz Group ◊

Larry Hotz, Elizabeth Hotz, Meredith Hotz

Buckley Team

Team Dwell Colorado ◊ Martha Potter-Goldstein, Amy Hulsey, Brian Rosen

Jim Buckley, Helena Buckley, Dan Buckley

The GHS Group

Rob Goldhammer, Chris Howey, Scott Stang

Fulk/VanCamp Team

Jenna Fulk, Itsy VanCamp, Tiffany Beach, Mari Vandenberge

5280 MAGAZINE RECOGNIZED TOP PRODUCERS Double-Black Diamond - ◊◊

LEARN MORE ABOUT KENTWOOD'S TOP PRODUCING BROKERS

Black Diamond - ◊

Contents MARCH 2024

Expanding The Palate

For decades, the kaleidoscopic cookery of Africa has blossomed in the Mile High City. Here’s where to experience the flavors of the vibrant and varied continent. BY ETHAN PAN

If you haven’t visited Colorado Springs in a while, the growing, increasingly hip city may have surprises in store for you.

Inside the legacy of the barnstorming Colorado Silver Bullets women’s baseball team, which played its first season to national fanfare 30 years ago.

Whether you’re selling an abode you’ve outgrown or searching for your dream home, we suggest choosing from our list of the metro area’s 1,197 most successful real estate agents.

Old Friend, New Tricks

BY SPENCER CAMPBELL & LINDSEY B. KING

The Girls Of Summer

BY ROBERT SANCHEZ

Denver’s Top Real Estate Producers

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs

5280 / M A R C H 2024

Jason O’Rear/Courtesy of U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum

In every showroom

Find innovation and endless Inspiration Scan to book an appointment. 742 S Broadway, Denver, CO 80209

Contents MARCH 2024

25 32

F R O M T H E E D I TO R

22 This month’s feature about

Denver’s African culinary scene will transport you to the continent.

CO M PA S S 25 ADVENTURE

Inside the art of ski wedding photography. 26 NATURE

A timeline of Colorado’s wolf reintroduction project. 28 STAYCATION

Where to find summer vibes, from sand volleyball courts to salt caves.

42 E AT & D R I N K 37 WHAT’S HOT

Four Colorado-made, foreverchemical-free skincare products.

Cachai Chilean Food brings rare-in-Denver street eats such as chorrillanas (french fries topped with beef, onion, egg, and soy sauce) to a Baker parking lot.

32 SPORTS

38 REVIEW

30 STYLE

Our takeaways from Deion Sanders’ new book. 34 HOME

How an interior designer survived his own renovation in Evergreen.

The Welton Room Lounge in Five Points delivers on style and inventive cocktails, but diners have yet to come en masse. Plus: Three more new neighborhood eateries. 104 DINING GUIDE

CO LU M N

AC T L I K E A LO C A L

42 HEALTH CARE

128 THE OVERSIMPLIFIED GUIDE TO: L AYERING

COVID-19 culture drove us to drink. Now, Colorado hospitals are grappling with soaring levels of liver disease. BY JULIE DUGDALE

Five tips for staying warm— but not overheating—while adventuring in Colorado’s fickle spring weather.

O N T H E C OV E R Photograph by Joni Schrantz Ras Kassa’s Ethiopian Restaurant in Lafayette

5280 (ISSN 10826815) is published monthly by 5280 Publishing, Inc., 1675 Larimer St., Suite 675, Denver, CO 80202. Subscriptions are $19.95 for one year (12 issues). Back issues are available for $6.99 plus tax and shipping by visiting shop.5280.com. Periodical postage paid at Denver, CO, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS (see DMM 707.4.12.5). NONPOSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Send address corrections to 5280 Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 3000, Denville, NJ 07834. Canadian Post Publications Mail Agreement No. #40065056 Canadian Return Address: DP Global Mail, 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor, ON N9A 6J3. 5280® is a federally registered trademark owned by 5280 Publishing, Inc. 5280 also owns trademark registrations for TOP OF THE TOWN, DENVER’S TOP DOCTORS, DENVER MAGAZINE, and COUTURE COLORADO. © 2024 5280 Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

Clockwise from top left: Courtesy of Ski The Day Photography; Sarah Banks; David Lauer (styling by Elaine St. Louis); Rob Carr/Getty Images

WE DESIGN TOGETHER. architecture | interiors | planning

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EDITOR

Lindsey B. King ART DIRECTOR

David McKenna DIGITAL DIRECTOR

Maren Horjus

ED I TO RI A L DEPUT Y EDITOR

Jessica LaRusso

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Robert Sanchez

FEATURES EDITOR

Spencer Campbell HOME EDITOR

Michelle Johnson SENIOR EDITOR

Nicholas Hunt

FO OD EDITOR

Patricia Kaowthumrong

SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Jessica Giles

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Chris Walker

ASSOCIATE FOOD EDITOR

Ethan Pan

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Barbara O’Neil

RESEARCH EDITOR

Visvajit Sriramrajan COPY EDITORS

Shannon Carroll, Dougald MacDonald CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Kelly Bastone, Laura Beausire, Jay Bouchard, Christine DeOrio, Clay Fong, Courtney Holden, Sarah Kuta, Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, Jenny McCoy, Allyson Reedy, Meredith Sell, Daliah Singer, Martin J. Smith, Andy Stein EDITORIAL INTERN

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D ESI GN & P HOTO G R A PH Y PHOTO EDITOR

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DEPUT Y ART DIRECTOR

Sean Parsons

DEPUT Y PHOTO EDITOR

Sarah Banks

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Edson Ikê, David Lauer, Simone Massoni, Arthur Mount, Kouzou Sakai, Joni Schrantz, Elaine St. Louis, Tracy Walker, Laura Wulf 52 80 P UBL I S HI NG , IN C.

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The next generation of Denver Real Estate has arrived

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Congratulations to our 5280 Top Producing Agents DOUBLE BLACK DIAMOND

THE BLANK & BINGHAM TEAM

720.441.2961 blankandbingham@theagencyre.com

ELISE LOSASSO

303.667.3461 elise.losasso@theagencyre.com

TINA CHRISTENSEN

303.335.7060 tina.christensen@theagencyre.com

BLACK DIAMOND

KYLE BASEGGIO

970.520.1793 kyle.baseggio@theagencyre.com

MARITT BIRD

303.579.1420 maritt.bird@theagencyre.com

ASHLEIGH FREDRICKSON

303.589.5421 ashleigh.fredrickson@theagencyre.com

NATALIE HENGEL

440.552.9731 natalie.hengel@theagencyre.com

SHELBY SAMPSON

303.913.9573 shelby.sampson@theagencyre.com

ALLIE YATES

720.987.6808 allie.yates@theagencyre.com

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Enjoy volunteering at Drifters Hearts of Hope Horse Rescue

M E W

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E S C A P E TO VA I L

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SUB S CRI PTI O N S

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A one-year subscription to 5280 costs $19.95 for 12 issues. A two-year subscription costs $34.95. Special corporate and group rates are available; call 303-832-5280 for details. To start a new subscription, to renew an existing subscription, or to change your address, visit 5280.com/subscribe; call 1-866-2715280 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST Monday through Friday; or send an email to circulation@5280.com. L ETTERS TO THE E DITO R & D I NI NG GUID E

Letters to the editor must include your name, address, and a daytime phone number (all of which can be withheld from publication upon request). Letters may be submitted via regular mail or email (letters@5280.com). To have a restaurant considered for our Dining Guide, contact us by phone or email (dining@5280.com) to receive a submission form. We also encourage you to contact us if your experience at a restaurant differs significantly from our listing. Information for this section should be submitted at least six weeks before the issue’s cover date.

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SP O NS O RS HIPS

5280 actively supports organizations that make our city a better place to live and work. Submit sponsorship proposals to Piniel Simegn, marketing director, at sponsorship@5280.com.

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FROM THE EDITOR

New Flavors

It’s been 25 years since I first stepped onto African soil. I was a wide-eyed study-abroad student fortunate enough to be able to travel the globe for 100 days. Every country I visited, across three continents, brought indelible experiences that changed my worldview. Let’s be honest, though: The food was as mind-blowing as anything else. This was especially true in both South Africa and Kenya, because while I tried new-to-me dishes in India and Vietnam and Japan, those cuisines were relatively familiar to my American palate. But African foods hadn’t—and still haven’t—been as widely exported to the United States as others, which is what made digging into braai (South African barbecue), bobotie (a mincedmeat casserole), ugali (cornmeal mush), and irio (mashed potatoes with corn, peas, and greens) so revelatory for me. In this month’s “Expanding The Palate” (page 70), associate food editor Ethan Pan may lead you to a similar epiphany—that is, if you aren’t already familiar with metro Denver’s long-standing African food scene. “Restaurants have come and gone over the decades,” Pan says, “but if you know to look for them, you can find local eateries that specialize in Ethiopian, Ghanaian, Moroccan,

Tsehay Hailu, owner of Ras Kassa’s Ethiopian Restaurant in Lafayette

South African, Kenyan, Senegalese, and Sudanese cuisines, among others. Many, if not most, are run by immigrants, and all of them offer something delicious.” I can attest that Pan is right. The meals I’ve had at Ras Kassa’s Ethiopian Restaurant, at Cafe Paprika, at Le French, and at several eateries that

have since closed have always served flavors that take me back to my first experiences in Africa. I hope they’ll be memorable for you, too. LINDSEY B. KING

Editor lindsey@5280.com

Senior staff writer Robert Sanchez might kindly be described as baseball-obsessed: He has tens of thousands of baseball cards in his collection, has played in fantasy leagues for the past 30 years, and once was the Little League teammate of Hall of Famer Roy Halladay. So when a parent at one of his daughter’s swim meets mentioned that she was the first general manager of a professional women’s baseball team called the Colorado Silver Bullets three decades ago, Sanchez was determined to chase down the story. Over the past several months, he reached out to former players, who in turn connected him with even more sources for “The Girls Of Summer” (page 92). “For a baseball fan like myself, that was heaven,” Sanchez says. He heard countless unforgettable anecdotes, not all of which he was able to include. For instance, one former player has since been diagnosed with cancer and underwent a mastectomy; her doctor recommended she limit movement, but she was determined to throw batting practice to her son’s team the week after her procedure. Sanchez’s biggest takeaway from his reporting? “Baseball is for everyone. That, and these are some badass women,” he says. Sanchez also has a request for 5280’s readers: If you have a Colorado Silver Bullets hat from 1994, he’d like to buy it and wear it with pride. ROBERT SANCHEZ

5280 / MARCH 2024

From top: Joni Schrantz; Arthur Mount

Senior Staff Writer

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A bride at Keystone Resort captured by Ski The Day Photography

Courtesy of Ski The Day Photography

Till Shred Do Us Part

Sometimes, Marta Sulima gazes at her clients with envy. “There’s always a part of me that wishes I got married while skiing because skiing has been a big part of my husband’s and my relationship,” Sulima says. Unfortunately, tying the knot on the slopes was still a novelty when she exchanged her vows in 2019. But now, with an increasing number of couples eschewing the expense of traditional ceremonies in favor of elopements and micro weddings, many Coloradans are opting to say “I do” clicked into their skis and boards. That’s created a cottage industry of photographers specializing in ski weddings, including fellow photog Gabrielle Stowe, the 30-year-old Summit County creative behind Ski The Day Photography, who shot 11 weddings, 14 proposals, and three engagements last ski season. Stowe says most of the job entails scouting locations and lugging equipment up the mountain. Then, when it’s time to carve, she’ll do whatever it takes to get the shot—even if it means eating snow instead of cake. —JESSICA GILES

M A R C H 2024 / 5280

N AT U R E

Los Lobos

It’s been a whirlwind for Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) since the public voted to reintroduce wolves to the Centennial State in 2020— including negotiating a deal with Oregon to obtain canids and navigating an 11th-hour lawsuit from local ranchers seeking (unsuccessfully) to stall the effort. But while CPW released 10 wolves into Grand, Summit, and Eagle counties this past December, that’s only the first step toward a successful reintroduction. Here’s what we can expect in the years ahead. —NICHOLAS HUNT

WITHIN ONE WEEK First Meal

The wolves will likely make their initial kills just days after their releases. Elk should comprise the largest portion of their diets, which will also include deer and moose, plus the occasional farm animal and small mammal.

WINTER 2024-’25 Second Release

Because established packs typically don’t accept solo wolves, it’s more likely those set free in subsequent winters will couple up with wolves released at the same time or with wild-born young adults who’ve left their birth packs.

APRIL 2025 First Pups

Gestation only lasts nine weeks, meaning the first litters—usually four to six pups—will arrive in April. Packs typically consist of six to 10 wolves: a breeding pair, their offspring from the previous year or two, and the current year’s litter.

1.5 MONTHS

Divide & Conquer

CPW can’t predict when the wolves will establish new territories—which typically range from 20 to 120 square miles—but canids reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995 started to carve out ranges 35 to 40 days after their release.

FEBRUARY 2025 Meet-Cutes

Mating season takes place in February, and while there’s a chance that some of the wolves released at the end of 2023 will pair off immediately, a CPW spokesperson says it’s likely most of the animals will mate for the first time in early 2025.

2027– –2029 Final Releases

It will take three to five years for CPW to release the 30 to 50 wolves called for in its reintroduction plan, a time frame and number that depends on how successful cooperating states are at trapping wolves for relocation to Colorado and the survival rate of the new residents.

2033– –2035 Natives Only

Wolves’ lifespans are about six years in the wild, so by the mid-2030s, all the wolves in the Centennial State should be Colorado-born or transplants from neighboring states who cross the border on their own.

LONG TERM CPW’s objective is to build a selfsustaining population, but it doesn’t have a schedule for reaching that goal. Instead, once Colorado’s wolf population hits at least 50 for four consecutive years, the CPW commission will downlist the animals from state endangered to state threatened. Then, once the agency counts at least 150 wolves two years in a row—or 200 wolves at any point—it will delist the species entirely.

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Jacob W. Frank/Courtesy of the National Park Service

Delisting

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S TAYC AT I O N

Endless Summer

Come March, even Colorado’s ski bums are ready to book the next flight to Cabo for a little heat. You don’t have to leave the Front Range to enjoy summer vibes, though. At these four local spots, the weather’s always right. —CHRIS WALKER THE ISLAND

Southeast Denver

It’s usually a balmy 78 degrees inside this 24,000-square-foot volleyball mecca in southeast Denver. If the thermostat isn’t enough of a draw, there are six sand courts you can rent (from $40 for four people), lessons (prices vary), and multiple leagues for two-, four-, and six-player squads, many of which need a free agent or two to fill out their rosters. Celebrate victory with your new teammates—or take the sting out of defeat—at the indoor beach bar, which is stocked with 60 kinds of tequila.

SOUTH BROADWAY COUNTRY CLUB

Multiple locations

If your partner is antsy for the front nine to thaw, get her out of the house by booking her a tee time at South Broadway Country Club (Overland and Berkeley; $50 per hour). Its radarequipped Trackman simulators won’t just help her handicap; they’ll also allow your partner to virtually visit 200plus drone-mapped international links. In need of a 19th hole? The Tennyson Street location is home to the Crow’s Nest, a cocktail bar named for the iconic upstairs accommodations inside Augusta National Golf Club’s clubhouse. Unlike Augusta, however, you don’t have to worry about offending any bluebloods: The SBCC’s laid-back atmosphere is captured by its motto: “nonmembers only.”

Ever notice how your lungs seem to open 5 STAR SALT CAVES up when you’re at the beach? Re-create the Washington Park West experience without getting sand in your shorts at this Wash Park West wellness center. Its human-made, pink Himalayan salt cave ($45 for 50 minutes) is designed for halotherapy, in which clients breathe in tiny salt particles that some studies suggest can break up mucus and reduce lung inflammation, among other benefits. Health perks aside, the facility’s softly illuminated grotto is relaxing enough to help you forget about the four inches of snow that await you outside. APEX CENTER

It’s practically impossible for your groms to be bored at the Apex Center’s indoor water park. In addition to the lap pool, there’s a 150-foot-tall tube slide, vortex pool, and zero-depth play beach with fountains, waterfalls, and geysers. But if the kids need extra stimulation, the center’s admission fees (day passes cost $5.50 to $11) include access to a rock climbing wall and indoor playground complete with a treehouse. Just don’t accidentally wander into the two adjoining NHL-size ice rinks lest you freeze your sandals-clad toes off. Arvada

I L LU S T R AT I O N B Y T R AC Y WA L KE R

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www.mhkarchitecture.com

STYLE

Infinite Wisdom

Diamonds aren’t the only things that last forever. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS) can take more than a millennium to break down—and are potentially carcinogenic. That’s why Colorado’s Legislature banned the chemicals in 2022. The first phase went into effect in January, and next year, the embargo will expand to include cosmetics and beauty products. But why wait? There are plenty of Colorado-made, PFAS-free products ready to revamp your skincare routine. —COURTNEY HOLDEN

Arnica & Lemon Verbena Serenity Lotion Leaf People founder and herbalist Julie Williams hikes nearly an hour up the mountains outside Aspen to harvest the wild arnica for this skin soother. The flowering herb, which has long been used as an anti-inflammatory, creates a lotion that isn’t just hydrating but also ache-minimizing and mind-clearing. $40 Red Rocks Beard Oil Wiry goatees and thick mutton chops don’t stand a chance against the softening blend of horehound, hops, and yarrow in this beard oil made by Longmont’s Colorado Aromatics. Vetiver oil also adds a woodsy aroma to the vegan-approved beard-tamer. $15 Co-Wash Bar Scented with coconut, citrus, and verbena, this all-in-one shampoo and conditioner from Denver’s woman- and Black-owned Black Travel Box is ideal for sailing through DIA security: Light yet mighty (one 2.64-ounce bar equals a 16-ounce bottle of suds), Co-Wash gently cleans and conditions locks but won’t leak in your suitcase. $19 Balance Facial Serum Anti-inflammatory thymoquinone from black cumin seed oil pairs with fatty acids, antioxidant extracts, and healing carotenoids in Carbondale-based Osmia Skincare’s herbal facial serum. Apply one pump (or less) after cleansing for a clearer, less oily complexion. $50 30

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PHOTOGRAPH BY SARAH BANKS / ST YLING BY CHARLI ORNETT

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CSU Spur has something for you – no matter who you are! Whether it’s seeing behind-the-scenes in a veterinary surgery, taking adult learning classes (certificate and non-credit through Master’s and Ph.D.), bringing the kids for a fun educational experience, or enjoying a business event on our rooftop.

Come see what everyone is talking about.

Admission is free at CSU Spur! We’re open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the 2nd Saturday of each month. To learn more, follow @CSUSpur on social media and visit CSUSpur.org.

SPORTS

Optimum Prime

True to its author, Deion Sanders’ Elevate and Dominate: 21 Ways to Win On and Off the Field, due to be published on March 12, is packed with lofty rhetoric, underneath which lie some serviceable kernels of wisdom. Our biggest criticism? Prime rarely uses anecdotes from his first year as the University of Colorado Boulder’s head football coach to illustrate his points—a tactic that would have earned the book immediate induction into our state’s literary canon. So we did it for him. —SPENCER CAMPBELL

“Learn how to make confidence your natural odor, the unmistakable scent that’s part of your everyday life.” When it comes to Neon Deion, this axiom doesn’t really need further elucidation: The sweet smell of swagger engulfs him like a cloud. Even a 42-6 drumming by the Oregon Ducks couldn’t extinguish his stank. After the defeat, Sanders told reporters: “Better get me right now. This is the worst we’re going to be.”

ON GOOD MORNINGS

“However you start your day, your engine needs some fuel. That means protein.” Sanders began his reign in Boulder by touring some of the town’s venerable eateries, including the nearly 30-year-old Buff Restaurant, where he scarfed steak and egg whites. Not only did Prime need that gas to power his turnaround of CU’s downtrodden team, but by reviewing his meals on Instagram, he endeared himself to his new hometown.

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ON LEADERSHIP

“Be specific about what you expect.” This commitment to specificity might explain why Sanders told the NFL Network’s Rich Eisen what he expects of his defensive linemen: “Single mama, trying to get it, he’s on free lunch. I’m talking about just trying to make it. He’s trying to rescue Mama.” While the quote earned the coach a heap of criticism, it hasn’t hampered recruitment—at press time, that position group made up about half of the Buffs’ incoming class.

ON TEAM-BUILDING

“To get the results you want in the

MATHEMATICS OF LIFE,

you’ve got to surround yourself with the right kind of folks.”

And that means cutting ties with the wrong kind of folks. In 2023, Sanders’ arithmetic looked like this: If you subtract 50 Buffs from 2022’s 1-11 team and add 70 scholarship players, what do you get? The largest roster overhaul in college football history. Unfortunately, that only equaled three more wins.

ON PERCEPTION

“Looking good is an investment in YOU.” Colorado State University head football coach Jay Norvell called out Sanders before the BuffsRams tilt in September for refusing to take his sunglasses off when speaking to “grown-ups.” What Norvell obviously didn’t know is that winning attire engenders a winning attitude: Sanders gave his entire team the shades in question (Blender Eyewears’ Prime 21 sunglasses), so we can only assume the specs proved the difference in CU’s narrow victory over its in-state rival.

Courtesy of Deion Sanders/Simon & Schuster; Getty Images (book)

ON SELF-BELIEF

HOME

Self Help

As co-founder of Colorado- and California-based interior design firm Studio Mesa, Cameron Shepherd has created spaces for high-profile Hollywood executives and movie producers. But he recently remodeled an early 1980s Evergreen home for his most challenging client yet: himself. To help you survive your own home makeover, we asked Shepherd about what he learned being his own boss. —MICHELLE JOHNSON

Instead of immediately drawing up plans after buying the house, Shepherd followed a piece of advice he gives clients: Live in the space first. “It’s important to see how you interact with a room before you tear into it,” he says. For example, even though his home’s primary bathroom needed the most TLC, he left that project for later in the renovation. “By the time we started working on it,” he says, “I had really strong opinions about what I wanted it to be.”

Phone A Friend Throughout the two-year-long renovation, Shepherd leaned on his husband, Peter Sloterdyk, and his business partner, Jill Norman. “I can make decisions for

my clients very quickly, but when I’m my own client, that decisiveness goes out the window,” he says. To avoid analysis paralysis, Shepherd suggests narrowing your choices down to two or three options and presenting them to your partner, friend, or style-savvy relative for a fresh perspective.

Simmer Down “There are going to be moments where you’re at your wit’s end,” Shepherd says. “The expense of it all, having people in your house every day, making decisions constantly…it’s going to be exciting, but it’s also going to be exhausting.” To avoid burnout, Shepherd recommends establishing a safe haven. “Find a place that feels calm— whether it’s a library, a park, a coffeeshop, or an off-site office—and make a point of spending time there,” he says.

Choose Your Battles Unless you have an infinite budget, you’ll have to make some sacrifices to stay within your means, whether it’s extending your timeline or opting for quick cosmetic fixes rather than significant structural changes. To save cash, Shepherd painted his existing kitchen cabinets and added a modern light fixture, new hardware, and fresh backsplash tiles instead of overhauling the entire space. “Is it the kitchen I would design if I were starting from scratch? No. But I’m proud of how it turned out, especially for as little as we invested in it.”

^ From left: Designer Cameron Shepherd (right) with his husband and dog; the revamped living room; the Zen primary bathroom

P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y DAV I D L AU E R

5280 / MARCH 2024

Styling by Elaine St. Louis

Practice Patience

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Eat & Drink W H AT ’ S H O T

Trucking Along

Six months ago, Coloradans craving chorrillanas—a Chilean street food dish consisting of french fries loaded with slices of beef, caramelized onions, sunny-side-up eggs, and a splash of soy sauce—were out of luck. The same went for anyone jonesing for a hearty churrasco sandwich with beef or chicken and toppings like bacon, avocado, and green beans. That’s part of the reason cousins Mayra Chacon (left) and Valentin Julio, who were both born in Chile but moved to the Front Range within the past few years, are eager to get locals acquainted with their food truck, Cachai Chilean Food. Chacon, who studied business administration, navigates licensing and inventory, while Julio, who has a culinary arts degree, cooks the fare. Launching a food truck devoted to a little-known cuisine hasn’t been easy. “Businesses were hesitant to let us park the truck in their lots because they didn’t know if Chilean food would be successful,” Chacon says. But Cachai (Chilean slang for “You know what I mean?”)—currently located outside of a liquor store in Baker, near the intersection of Alameda Avenue and Cherokee Street—has gained a following for its bites. This year, the duo hopes to add empanadas (which in Chile are stuffed with ground beef, onion, half of a hard-boiled egg, and black olives), bringing Denverites another rare-in-Colorado treat. —BARBARA O’NEIL

PHOTOGRAPH BY SARAH BANKS

M A R C H 2024 / 5280

REVIEW

Restaurant Of Dreams?

The Welton Room Lounge in Five Points delivers on style and inventive cocktails, but diners have yet to come en masse. —ALLYSON REEDY aybe this is the future of Denver eating and drinking. Maybe the Welton Room Lounge is an “if you build it, they will come” sort of situation. Maybe we are nearly ready for $17 cocktails with ocean foam and fusion plates balanced on tiny cocktail tables next to panther statues. Right now, though, the lounge and the adjoining Monkey Bar at Welton Room feel sceney, minus the actual scene. Originally opened in 2019 in the space that is now the Monkey Bar, the Welton Room moved into a larger

From left: Champ Buabucha and Jorge Ortega; the Colorado hanger steak 38

5280 / M A R C H 2024

space next door in late 2022, at the 25th and Welton light-rail stop. The location is important because the eatery is very much the “new” Five Points. It’s chic and glossy and different from the older secondhand shops, small liquor stores, and divey music venues that serve as neighbors. But greater Denver has been slow to recognize the changes happening along Welton Street between 24th and 30th streets— once a thriving center of Black culture that has been gentrifying over the past two-plus decades—hence the lack of people to see and be seen.

That’s a bummer, especially when Jorge Ortega and Champ Buabucha have delivered two separate but related businesses that take cues from the now-closed Bazaar by José Andrés in Beverly Hills, a gastronomyforward bar and restaurant where the two once worked. Welton Room is the restaurant concept, although not in the conventional way we might think of a restaurant here in the Mile High City. There are no dining tables; instead, the space is outfitted with small cocktail tables, jewel-toned velour seats, leopard print carpet, and, yes, a panther statue. The rotating 18-item dinner menu is tapas-style. Meanwhile, the Monkey Bar lounge is all about presentation-heavy cocktails. PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARAH BANKS

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5280 / M A R C H 2024

NEW & NOTABLE Next time you’re in Five Points, check out these recently opened eating and drinking spots. —AMANDA M. FAISON WELTON STREET CAFE

This beloved Caribbean and soul food spot, which closed in March 2022 after spending more than two decades at 27th and Welton, is slated to reopen this spring a couple of blocks over in a new building. Along with classics such as fried catfish, collard greens, and mac and cheese, look for rum cocktails and some healthier baked and grilled options. 2883 Welton St. THE MARIGOLD

considering meatballs should always be fork tender. The cocktail menu, however, is an influencer’s dream. At brunch, the restaurant serves a bubbly concoction out of a bathtub glass complete with a rubber ducky and several other similarly creative beverages. I ordered the Piña del Mar because I was intrigued by the ocean foam listed in its ingredients. Turns out that ocean foam tastes about as you’d expect, in the best possible way. Its light brininess tempered the tartness of the pineapple and the spice of the serrano pepper, with each flavor well represented and not overpowering the others. The Welton Room’s prospective audience, though, has yet to heed its come-hither whispers. When it does—and it should—it might get a glimpse into what could be Denver’s eating and drinking future, where style and vibe contribute in a more meaningful way to the dining out experience.

From left: The Welton Room Lounge’s Piña del Mar cocktail; Taco Uprising’s el pescado (fish) taco

THE WELTON ROOM LOUNGE

2590 Welton St., weltonroom.com The Draw: Presentation-heavy cocktails and a loungey vibe The Drawback: Some dishes don’t work as conceived, and the space can feel too trendy for comfort Noise Level: Loud club music Don’t Miss: The Colorado hanger steak and any of the cocktails

If there’s one thing that Sudhir Kudva (the mastermind behind concepts such as the Squire Lounge and Gold Point) knows, it’s bars, and the Marigold, which opened a year ago this month, is no exception. The rooftop deck is Welton Street’s first, and this bar doesn’t just peddle beautiful gin-driven cocktails; it sells plants, too. For all you thirsty green-thumbers, plants get restocked on Thursdays. 2721 Welton St. TACO UPRISING

Next door to the new location of Welton Street Cafe is Taco Uprising, a fast-casual Mexican spot that Matias Gutknecht and Samuel Valdez debuted in June. The jumping-off point was Valdez’s uncle’s taco and burger stand in Mexico. Although there’s no burger on the menu, there are several different tacos, including a variety of vegetarian and vegan options for morning, noon, and night. 2849 Welton St.

Courtesy of Taco Uprising (taco)

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a restaurant without tables,” my husband said over the club music as we were led to our side-by-side banquette in the restaurant. While we are probably (OK, definitely) not the target demographic for this type of place—we both remember life before iPhones— we were some of the only patrons in the place at 6:15 p.m. on a Thursday. It was, well, a little awkward, but we were too hungry to dwell on it. The menu is full of globe-spanning bites with portion sizes that skew— thankfully—larger. I’m kind of over (and going broke from) the small-plate trend where you need to order five $18 dishes per person to fill up. We started with the red pork belly bao, which came filled with nice, not-too-fatty pork belly, pickled onions, cilantro, and a sprinkling of dukkah, a nutty Middle Eastern spice blend. The flavor was mild and gently sweet, but the buns themselves were heavy. Bao should be light and fluffy; I’d guess the hit on the griddle crisped these up far too much. The Colorado hanger steak was a standout for two reasons. First, the steak, rubbed with coffee and splashed with black garlic and ají panca (a mild Peruvian red pepper), is an incredible flavor bomb of salty, smoky, vinegary, and spicy goodness. And second, six ounces of steak for $22? I’ll come back for this by myself and eat it as an entrée. A bowl of strozzapreti, a pasta that is a longer version of cavatelli, took its spot on our crowded mini table next. The noodles were topped with mushrooms, a perfectly poached egg, black truffles, finely ground breadcrumbs, and shaved Parmesan. Like a creamy truffle pasta with an oozing egg yolk should be, this is a rich and satisfying dish, but the noodles were slightly gummy and probably could’ve been pulled from the stovetop a tad earlier. I would skip the lamb albondigas on a return visit. While I appreciate the desire to do something different with meatballs—here, they contain feta and mint and rest atop a tomato sauce spiked with Aleppo pepper and clove—the flavor combo just didn’t work for me. It also took some work to break into them, a cardinal sin

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SE A F OOD IN A S OP HIS T IC AT E D E N V IR OME N T

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Don’t forget to visit our sister restaurant, 801 Chophouse, for another exceptional culinary adventure.

HEALTH CARE

Overserved Nora began drinking heavily in her late 30s, turning to alcohol after the demons of early childhood trauma resurfaced. A self-described emotional drinker, the fortysomething Denverite, who asked that her real name be withheld to protect her privacy, says her consumption only increased during the COVID-19 crisis. “You’d be seeing all these memes on social media at 2 p.m. that people were having wine parties together,” Nora says, “so you’d feel comfortable doing it as well.” But after a two-week bender in early 2021, Nora woke up feeling more broken than usual. Finally listening to her overtaxed body, she quit cold-turkey and, through counseling, her mental health improved. The physical damage, however, was done. Less than a year after she got sober,

COVID-19 culture drove us to drink. Now, Colorado hospitals are grappling with soaring levels of liver disease. BY J UL I E D UG DA L E physicians at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital diagnosed Nora with liver cancer caused by alcohol abuse. “I own my actions,” she says. “I hold no fault toward anyone. The first thing my doctor told me was, ‘You gave yourself cancer.’ ” Nora wasn’t the only person to drink themselves sick during the pandemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of Coloradans who died from alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) increased by more than 32 percent from 2019 to 2021. That’s reflective of the trend across the United States, where such deaths rose by more than 17 percent a year between 2019 and 2021, dwarfing the 3.5 percent annual increase over the previous decade. Still, Colorado stands out: Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles ranked Colorado among the top six states for the number of ALD-related deaths during the pandemic. Not only are Coloradans—and Americans in general—developing ALD more frequently, but they are also doing so much earlier. People between the ages of 25 and 44 represented the sharpest upswing in the United States between 2019 and 2021, a statistic Dr. Elizabeth Pomfret, chief of the transplant surgery division at UCHealth, has witnessed firsthand. In the past, most of Pomfret’s patients ILLUSTRATION BY KOUZOU SAKAI

5280 / MARCH 2024

The story you’ll keep retelling.

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HE ALTH CARE

were in their late 50s and 60s and feeling the effects of a lifetime of steady drinking. Today, her patients are often parents of school-age kids and younger professionals who upped their intakes during the pandemic to cope with employment uncertainties, health fears, homeschooling, and quarantine challenges. Says Pomfret, “It’s really been staggering and eye-opening for all of us in the transplant community to see just how unbelievably the incidence of really strong, strong alcohol use has changed things.”

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Friday, March 22, 2024 | 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Sheraton Denver Downtown It takes a village. It takes a Community United. Learn more at unitedwaydenver.org/luncheon 44

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IT’S NO SECRET that Coloradans love their booze. The Centennial State boasts some of the nation’s lowest taxes on liquor, beer, and wine, meaning imbibing is more affordable here than in most places. And though it’s only the 21st largest state by population, Colorado is home to the country’s fifth-highest number of craft breweries. Locals were feeling the negative effects of outsize consumption even

“ ‘When I wear a face mask, nobody can smell that I’ve been drinking.’ ” before COVID-19: Colorado’s alcohol-related deaths have significantly outpaced the national rates for the past decade. “It’s been bad for a long time,” says Dr. Bill Burman, former director of the Public Health Institute at Denver Health. “We have just failed to recognize it. We’re so used to it that we don’t see it.” Nevertheless, local governments went to great lengths during the pandemic to keep Coloradans’ glasses full. After the infamous Denver Prohibition of March 2020, when the city announced liquor stores would not be included among the list of essential businesses and, thus, would have to close temporarily, then Mayor Michael Hancock reversed that decision. (The mayor wasn’t only bowing to constituent pressure. Health experts warned that alcoholics could die from withdrawal if forced to go coldturkey.) The state then issued an emergency executive order that, among other things, allowed restaurants to serve takeout alcohol. In June 2021, Governor Jared Polis signed legislation that extended the order. Now, adults can grab a pitcher of margaritas or an old-fashioned to-go between 7 a.m. and midnight daily. Also during the pandemic, viral drinking jokes began filling social media feeds. Posts about “mommy juice” and recipes for “quaran-

World-renowned tastes meet a heaping, buffet-style pile of points. With 3x points on dining with the Westerra rewards card through March 31, you’re free to fill up and cash in. Go to WesterraCU.com/WinterCardRewards to find out how you can earn 3x rewards on dining, flowers and chocolates.

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tinis” seemed to especially target women, who were often left to balance their full-time jobs with their children’s educations and wellbeing. “There was a meme going around that [said], ‘When I wear a face mask, nobody can smell that I’ve been drinking,’ ” Nora says. “It might’ve been tongue-in-cheek, but it was very real.” While booze continued to flow freely, those who suffered from alcohol misuse suddenly found themselves without the social structures they depended on to stay sober. A crucial treatment strategy, says Dr. Jonathan Ritvo, senior medical director at UCHealth’s Center for Dependency, Addiction and Rehabilitation, is helping people discover common ground with others who have similar experiences. But for up to two months after COVID-19 hit, some Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings were only available virtually. “The loss of their regular in-person meetings, loss of community and connections...was maybe the most important factor in relapse,” Ritvo says. “The loss of structure in not going to work, which made it possible to drink during the workday, played a role, too. Human connections are the most important antidote to an addiction.”

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There are three stages to ALD: fatty liver disease, which rarely results in symptoms and is reversible; hepatitis that can lead to nausea, jaundice, and belly pain, but is also often reversible; and cirrhosis, where the scarring of the organ becomes so severe that a transplant is sometimes the only remedy. Other complications of ALD include, as in Nora’s case, cancer, which is usually treatable. But livers don’t typically fail from ALD overnight, Burman says, which suggests that Centennial Staters have been drinking to an unhealthy extent for a long time. COVID-19 just accelerated their reckonings. WITH A GROWING contingent of heavy drinkers showing signs of liver disease, it’s not surprising to learn that ALD patients made up about 32 percent of those on the U.S. liver transplant list in 2020, compared with 22.2 percent a decade before, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Although state numbers are not available, Pomfret says the number of Coloradans who need a transplant because of ALD has increased dramatically since early in the pandemic. (Currently, 170 people in Colorado are waiting for new livers.) The upshot:

There’s an organ supply shortage throughout the country, one that UCHealth hopes to help mitigate in Colorado through the adoption of new technology. Like kidneys, livers can come from both deceased and live donors, which, in theory, expands the pool. However, barriers to live organ donation—which include large incisions, a lengthy recovery, and the inherent risks of surgery—are hefty. (The University of Colorado Hospital suspended its program for a short time in 2010 after the death of one of its live donors.) It’s not a sacrifice many are able or willing to make, especially if the donation is nondirected, meaning the liver goes to a stranger. UCHealth already boasts one of the largest nondirected liver donor programs in the country, with 14 percent of its transplants coming from people the patient doesn’t know, compared with about one percent worldwide. Pomfret can’t point to a specific reason why that’s the case, so she chalks it up to Coloradans’ altruistic nature. In an attempt to grow UCHealth’s stock and make liver donations less daunting, in June, Pomfret’s team performed its first robotic hepatectomy, which involves less cutting and a shorter recovery time for donors.

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5280 / MARCH 2024

The first person to go under the UCHealth robot’s knife, Danel Kuhlmann, 54, had previously given a kidney to her mother before bestowing a part of her liver to a stranger. “I believe in technology and advancements,” Kuhlmann says, “and I’m a big believer in jumping on board with change. I wasn’t scared of the robot, [which] can help them see 10 times what the naked eye can see.” After the operation, Kuhlmann returned to near full speed in weeks, about half the typical recovery time, without any significant scars. That’s part of the reason why Pomfret believes robotics will not only boost the number of live donors but also reduce economic inequities in the transplant system, as underserved folks often don’t have anyone within their circles who is both a match and can afford to take extended time off work. Another way to address ALD, says Dr. Clark Kulig, a transplant hepatologist at HealthOne’s Presbyterian/St. Luke’s hospital, is through early detection. Because livers heal themselves so efficiently, a slow buildup of scar tissue wouldn’t necessarily be detectable until heavier drinking (say, stress binging during a global pandemic for two years) accelerated the damage. Kulig suggests that an elastography—a type of noninvasive test that sends vibrations into the liver to detect scarring—should be the norm. The procedure is covered by most insurers, Kulig says, but most patients don’t realize it’s an option. “It’s really hard to tell who’s scarring, short of a liver biopsy,” Kulig says. “People who drink a certain amount per week could get this test to understand if that’s hurting their liver. Maybe every couple of years.” Meanwhile, the surge of ALD has forced an adjustment in the dynamic of care. Rehab, social support, and abstinence used to be required to even get on the transplant waitlist. Now, patients sometimes arrive too sick to delay treatment. “We had to change the entire structure of how we conduct the evaluation,” Pomfret says. “How do we build [these treatments] on the back end now and get these people the support they need? It’s really put an enormous burden on the health care system.” MEDICAL ADVANCES will only treat one end of the ALD crisis; social programs, public outreach, and policy interventions may be the best ways of curbing drinking before patients reach liver failure. But following Prohibition in the 1920s and early 1930s, “drink responsibly” has been the most widespread rallying cry about the adverse effects of alcohol—and it’s clearly not working. “I don’t know that the inaction is due to the power of the [alcohol] industry,” Burman says. “There hasn’t been a

serious attempt that might trigger vigorous pushback. I suspect the libertarian background of the West is part of the answer.” Burman points to the successful antismoking initiative as a possible roadmap for influencing drinking behavior. That effort largely began in the 1960s with the U.S. Surgeon General’s report linking tobacco to cancer and ramped up when federal and state governments increased taxes on cigarettes and sued the major tobacco companies. Jenn Jones, whose liver succumbed to alcohol-induced hepatitis and cirrhosis in 2018, knows how damaging a lack of social support can be. The 52-year-old drank to excess to numb symptoms of complex PTSD, major depressive disorder, and general anxiety disorder, largely stemming from intimate partner violence. After nearly drinking herself to death, the shame overwhelmed her. Only the rekindling of a strong connection—in her case, caring for her beloved dog—helped her take steps toward recovery. “He needed me, I needed him,” she says. “Finding that short-term purpose really got me through that initial point in time.” ALD carries a stigma, Jones says, that makes it difficult for people to advocate for themselves and determine the most effective course of treatment and healing. Often, she says, people won’t admit how much they drink to their doctors because they’re ashamed. So last year, Jones founded an Aurora-based organization that’s now known as Sober Livers to help people like herself navigate an ALD diagnosis. By recently restructuring as an official program of the nonprofit Fatty Liver Foundation, Sober Livers will be able to apply for grants to build out initiatives such as facilitated online group support and resource sharing networks. It will also provide access to an advisory group of medical providers who will offer the latest news and information about ALD. The overarching mission: to engender a sense of purpose, belonging, and connection. But until more healthy livers become available, patients like Nora will either get lucky or they will die. In December 2022, after three potential donors fell through, Nora received a transplant and is today healthier than she’s ever been. Looking back, it’s clear that her mental health struggles were no match for COVID-19’s booze-as-survival culture. “It was normalized, and triggers were so easy,” she says. “Who wasn’t drinking during the pandemic?” She has, however, been able to forgive herself: “You are not your mistakes.” Nevertheless, you still sometimes have to pay for them. m Julie Dugdale is a Denver-based freelance writer. Email feedback to letters@5280.com.

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TOP REAL ESTATE PRODUCER S INDEX OF PROFILES The AK Riley Group ....................60

Hotz Group ................................64

Pam Bent ................................... 65

Guy Team Homes ........................64

Jane Brennan and Beckett Brennan of The Brennan Group.................64

Mary Jones, CRS ......................... 53

Karen Brinckerhoff.....................52

Ann Kerr ................................... 55

Justin Joseph .............................. 51

Tricia Campbell ..........................62

Susie Langford ...........................66

Joy Castillo................................. 63

Casey Miller ...............................62

Anna Centron ............................ 55 Caitlin Clough............................ 63

Elizabeth Sacerdoti + Libby Levinson-Katz ................... 57

Coldwell Banker Global Luxury .... 56

Rachel Simring, Realtor...............54

Jennifer Davenport & Emily Henderson ........................ 65

Gwenivere Snyder ........................ 57

Kate Kazell ................................66

Marci Swanson + Nichelle Phillips.... 64

Anne Dresser Kocur ....................50

Jaryd Takushi, P.E....................... 63

The Elevated Living Group ........... 53

Team Denver Homes ....................58

Lisa Fallon ................................. 65

Molly Weiss................................. 61

Ashleigh Fredrickson ................... 59

Julie Winger ............................... 61

Rachel Gallegos ..........................66

Nicole Wolf .................................60

Jacci Geiger & Sana Wood ............. 59

The Wolfe-Bouc Group ................. 63

Wendy Glazer .............................. 51

Stuart Wright .............................58

Elaine Stucy ............................... 65

C AT E G O R Y D E S I G N AT I O N S Based solely on annual sales volume from 2022, as submitted by brokerages. To make the list, agents must have achieved the following minimums in their respective categories. I N D I V I D UA L AG E N T S Black Diamond: $15 million or more Double Black Diamond: $30 million or more

T E A M S O F 3 - 5 AG E N T S Black Diamond: $30 million or more Double Black Diamond: $60 million or more

T E A M S O F T WO AG E N T S Black Diamond: $20 million or more Double Black Diamond: $45 million or more

T E A M S O F 6 - 1 5 AG E N T S Black Diamond: $40 million or more Double Black Diamond: $75 million or more

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Anne Dresser Kocur LIV SOTHEBY’S I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E A L T Y T O P R E A L E S TAT E PRODUCER 2024 Individual Agent | Double Black Diamond Anne Dresser Kocur gives new meaning to passion and drive as a Top Real Estate Advisor for LIV Sotheby’s. For over 25 years, Anne has been able to streamline her strategies and become a skillful negotiator, always acting in the best interest of her clients. If you ask Anne how she is consistently ranked #1, her response will be, “When you have a passion for what you love to do, it is not work.” Day or night, her top priority is accessibility to her clients—ensuring they feel secure throughout the real estate process. Whether Buyer or Seller and regardless of price point, Anne is the one you can trust to get you to the closing table. Anne knows all the valuable intricacies of Denver’s finest neighborhoods… what sells, recognizing a solid investment, and how to navigate the realities of the market. To Anne, it is more than being a real estate agent, it is about being a friend and a confidant. Anne had a record-breaking 2022 with 102 closed transactions—but for Anne, it’s not about the numbers. Anne prides herself on the experience she provides to all her clients, through her Red-Carpet Service. “My dedication to exceptional service combined with the LIV Sotheby’s unparalleled global brand creates a winning combination.” Her commitment to making lifetime clients has afforded her the accolades listed below. Anne has a true passion to give back. She enjoys supporting Children’s Hospital, Craig Hospital, Rising 4 Rett and Make-A-Wish Foundation, among many other charities. The Denver real estate market continues to change; Anne Dresser Kocur remains the same—dedicated and determined to go above and beyond to meet all your real estate needs. Now more than ever, it is important to select the right broker who has a wealth of knowledge and a professional approach to negotiations.

A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S #1 Individual Broker at LIV Sotheby’s International Realty #1 Individual Producer for Denver Metro Association of Realtors #1 Individual Broker in Denver Metro Area Over 95% Client Repeat/Referral Rate 5280 Excellence Award Winner Years of Corporate Relocation Experience

303.229.6464 adresser@livsir.com

Extraordinary Service in Every Price Range

ANNEDRESSER.COM

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Wendy Glazer K E N T W O O D R E A L E S TAT E T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Team of 3-5 Agents | Double Black Diamond Wendy’s CUSTOMER-FIRST philosophy is the reason she is highly successful. There are many qualities and skills that go into being an excellent real estate professional: integrity, in-depth community and market knowledge, marketing savvy, effective negotiation skills, being ethical, and a high-quality professional network. All of these are hallmarks of Wendy’s expertise. Wendy finds that providing the very best service is always about putting her clients first. This means being a good listener and a great communicator with her clients to ensure having smooth and seamless transactions. As a 3rd generation Denver native, Wendy knows the city and neighborhoods. This, along with her extensive knowledge, experience, passion and high values blend together so that clients trust her to help them navigate the bumpy waters of today’s real estate world. Turning dreams into reality! S P E C I A L I Z AT I O N S Luxury Homes, New Construction, First Time Buyers, Relocation, Investments A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S Top 5% of Realtors in Sales Production in the Nation, Yearly recipient of the Denver Metro Association of Realtors Excellence Award, Yearly recipient of the Denver Board of Realtors Million Dollar Round Table Award, Yearly recipient of the Five Star Award, 5280 Magazine’s Top Real Estate Producer - Double Black Diamond Award

215 St. Paul Street, Suite 200, Denver, CO 80206 303.906.9000 | bdglaz@aol.com WENDYGLAZER.COM

Justin Joseph

L I V S O T H E B Y ’ S I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E A L T Y

JANET KRITZER

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Agent | Black Diamond One of Denver’s Top 10 Brokers for the past eight years byIndividual the Denver Board of Realtors. As one of the leading real estate brokers in Denver, Janet Kritzer a proud Denver native, Justin leverages his extensive local network and is dedicated to meeting your needs with the utmostAs level of sophistication background in real and professionalism. She specializes in the luxury home market within allestate the law to create extraordinary outcomes for his whorefined have bought neighborhoods of Cherry Hills Village. With skillful clients negotiation, sales and sold luxury homes all along the front range. strategies, and expansive knowledge of the area, it’s Justin clear toapproaches see why Janet every transaction with a win-win philosophy but as a consistently ranks in the top individual sales for LIVlicensed Sotheby’s.attorney, uses his skillset as an aggressive negotiator to achieve exceptional results for buyers and sellers. Justin believes that every home

Call Janet to discuss how her experience work for and youuses his unique skill set as an Emmy award-winning haswill a story to tell and your real estate needs. former television journalist to bring listings to life. As a result of his passion

for real estate, Justin has been honored year after year by the Denver ASSOCIATION v TOP 10 BROKER SINCE 2007 – DENVER METRO Metro Association of Realtors with its coveted Excellence Award. OF REALTORS

• Honoree, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 Denver Metro Realtor NATIONALLY v WALL STREET JOURNAL TOP 500 AGENTS Association’s Excellence Award v AWARDED FIVE-STAR PROFESSIONAL SEVEN YEARS RUNNING • Colorado Judicial Branch certified expert in real estate CAPABILITIES v LUXURY HOME PROFFESIONAL WITH GLOBAL • Member, LIV Sotheby’s Relocation Team, winner of prestigious Cartus Broker Networks Masters Cup

PHONE: (303) 883-2474 EMAIL: Janet@JanetKritzer.com WEB: www.JanetKritzer.com ADDRESS: 8000 E. Belleview Ave., Suite 200 Greenwood Village, CO 80111

• Attorney & Member, Colorado Bar

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303.587.5757 | jjoseph@livsothebysrealty.com JUSTINJOSEPHREALESTATE.COM

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Karen Brinckerhoff K E N T W O O D R E A L E S TAT E T O P R E A L E S TAT E PRODUCER 2024 Individual Agent | Double Black Diamond Karen believes there is a perfect home for every buyer, and a buyer for every home. Her 28 years of experience and genuine passion for the business has enabled her to achieve a level of expertise unlike any other in residential sales. She recognizes that buying and selling a home is not only a large financial commitment, but one that is personal and emotional for clients in all price ranges. Karen’s handpicked team represents beliefs similar to her own and embodies the same commitment to treating all clients with honesty, integrity and putting the client’s best interests first. Together, Karen and her team provide white-glove service as they navigate the sales process with ease. This allows their clients to enjoy a predictable and lowrisk transaction from start to finish. As a proud fourth-generation Denver native and Colorado State University graduate, Karen is rooted within the community and is respected among her peers. Her relationship with her clients embraces multiple generations. Karen would love the opportunity to work with you.

S P E C I A L I Z AT I O N S Luxury Home Market, Resident and Expert in Columbine Valley & The Polo Reserve for 28 years, Relocations, Historic Homes, First-time Homebuyers and Investments, Denver Metro Area A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S Five Star Real Estate Professional designation from 2012-2023; 5280 Top Producing Broker 2015-2024; Ranked among the Top 10 brokers at Kentwood DTC 2018-2020 & Top 5 in 2021-2023. Consistently recognized as a top volume producing Broker in Denver by the Denver Board of Realtors Roundtable; Consistently ranks among top 1% in sales volume for individual brokers by the Denver Board of Realtors. Luxury Home Tour Member.

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4949 South Niagara Street, Suite 400 Denver, CO 80237 303.898.9825 | karen@kentwood.com KARENBRINCKERHOFF.COM

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Mary Jones, CRS

K E N T W O O D R E A L E S TAT E

T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Individual Agent | Black Diamond As a Denver native and an established agent for over twenty years, Mary is known for her extensive knowledge of the Denver market and for being an unwavering and passionate advocate for her clients. She strives to ensure that the home buying or selling process is fun, easy, and stress-free. A consistent Top Producer at Kentwood Real Estate, she credits her business to her client relationships and their referrals. Providing excellent service to buyers and sellers comes naturally for Mary because of the joy she finds in helping people through what can be both an exciting and emotional time. When it comes to fulfilling wants and needs with the perfect home for buyers and the best offer for sellers, Mary absolutely shines. Mary firmly believes that everyone deserves excellent representation regardless of price point. However, her extensive experience in the luxury home market sets her apart. She knows the unique challenges that can accompany the luxury market and how to creatively work to get the best outcome for her clients. A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S • Certified Residential Specialist • Denver Metro Association of Realtors • Colorado Association of Realtors • National Association of Realtors

• 5280 Black Diamond Top Real Estate Producer • Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate • 5280 magazine Denver 5-Star Professional Award

4949 S. Niagra St., Ste. 400, Denver, CO 80237 303.886.2323 | MARYJONESDENVER.COM

The Elevated Living Group

L I V S O T H E B Y ’ S I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E A L T Y T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Team of 2 Agents | Double Black Diamond Deviree and Liz, leveraging an impressive 41 years of combined expertise and a remarkable track record of surpassing a billion dollars in sales within the Denver Metro market, are reshaping the standards of real estate. Their tireless work ethic and meticulous level of service set them apart. They warmly welcome your connection, inviting you to experience their unparalleled dedication in achieving your real estate goals. A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S • Recognized by REAL TRENDS “America’s Best Real Estate Professionals” individually for ranking amongst the Top 1% Nationwide by Transaction Sides & Sales Volume 2022 & 2021 • Top 1% & Top 40 Rankings Among Denver Metro Residential Real Estate Agents for Sales Production 2015-2022 • #3 Partnership Sales Volume & Total Transactions 2022 in Denver • #2 Partnership by Sales Volume & Total Transactions 2021 in Denver

Liz Richards: liz@livsir.com | 303.956.2962 Deviree Vallejo: deviree@livsir.com | 303.931.0097 THEELEVATEDLIVINGGROUP.COM

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TBD Rachel Simring, Realtor® P O R C H L I G H T R E A L E S TAT E G R O U P

T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Teams of 6-10 Agents | Double Black Diamond For many people, Covid was a challenging time. For me, it was a rebirth. For twenty years, I owned and operated Club Amigos, a Spanish Enrichment program where I brought engaging classes to elementary schools in and around Denver. During Covid, however, I couldn’t teach. Several friends helped me stay busy by asking for help with their moves to Denver. When they loved where they landed, a lightbulb went off in my head, and I decided to become a Realtor.

S P E C I A L I Z AT I O N S ABR (Accredited Buyers Representative, CME (Certified Market Expert), GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute), RENE (Real Estate Negotiation Expert), SRES (Seniors Real Estate Specialist)

I expected to return to teaching, but found myself immensely busy with real estate. It turns out my teaching experience is a surprising asset, as educating clients is the most important part of what I do. Being a Realtor is clearly my calling, and I haven’t looked back.

A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S

I live in Wash Park and am active in the community. Additionally, I have two young boys, a husband, and a side hobby as a musician. Since I don’t do anything half heartedly, I’m always trying to strike a healthy balance.

2021 Five Star Rising Star Real Estate Agent Winner

While I love helping everyone, I decided to get my designation as a Seniors Real Estate Specialist so I can better serve my friends and clients who are my age or older. While I learned a lot from the coursework, I knew I needed to learn more. I meet weekly with other professionals in the field (organizers, elder law attorneys, movers, etc.) to help connect my clients with people of equal integrity. I grew up with my grandmother at home and saw many “professionals” take advantage of her. It is my goal to be sure elders are protected and every part of the buy/sell process is handled with care, compassion, respect, and honesty.

2023 Top Producer, PorchLight Group

Once a teacher, always a teacher. And I think that’s part of my success. I take pride in empowering and educating ALL of my clients so they can make wise decisions about real estate.

303.910.5225 RACHELSIMRING.COM

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2021 Rookie of the Year, PorchLight Group 2022 Agent of the Year, PorchLight Group 2022 Five Star Rising Star Real Estate Agent Winner 2023 Five Star Rising Star Real Estate Agent Winner

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Ann Kerr

RE/MAX PREMIER PROPERTIES T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Individual Agent | Double Black Diamond In a market replete with realtors, Ann Kerr stands out from the pack. With over $500 million in sales, she is proof of the power of relationships. Ann’s 25-year tenure in the industry reflects the type of staying power that can only be achieved through honesty, integrity and unrelenting authenticity. She answers phone calls and emails directly. It’s extremely important to her that she take responsibility for every detail of every transaction. Ann specializes in helping buyers and sellers with all types of residential properties—from acreage estates in the Villages, bungalows in Washington Park to high rise condos downtown and townhouses in Cherry Creek. Ann’s goal is to give each buyer or seller a sense of complete satisfaction with their dealings and to enjoy the ride along the way. S P E C I A L I Z AT I O N S Living and specializing in Cherry Hills for over 30 years. Expert in Observatory Park, Cherry Creek, Washington Park, Cherry Hills Village, Greenwood Village and more. Luxury, Downsizing, Investment Properties, Relocation, First-Time Home Buyers. A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S Perennially one of the top producers in Kentwood and Denver. Denver Metro Association of Realtors Professional Standards Committee Member, Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate, Cherry Hills Village Planning & Zoning Commission, Swim Across America, University of Oklahoma Alumni Association, The John Lynch Foundation, Swim Across America Denver Executive Committee, University of Denver Lacrosse

a n n ker r 303.818.8668 a nnkerr. co m

4949 South Niagara Street, Suite 400 Denver, CO 80237 | 303.818.8668 annkerr.com | AKERR@KENTWOOD.COM

Anna Centron

L I V S O T H E B Y ’ S I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E A L T Y T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Individual Agent | Black Diamond Anna Centron, a Denver native and trusted real estate advisor with LIV Sotheby’s Realty, is here to guide you through the intricate world of the Denver real estate market. With her client-centric approach and unwavering commitment to excellence, Anna ensures that your home buying or selling experience is seamless and stress-free. Leveraging her extensive network and unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction, Anna has established herself as a renowned high-producing agent, consistently exceeding the expectations of her discerning clients. Embrace the expertise and dedication of Anna Centron for all your real estate ventures! S P E C I A L I Z AT I O N S Listing and Buyer Specialist in; Luxury, Relocation, Military, Investment Properties, Resale and New Development A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S Top 1.5% of America’s Best Agents of 2022/2023 by RealTrends + Tom Ferry, Real Producers Top 5%, America’s Best and HomeLight top 1% National Real Estate Professional, Denver Professionals 40 under 40 (2021), Real Estate Professional Accredited Agent with The Board of Regents Luxury Real Estate, Realtor®, Member of Denver Metro Association of Realtors®, Member of National Association of Realtors® 100 Saint Paul Street Suite 200, Denver, CO 80206 303.906.5793 | anna.centron@theagencyre.com THECENTRONGROUP.COM

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Coldwell Banker Global Luxury C O L D W E L L B A N K E R R E A L E S TAT E Barton, Gade, Martinez Team

Coldwell Banker Global Luxury (formerly Devonshire) has earned the reputation of being the premier luxury real estate company in the metro area for over 40 years.

T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Teams of 3-5 Agents | Black Diamond

Kelli Barton: 720.530.7466, kelli.barton@cbrealty.com Katie Gade: 303.503.9109, katie.gade@cbrealty.com Heidi Martinez: 303.717.1870, heidi@hpmcoloradorealestate.com

S P E C I A L I Z AT I O N S • Global Reach and Local Expertise • Cottages to Castles

Kolarsick, Laverick, Ryan Team

• Accredited Luxury Home Specialists

T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Teams of 3-5 Agents | Black Diamond

• Concierge Service • Relocation Specialists

Nita Kolarsick: 303.250.8280, nita@nitahome.com Garvin Laverick: 720.245.9956, garvinlaverick@gmail.com Stephanie Ryan: 303.725.8901, stephanieryan6@gmail.com Stoddard, Dana, Murphy Team T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Teams of 3-5 Agents | Double Black Diamond

Janie Stoddard: 303.408.0738, janie.stoddard@gmail.com Marilyn Dana: 303.378.1089, marilyn@marilyndana.com Elizabeth Murphy: 303.842.5063, elizabeth@elizabethmurphyre.com Individual Agents T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Individual Agents | Black Diamond

Coldwell Banker Global Luxury - Denver 201 Columbine Street, Suite 200 Denver, CO 80206

Mark Callaghan: 303.710.1000, mark@marksellsdenver.com Renee Cohen: 303.594.3137, renee@reneesellscolorado.com Chriss Bond: 720.771.7369, chriss.bond@cbrealty.com PJ Farrell: 303.884.5368, pj.farrell@cbrealty.com (not pictured)

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303.758.7611 COLDWELLBANKERLUXURY.COM

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Gwenivere Snyder L I V S O T H E B Y ’ S I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E A L T Y T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Individual Agent | Double Black Diamond Gwenivere Snyder, a Colorado native and distinguished luxury realtor with over two decades of experience, excels in detail-oriented communication and exceeds client expectations. She has remarkable track record of over $325 million in real estate transactions, ranking in the top 1% of Realtors nationwide. Gwenivere’s client roster includes top executives, professional athletes and owners, and legacy clients. She champions fellow female agents and prioritizes giving back to her community by donating 10% of each closed deal to causes supporting women and children. S P E C I A L I Z AT I O N S Luxury Homes • Sports & Entertainment • Relocation • New Development • Referrals • Marketing A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S Top 1% of Brokers Nationwide by RealTrends • Top 100 Broker in Metro Denver and 5280 Magazine Double Black Diamond Award Winner • Exclusive Member of REALM • Member of Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate • LIV Sotheby’s Quarterly Best

303.718.1085 | g@gwensnyderrealestate.com GWENSNYDERREALESTATE.COM

Elizabeth Sacerdoti + Libby Levinson-Katz K E N T W O O D R E A L E S TAT E T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Team of 2 Agents | Double Black Diamond Vesta Homes is committed to providing the highest level of real estate services to all of our clients. With over 30 years of combined experience, Libby and Elizabeth offer their clients exceptional communication, unparalleled customer service and superior negotiation in Denver’s dynamic real estate market. A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S • Denver Metro Association of Realtors Diamond Award • Denver Metro Association of Realtors #4 in transactions for partnerships • Kentwood Real Estate Top Producer Pinnacle Club • #1 Top Producing Duo at Kentwood Real Estate 2022

Elizabeth: 303.501.3337 | elizabeth@kentwood.com Libby: 720.935.0412 | libby@kentwood.com VESTAHOMESDENVER.COM

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Stuart Wright W K R E A L E S TAT E

T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Individual Agent | Black Diamond Stu’s motto is, “Life is for living, not for saving.” Stu has always practiced the same in living his real estate career with passion. It is always his pleasure to share the Boulder and Colorado lifestyle with others. Stu has been active in Boulder real estate sales since 1966. He served as President of the Boulder Board of Realtors in 1978 and was Realtor of the Year in 1981. He holds the Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), Certified Real Estate Broker Manager (CRB) designations and Realtor Emeritus. For 58 years, Stu has been a top producer in listings and sales with areas of emphasis from first-time to move-up buyers, relocating families and corporate relocation accounts, sellers and luxury home listings, and residential development and investment partnerships. He has been a member of Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate and The Registry of Real Estate Brokers. For many years, Stu served on the Board of Directors for All Points Relocation Service and RELO, the Premier Network of Independent Brokers. He was named All Points Relocation Realtor of the Year in 1990 and 1996. Some of Stu’s development and home building experiences include upper Table Mesa, Spanish Hills Subdivision, Devil’s Thumb Townhomes, Dennison Lane, University Hill remodels, apartment projects in Louisville and University Hill, Copperfield at Arapahoe Ridge, Newlands Subdivision, Bungalows at Mapleton, and numerous custom and semi-custom homes throughout Boulder, Boulder County and Durango 38 residential lots. 4875 Pearl E. Circle, Suite 100, Boulder, CO 80301 303.888.1679 | swright@wkre.com

Team Denver Homes L I V S O T H E B Y ’ S I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E A L T Y T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Team of 3-5 Agents | Black Diamond Team Denver Homes, affiliated with LIV Sotheby’s International Realty, is a prominent presence in the real estate industry. With over 40 years of combined experience and a remarkable half-billion in sales, we’ve successfully matched homes with over 500 families in the Denver Metro area. Our team stands out with over a dozen marketing awards, a testament to our excellence. Specializing in luxury properties, investment properties and new construction multi-unit developments, Team Denver Homes brings unparalleled expertise. As proud members of global networks, including Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate and the Enterprise Network, we extend our reach in serving sellers and buyers. Recognized as Professional Public Speakers, we’ve shared insights at prestigious conferences worldwide, such as Inman Connect, Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate, NAR, and RISMedia. Our commitment to continuous learning ensures we navigate the evolving real estate landscape, offering clients top-tier service and keeping us ahead in the market. S P E C I A L I Z AT I O N S Luxury, Investments, Multi-Unit Developments, Relocation, First-Time Home Buyer A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S Luxury Home Specialist, Double Black Diamond 5280, Forbes Real Estate Council, Overall Company Marketing & Social Media by Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate 2017, 2022, RISMedia News Markers 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, RISMedia Real Estate Game Changers, Mile High Leaders 2019, 2022

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8000 E. Belleview Ave., Ste. 200 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 team@teamdenverhomes.com TEAMDENVERHOMES.COM

Michele Ciardullo: 720.933.2573 Mor Zucker: 303.557.8862 Chantel Sandoval: 970.216.4654 Christine Busick: 720.296.7357 Diana Hahn: 720.299.7248

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Jacci Geiger & Sana Wood K E N T W O O D R E A L E S TAT E T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Team of 3-5 Agents | Double Black Diamond Jacci Geiger and Sana Wood, Kentwood Real Estate, the #1 Duo of 2023 at Kentwood Cherry Creek and Top Real Estate Producers. With a philosophy that “Experience is Everything,” they bring a unique blend of real estate expertise and a background in building and interior design. They pride ourselves on the 3 C’s: Connection, Communication and Collaboration. Going beyond traditional services, they offer a full-service experience, handling everything from deep cleaning & staging to complete remodels, making the moving process stress-free for their clients. Boasting accolades; • • • • •

Double Black Diamond 5280 Producers 5 Star Professional Awards for over 10 years #1 Duo at Kentwood Cherry Creek #1 Duo in Transactions at Kentwood Real Estate Rank in the Top 1% of Denver Realtors

With over 40 years of combined experience, Jacci and Sana are dedicated to maximizing returns on investments and guiding clients through a successful real estate journey. For their personalized and professional expertise, connect with them through Kentwood Real Estate. Jacci: 303.840.7777 | jacci@kentwood.com Sana: 303.881.3514 | sana@sanawood.com JACCIANDSANA.COM

Ashleigh Fredrickson T H E AG E N C Y T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Individual Agent | Black Diamond As a top-tier broker, Ashleigh Fredrickson’s mission is to deliver personalized service to her discerning clientele while guiding them smoothly through their real estate journey. At the heart of her success is her dedication to each client’s unique needs by providing strategic direction and a proven process in an ever-evolving real estate landscape. Recognized amongst her clients and fellow agents for her integrity, strong work ethic, and uncompromising advocacy, Ashleigh loves creating meaningful relationships and has built her business through repeat clients and referrals. Ashleigh’s personal passion for real estate investment, home design and architecture connects her with like-minded clients who value her expertise and judgment when it comes to their real estate portfolios. She enjoys sharing her personal experiences, connections and resources as a real estate advisor. As a proud broker with The Agency, which was recently awarded the top Luxury Brokerage, she thrives in a culture that is committed to redefining the industry and the client experience. A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S 5280 Magazine Top Producer, DMAR Excellence Award Winner - Platinum, Recognized for being in the top 1.5% of America’s Best Real Estate Professionals in the Country by Real Trends + Tom Ferry, Member of Denver Metro Association of Realtors Member of National Association of Realtors 303.589.5421 | ashleigh.fredrickson@theagencyre.com ASHLEIGHFREDRICKSON.COM

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Nicole Wolf COLDWELL BANKER

T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Individual Agent | Black Diamond Nicole Wolf has been in the real estate industry for 11 years and counting. Her career started on the commercial side in property management, then in 2015 after she and her husband started a family of their own, she made the switch to residential real estate and has not looked back. Focusing her business around her brand “Wolf Family Real Estate: Where Family Comes First”, Nicole treats each client as if they were a member of her own family. Nicole prides herself on placing clients’ needs and interests before her own while building a strong relationship with each client that lasts long after closing occurs. Nicole is not only knowledgeable and professional but genuine and honest in how she conducts her business which is why many of Nicole’s clients say she is the best in the business. A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S Coldwell Banker Diamond Society (2017); Coldwell Banker 30 Under 30 Award (2018); Coldwell Banker President’s Circle (2018); Coldwell Banker Sterling Society (2019); 5280 Top Producer (2020); Coldwell Banker Diamond Society (2020); Coldwell Banker President’s Elite (2021); 5280 Five Star Professional (2021); 5280 Top Producer (2022); Coldwell Banker President’s Elite (2022); Top 20 Individual Agent Category in Coldwell Banker CO (2022), Coldwell Banker President Elite (2023)

12110 North Pecos Street, Suite 100 Westminster, CO 80234 303.898.5816 | nicole.wolf@cbrealty.com WOLFFAMILYRE.COM

The AK Riley Group COLDWELL BANKER REALTY T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Team of 2 Agents | Black Diamond The AK Riley Group/AK and Susie are consistently ranked as one of the top-producing teams in the Colorado real estate market. We offer our clients extensive market knowledge, an unwavering commitment to client service, high-end marketing and staging, and the strategic pricing and negotiation expertise that ensures a seamless transaction from start to finish. We consider it an honor to partner with you in your real estate journey. Our goal is always the same: the successful purchase or sale of your dream home! S P E C I A L I Z AT I O N S Global Luxury Certified, GRI, Relocation Specialist, Certified Negotiation Expert A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S • International President’s Circle – Coldwell Banker • DMAR Award of Excellence • 5 Star Professional Award Winner

AK Riley: 720.289.2929 | ak@theakrileygroup.com Susie Warta: 303.523.4297 | susie@theakrileygroup.com THEAKRILEYGROUP.COM

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Molly Weiss

L I V S O T H E B Y ’ S I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E A L T Y T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Individual Agent | Black Diamond Molly Weiss is a fourth generation Denver native with over a decade of real estate experience. With extensive local knowledge, personalized client attention, and a consistent drive for results, Molly brings unmatched expertise and a concierge-style approach to every aspect of your real estate transaction. The trusted advisor and client advocate is also plugged into the local community with a broad network of colleagues and friends across the city. From the Highlands to Cherry Creek North, Hilltop to Cherry Hills Village, Berkeley to Centennial, Molly is well-equipped to handle your Denver real estate needs with ease. Coupled by the reach and resources of a globally recognized brand, she affords a full-service experience that can’t be beat. A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S Member of the Denver Metro Association of Realtors, Member of National Association of Realtors, Real Estate Professional Accredited Agent with The Board of Regents Luxury Real Estate, Recognized by Real Trends as one of “America’s Best” (ranked among the top 1.5% of 1.4 million real estate professionals in the US.)

100 Saint Paul Street, Suite 200, Denver, CO 80206 303.229.0652 | mweiss@livsothebysrealty.com MOLLYWEISSREALESTATE.COM

Julie Winger

K E N T W O O D R E A L E S TAT E AT C H E R R Y C R E E K T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Individual Agent | Black Diamond In her 23rd successful year in Real Estate Sales and Consulting, Julie is a third generation Colorado Native with deep roots first planted in the state by her great-grandfather, Winter Fyfe, who came over from Scotland and ran the general store at the Tomboy Mine in Telluride. Julie’s grandfather was in the early mortgage business in Denver, and her Mom was one of Denver’s first iconic female Realtors. So, a deep love and knowledge of Denver Real Estate is in Julie’s blood. She is passionate about sharing her broad knowledge of Denver’s neighborhoods, history, and dynamic Real Estate market with her clients, Buyers and Sellers, first time and experienced. Julie is known for her unrivaled negotiating skills, experienced competence in managing transactions, honesty, and work ethic. She prides herself on her personal hands-on approach and strict attention to detail. “My goal is to exceed expectations while providing an extremely high level of customer service, as together we achieve my valued client’s Real Estate goals and objectives.” S P E C I A L I Z AT I O N S Sellers and Buyers. All Denver Neighborhoods, Suburbs, and Front Range Communities. Historic Home Specialist, Luxury Home Specialist, Single Family Homes, Condos, Land. A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S Kentwood Cherry Creek Top 10 Individual Sales 2018 - 2023. Top 250 Denver Realtor 2020. Top 1% Denver Realtor 2021. Top 1.5% Realtor Nationally 2022. DMAR Excellence Awards 2003-2023. Five Star Award 13 Year Winner. 303.946.2784 | juliewinger@kentwood.com JULIEWINGER.COM

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Tricia Campbell

L I V S O T H E B Y ’ S I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E A L T Y T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Individual Agent | Black Diamond Tricia is a highly experienced real estate agent with an impressive 23-year career in the industry. With a strong belief in positivity, perseverance, and honesty, Tricia brings a refreshing approach to her work. She understands that each client has unique needs and desires when it comes to their lifestyle, and her primary goal is to ensure their satisfaction. Tricia’s secret to success lies in her ability to ask the right questions and truly listen to her clients’ answers. By understanding their must-haves and preferences, she is able to provide personalized solutions and find properties that perfectly align with their vision. Tricia’s dedication to her clients goes beyond the transactional aspect of real estate; she strives to build lasting relationships based on trust and mutual respect. With Tricia Campbell as your real estate agent, you can expect a seamless and enjoyable experience. Her extensive knowledge of the market, coupled with her unwavering commitment to client satisfaction, makes her the ideal partner for all your real estate needs. A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S • Luxury Real Estate Board Of Regents Member • Certified Relocation Specialist 2012 - 2024 • 5280 Top Real Estate Producer 2020, (inaugural year) 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 • Denver Metro Realtors -Excellence Awards 2016-2024 • FIVE STAR Agent Professional 720.371.8049 | tcampbell@livsothebysrealty.com TRICIACAMPBELLPROPERTIES.COM

Casey Miller L I V S O T H E B Y ’ S I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E A L T Y T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Individual Agent | Double Black Diamond Professional Advice is a Good Investment ™ Over the past 19 years, Casey’s philosophy is simple. If you want your business to grow and expand, you must put your clients first and then work hard. “On a daily basis, I’m leveraging the resources of my personal network built on a lifetime of living in and around Denver. The support of my firm and my two assistants are substantial. When a client chooses to engage me to sell their home, they’re actually hiring the tip of a very large iceberg that is Sotheby’s International Realty.” Living in Washington Park, Buyers find value in Casey’s intimate knowledge of the hottest in-town Denver neighborhoods as well as the southern suburbs of Greenwood Village (where he was raised) and Cherry Hills Village. Casey studied architecture and finance (CU Boulder), then worked at Janus Capital prior to finding his passion in real estate. SEE WHAT 100+ OTHERS HAVE TO SAY: CaseyMillerTestimonials.com A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S • Almost 500 career clients!

• REALTRENDS America’s Best

• Historic Denver Legacy Advisor

• Top ½ of 1% of all agents in the US

720.201.2755 | cmiller@livsothebysrealty.com CASEYMILLERPROPERTIES.COM

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Caitlin Clough

Jaryd Takushi, P.E.

MILEHIMODERN

A L O H A R E A L E S TAT E

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Individual Agent | Black Diamond

Individual Agent | Double Black Diamond

empathy. communication. grace. Before joining milehimodern, Caitlin held a decade long career in sales, advertising, and interior design. Caitlin’s competent background is matched by her poise, empathetic nature and exemplary communication skills. Her clients appreciate the artistic lens she brings when selling homes and her critical eye when exploring properties. Caitlin helps sellers, buyers, and investors of all types to navigate the complex Denver market.

Trust Jaryd as your captain to navigate the waves of the Denver real estate market. Set sail with professionalism, integrity, and transparency as the guiding stars of your real estate voyage. Expect personalized service tailored to your unique needs, whether you’re a first-time home buyer or a seasoned investor. Jaryd’s deep understanding of Denver’s diverse neighborhoods will ensure smooth sailing through a successful journey. Go out to sea with an experienced Realtor of two decades. A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S • CO licensed Professional Engineer

A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S // five star award winner, 2020-2023 // DMAR excellence award winner, 2020-2023 // 5280 Top Real Estate Producer 2022-2024

• Top Five DMAR Excellence Award • Five Star Real Estate Professional

2015 W. 32nd Avenue Denver, CO 80211 303.638.6552 caitlin@milehimodern com SLOANSLAKEAGENT.COM

303.378.2730 jaryd@aloharealestateco.com ALOHAREALESTATECO.COM

The Wolfe-Bouc GroupJANET JoyKRITZER Castillo L I V S O T H E B Y ’ S I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E A L T Y

T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Team of 2 Agents | Double Black Diamond

One of Denver’s Top 10 Brokers for the past eight years by the Denver Board of Realtors. estate brokers L I VAsSone O TofHthe E Bleading Y ’ S I real NTE R N AT I O NinADenver, L R E AJanet L T YKritzer is dedicated to meeting your needs with the utmost level of sophistication and professionalism. theEluxury T O PSheR specializes E A L E S in TAT P R Ohome D U Cmarket E R 2within 0 2 4 all the neighborhoods of Cherry Hills Village. With skillful negotiation, refined sales Individual Agent | Black Diamond strategies, and expansive knowledge of the area, it’s clear to see why Janet consistently ranks in the top individual sales her for LIV Sotheby’s. Since 2002, Joy Castillo has turned passion for service and her talent

As one of Denver’s leading real estate teams for decades, we have the honor and responsibility to offer the best insight and service to our clients. for strategic negotiation into a highly successful business serving buyers Call Janet to discuss how her Metro experience workWhen for you Our network goes back 40 years, resulting in loyal clients and friends and sellers across the Denver Area andwill surrounds. you real estate needs. calling on us for our proven expertise, astute negotiating skills, intimate and your need to sell or buy with the guidance of a trusted, seasoned expert & knowledge of exclusive real estate opportunities and current market advocate, Joy is the agent for you. conditions. This advantage coupled with the reach and resources of an v TOP 10 BROKER SINCE 2007 – DENVER METRO ASSOCIATION extraordinary brand, arms our clients with a competitive and personalized OF REALTORS real estate experience. A F FNATIONALLY I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S WALL STREET JOURNAL TOP 500 AGENTS

v DMAR Excellence Award, YEARS RUNNING v AWARDED FIVE-STAR PROFESSIONAL SEVEN 5280 Five Star Realtor, Certified CAPABILITIES Residential Specialist, v LUXURY HOME PROFFESIONAL WITH GLOBAL

A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S #1 Partnership for Sales Volume by the Denver Board of Realtors®

Certified Negotiation Expert, Sotheby’s Corporate Relocation Team Member, Real Trends Top 1.5%, Certified Market Expert

PHONE: (303) 883-2474 EMAIL: Janet@JanetKritzer.com WEB: www.JanetKritzer.com ADDRESS: 8000 E. Belleview Ave., Suite 200 Greenwood Village, CO 80111

Chris Bouc • Ian Wolfe Jessica Maupin • Jessica Rodriguez WOLFE-BOUC.COM

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Jane Brennan and Beckett Brennan of The Brennan Group

Hotz Group K E N T W O O D R E A L E S TAT E

T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Team of 3-5 Agents | Black Diamond Dad and daughters have been selling homes throughout the Denver city and suburban neighborhoods since 2005. The Hotz Group provides superior real estate services to valued clients. Together, Elizabeth, Larry, and Meredith have almost 70 years of real estate experience. “Moving can be a stressful time, especially if something goes wrong in a real estate transaction. We help our clients enjoy the thrill and excitement of a new home while they leave any problems to us!”

L I V S O T H E B Y ’ S I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E A L T Y T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Team of 2 Agents | Black Diamond

With 460 million in sales and a combined 32 years’ experience, this dynamic mother/daughter team assists clients all over the city with exceptional service, impeccable market knowledge and optimal results. S P E C I A L I Z AT I O N S Luxury, First-Time Home Buyer, Corporate Relocation, Move Up and Empty Nester Properties, and Investment Properties A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S 32 + Year Denver Metro Association of Realtors Excellence Award Recipients, Graduate Real Estate Certification, Certified Residential Specialist, Negotiation Expert Designation, 5280 Magazine Five Star Award Repeat Winner

Elizabeth: 303.601.5253 EHotz@DenverRealEstate.com Meredith: 303.359.7373 Meredith@Larryhotz.com

8000 E. Belleview Avenue, Suite 200 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 Jane: 303.807.0135 Beckett: 303.810.8601 brennangroup@livsothebysrealty.com

Larry: 303.877.9344 Larry@Larryhotz.com LARRYHOTZ.COM

Marci Swanson + Nichelle Phillips

Guy Team Homes RE/MAX OF CHERRY CREEK

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Team of 2 Agents | Black Diamond

T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Individual Agent | Black Diamond Multi-winning Centurion Producers with CENTURY 21 Altitude Real Estate in Castle Rock, Marci Swanson and Nichelle Phillips, are driven to provide a higher level of client experience. Communication, dedication, and transparency are foundational to their business. Their tenacious work ethic, market knowledge, and strategic negotiation skills create a trusting environment for their clients.

We are proud of our accomplishments and awards, but recognize that we would not be here without Customer Satisfaction being our Prime Objective. Our goal is for our clients to be 100% confident in their real estate decisions. We are grateful that our business comes from past clients or their referrals. We would not have the accomplishments we have without the support of our past clients. We believe that our past clients are our biggest supporters because we not only help them achieve their real estate goals, but also have a lot of fun along the way. A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S • Top 50 RE/MAX team in the US • Five Star Professional, 14 years running • 27 Years Combined Experience • Certified Negotiation Experts • 89 Google 5-Star reviews • 100% Repeat Clients and Referrals

Marci: 720.371.2468 marci@c21altitude.com Nichelle: Debra: 720.289.7299

407.474.0422 nichelle@c21altitude.com

Chris: 720.438.8407 GUYTEAMHOMES.COM

C21ALTITUDE.COM

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Pam Bent

Elaine Stucy

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

L I V S O T H E B Y ’ S I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E A L T Y

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Individual Agent | Black Diamond

Changing Lives. One Home at a Time. Pam has over 20 years of experience as a successful Realtor® serving both buyers and sellers and is a Certified Residential Specialist. With an outstanding track record, she will leave no stone unturned when it comes to helping you achieve your real estate goals. You can trust her to handle all your real estate needs with the highest level of professionalism and will always provide sound advice, great service and the right answers to any questions you may have. Her past clients will tell you—she knows what it takes to get offers accepted and contracts signed. Call Pam today!

I specialize in the art of selling masterpiece properties. While I help sellers and buyers in all categories, my niches include the higher end of the residential market and acreage properties in the area. I am supported by an incredible, competent, professional staff, and together we are fanatical about delivering results and working with you to accomplish your goals in real estate. I would be privileged to help you sell your home or find the property of your dreams! S P E C I A L I Z AT I O N S Luxury homes and acreage properties throughout Denver Metro, Douglas County, and Colorado Springs

A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S Top Producer, Certified Residential Specialist, Certified Negotiation Expert, Certified Luxury Home Specialist, Five Star professional, 3-Carat winner South Metro Denver Realtor Association, 20+ years of experience

A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S Highest Home Sale Ever In Castle Rock, Certified Residential Specialist, Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist, Recognized by REALTrends “America’s Thousand Best Real Estate Professionals”

413 Wilcox Street, Suite 100 Castle Rock, CO 80104 720.881.5718 STUCYGROUP.COM

303.981.8811 | pam@pambent.com PAMBENT.COM

Jennifer Davenport & Emily Henderson

L I V S O T H E B Y ’ S I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E A L T Y T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Team of 2 Agents | Black Diamond

Colorado natives Emily and Jennifer have 60 years of combined real estate sales experience providing synergistic professionalism dedicated to the satisfaction of their clients. “We understand each client and their real estate needs are unique. We strive to provide the highest level of service, care, integrity, and skill.” S P E C I A L I Z AT I O N S Foothills and communities west of metro Denver

Lisa Fallon

L I V S O T H E B Y ’ S I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E A L T Y T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Individual Agent | Black Diamond Lisa Fallon is not only deeply passionate about real estate but equally dedicated to fostering meaningful connections with people. With over four decades of invaluable business and customer service experience, she recognizes that effective communication and relationship-building are the cornerstones of success in her field. Lisa goes above and beyond for her clients, personally overseeing every aspect of the real estate journey, from listing homes and preparing properties for showings to skillfully negotiating contracts. Buying or selling a home is an emotional process, and Lisa stands as a steadfast ally throughout every step of the journey.

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720.840.6711 lfallon@livsothebysrealty.com

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As a seasoned Denver home sales and infill new development expert, Rachel Gallegos brings over 18 years of experience to every property and client she represents. Rachel offers a deep understanding of the Denver metro market, unparalleled marketing and unmatched representation. Her results-driven efforts help ensure success while navigating the everchanging market. A F F I L I AT I O N S + AWA R D S Named top 100 realtors in Denver, #1 Real Estate Team in Colorado by the Wallstreet Journal, Wallstreet Journal top 1.5% of brokers nationwide, Consistently top producing DMAR excellence award winner, Accredited and Certified Negotiation expert, EcoBroker Certified / GREEN* accredited / LEED Associate Accreditation, New Development Expert

Buying or selling a home is a huge milestone. While it can be a very exciting time, it can also be intimidating and stressful, especially in Denver’s everchanging market. Preparation is key, and Kate’s approach is to educate and be hands-on throughout the entire process. She has a wide variety of experience as both a listing and buyers agent…from negotiating deals under list price to winning competitive situations for her buyers and focusing on marketing to get listings under contract quickly for top dollar for her sellers. She provides extensive experience, up-to-date market knowledge, a comprehensive understanding of contracts, and great negotiation skills, but her goal is to serve as a guide to her clients and empower them to make the best decisions for themselves and their families.

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Susie Langford

Speak directly to the audience looking to buy or sell a home this year.

L I V S O T H E B Y ’ S I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E A L T Y T O P R E A L E S TAT E P R O D U C E R 2 0 2 4 Individual Agent | Black Diamond Thank you so much to every client that helped me achieve great results in 2023. Twenty nine years serving you, and the team at LIV is so honored to work for my amazing clients. Here’s looking forward to an amazing 2024!

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With over $675,000,000 in career sales and 30 years of industry and executive experience, the Iannone Group brings unparalleled knowledge and invaluable guidance to every real estate transaction. Amidst our celebrated accolades and awards, our unwavering dedication remains centered on our clients. We are committed to delivering a fun and first-class experience for the diverse spectrum of clients we represent, including buyers, sellers, investors, and developers from Boulder to Denver to Winter Park. Our focus remains resolute on ensuring optimal outcomes for those we represent in each real estate transaction, solidifying our reputation as a trusted partner and advisor in the realm of real estate services with a proven track record of successful negotiations and strategic decision-making.

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Carolyn Dooling 303.250.8544 | carolyn.dooling@compass.com Carolyn’s love of real estate and her connection to Denver are apparent the moment you meet her. She moved to Denver in 1995 to pursue her Master’s degree in Urban Planning. Her professional experience prior to obtaining her real estate license has only enhanced what she provides to her clients: excellence in negotiations, responsiveness and availability, and extensive knowledge of home building, home systems and design. “I trust Carolyn because I’ve seen that she always has our best interests in mind. She’s an amazing advocate. Plus she’s a smart and fun person to be around so it doesn’t feel like work.” - Shay M.

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The Sundberg Group Brian Sundberg 303.931.5483 brian.sundberg@compass.com At the Sundberg Group, our clients are family. For us, that means straight-talk, honest conversations and transparency throughout the entire process. Whether you are looking to buy, sell or find an investment property, our team has over 60 years combined experience guiding clients through this often stressful process with calm and confidence. Our small, accessible team is also backed by the global reach and cutting edge technology of Compass, the nation’s #1 real estate brokerage. We are also committed to giving back to our local and global community. We donate 1% of proceeds to 1% for the Planet and, through the Good Hope Foundation, provide down-payment grants for community service members like teachers, nurses and firefighters to buy their first home.

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New Perspectives Team Lead: Kim Kouba 303.204.8215 kim.kouba@compass.com Always coming from the perspective of lifelong real estate advisors, we are here to guide you in this changing market regardless of your short or long term path. We’re a team of agents committed to caring for our clients with solid analysis, gracious yet persistent negotiating, and innovative and common-sense problem solving. We’re empowered by the financial and tech tools of Compass, but it’s the decades of deep relationships with clients and our community that has helped us earn the Denver Metro Association of Realtors’ Diamond Level honor as one of the top producing teams in the metro area.

TEAM MEMBERS Kim Kouba | Laura Hudgins | Amanda Murphy Consuelo Sidas | Jordyne Bailey Compass is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Photos may be virtually staged or digitally enhanced and may not reflect actual property conditions.

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A spread from Ras Kassa's Ethiopian Restaurant served atop a mesob

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EXPANDING

T H E PA L AT E For decades, the kaleidoscopic cookery of Africa has blossomed in the Mile High City. We look at how the flavors of this vibrant and varied continent have brightened up the local culinary landscape— and introduced Denverites to a new world of flavor. BY E T H A N PA N PHOTOGRAPHY BY JONI SCHRANTZ

STYLING BY CHARLI ORNETT

ILLUSTRATIONS BY EDSON IKÊ

EFORE KNEELING TO PRAY, Chakib Marrakchi handed me a to-go cup of mint tea. “It’s cold out there,” he said. Nighttime would overtake the October twilight before Marrakchi could lock the doors to Cafe Paprika, which meant the Isha prayer—the last of five in daily Islamic practice and one that is typically offered at the beginning of complete darkness—would occur here in his North African restaurant along East Mississippi Avenue in Aurora. I had been the only customer for an hour, but I had waited until after my meal of lamb tagine to ask the native of Fez, the second-largest city in Morocco, a few questions: How did he flavor the couscous? Does he steep the tea to order? But before I finished collecting my thoughts, I heard the recitations in his warm, low voice. Marrakchi was kneeling face down on a mat in the middle of the dining room, which was silent except for his muffled words—a prayer that, despite being uttered by millions of U.S. residents every day, I had never heard before.

Chakib Marrakchi

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The experience was a reminder that, thousands of miles away from Fez and every other part of the world’s second-largest continent, Denverites can only taste a sliver of what Africa has to offer here along the Front Range. Despite the enticing array of eateries that exist across the metro area, there are entire regions of Africa that go unrepresented in Colorado’s dining scene. And even the restaurants we can enjoy, nearly all of which are immigrant-run, must often find compromise between traditional recipes, American palates, and financial resources. That narrative isn’t unusual for many restaurants that serve diasporic foods; however, because many African cuisines have not been as widely exported to the United States as, say, Chinese or Indian cuisine, business owners may feel more pressure to faithfully replicate the flavors of home, especially if they rely on an African customer base. But that can be a tricky proposition when the same restaurants also need to woo a non-African clientele that can have unadventurous palates. Furthermore, African immigrants may face tougher financial challenges than other communities. According to 2022 reports from the Migration Policy Institute, sub-Saharan African and North African (analyzed jointly with Middle Eastern) immigrants in the United States have lower household incomes compared to the country’s total foreign-born population, despite attaining higher levels of education. It’s perhaps not surprising, then, that the histories of many African restaurants in Denver seem to include more tumult than might be expected even in an already volatile industry. Relocations, multiyear hiatuses, and closures have been distressingly common. In fact, two long-standing East Colfax Avenue fixtures— Africana Restaurant & Cafe and Axum Ethiopian Restaurant—shuttered last year. Still, there is a litany of restaurateurs who, through their tenacity, have been able to endure, and their persistence has helped create a culinary timeline of Denver’s African food scene that illustrates its unique evolution and widening range of options. Marrakchi’s restaurant is just one of those stalwarts. A few weeks after my visit, I called him and he gave me the answers I needed. He seasons his couscous with salt and olive oil, and yes, he steeps the tea to order. But I found myself wanting to ask the 64-year-old, who has run Cafe Paprika largely on his own since 2020, about more than food. How much longer will he continue to operate the 31-year-old eatery? “People beg me to stay open, [but] I can’t work all my life,” he says. Instead, he wants to pass the restaurant on to new ownership instead of closing it, a move that would allow Denverites to continue experiencing a taste of Africa here at home.

SEASONED TRAVELS IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO DISTILL THE CULINARY TRADITIONS OF 54 COUNTRIES AND WELL OVER 1,000 ETHNIC GROUPS INTO A ONE-PAGE PRIMER. INSTEAD, WE SPOKE WITH LOCAL AND NATIONAL EXPERTS TO HELP US BREAK DOWN SOME OF THE COUNTRY-SPECIFIC CUISINES AND STAPLE INGREDIENTS YOU’RE MOST LIKELY TO ENCOUNTER IN COLORADO.

MOROCCO

Plenty of Moroccan dishes pervade the cuisines of other North African countries like Algeria and Tunisia, according to Zakaria Chamseddine, co-owner of Denver’s two-and-a-half-year-old Golden Falafel, but their presence is global. For centuries, the country has participated in international commerce from the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea. That means you’ll find non-native spices such as cumin and paprika in dishes like shakshuka (eggs cooked in a thick tomato sauce), and those same dishes appear at many non-African restaurants, such as LoHi’s Bar Dough. MAIZE

Modern African cuisine is inextricably tied to the harmful legacy of European colonization. There’s perhaps no better example than maize, or corn, which, despite its Mesoamerican origins, is the most dominant grain on the continent today, says Jonathan Bishop Highfield, a professor of food studies and postcolonial literature at the Rhode Island School of Design. In response, African farmers developed their own varieties, while cooks transformed them using native techniques. In Ghana, for example, corn doughs are fermented and cooked in a pot (banku) or steamed in corn husks (kenkey).

ETHIOPIA

More than 15,000 Ethiopians comprise Colorado’s largest African immigrant group, and their families and ancestors have long cultivated a national cuisine unlike any other. This culinary uniqueness can be attributed, in part, to the fact that Ethiopia, unlike many other regions of Africa, was never colonized by a European power (excepting a five-year occupation by Italy), Temesgan says. So while you’ll find, for instance, quality baguettes alongside native flatbreads in neighboring Djibouti, which was a colony of France for decades, Ethiopia’s buffet of flavors is almost entirely homegrown.

SENEGAL

Historically, two of the most important foods in Senegal have been fish and rice. Both star in thieboudienne, a one-pot meal that’s often celebrated as the West African country’s national dish. But its other ingredients, including tomatoes and chile peppers, reveal its postcolonial origins. Moreover, Highfield says, Asian rice strains have largely displaced the African rice species native to the region, in part because French settlers could produce the former more cheaply. FONIO

Fonio, a fast-growing millet indigenous to West Africa, is a superfood, according to James Beard Award– nominated Colorado chef Mawa McQueen. The gluten-free grain packed with protein and iron is just starting to hit American grocery stores, but you can also try it through McQueen’s four-year-old granola venture GrainFreeNola. Purchase the nut-free foniola on the company’s website or at McQueen’s restaurants in Aspen and Snowmass, including the West African–influenced Mawa’s Kitchen.

COFFEE

If you’re partial to a morning cuppa, you’ve likely tasted Arabica coffee beans, which account for around 57 percent of global coffee production and are indigenous to southwestern Ethiopia. At Denver’s Habesha Spice, an Ethiopian dry goods and catering company, Ras Nolawi Temesgan sells raw beans from the country’s Sidama region. He suggests roasting them for five to 10 minutes in a mankeshkesha (a pan with small holes that help with even roasting) and then brewing them post-grind with spices like rue, cardamom, or cloves. Die-hard traditionalists, Temesgan says, drink it black.

PERI-PERI

SOUTH AFRICA

Indigenous peoples, European settlers, and Asian laborers, according to Highfield, all contributed to the syncretic rainbow cuisine currently found in South Africa. Case in point: The curries and stews of Cape Malays, a creolized, largely Muslim ethnic group centralized in South Africa’s legislative capital of Cape Town, are some of the region’s most popular dishes and contain Indonesian, Filipino, Dutch, and native Khoisan influences.

All chile peppers originate from the Americas, but the African bird’s eye chile has grown uniquely in southern Africa since the Portuguese brought it to the region around the 15th century. Periperi sauce, globally popularized by South African chicken chain Nando’s, traditionally employs the spicy pepper. Rich Ing and Lisa Lipscomb of Denver-based Mamas Peri Peri mostly use a similartasting Thai chile in their condiment, which Ing adapted from a recipe by his brother’s Mozambican mother-in-law. Their sauce stays true to the garlicky, lemony original but also incorporates tomato and onion to evoke the flavor of salsas familiar to their Latin American customers.

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TASTE OF SOWETO EST. 2019 THE OWNERS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN FOOD TRUCK AIM TO DELIVER THE REAL-DEAL MEALS OF THEIR FORMERLY SEGREGATED HOMETOWN.

Taste of Soweto offers more than culinary thrills; it offers a taste of history. “During apartheid in South Africa, Soweto was established as a Black neighborhood outside of Johannesburg,” says Mpho “Gift” MaPoulo, who co-owns the food truck with his wife and former pastry chef, Ocean. The Soweto natives debuted the pop-up business in 2019 and transitioned it onto wheels in 2021, and although it’s not the first South African food business in Denver, it is the first Black-owned one. The distinction is important. “We are all South Africans, but there are dishes that white people grew up eating that we don’t eat, and vice versa,” Ocean says. For a taste of how the MaPoulos grew up, try the peri-peri chicken wings tossed in Ocean’s signature paprika-laced sauce. Or the kota, an Indian-heritage dish, often called “bunny chow,” of beef or chicken curry stuffed into a hollowed-out quarter loaf of white bread. Having seen other African restaurateurs lose their communities’ support due to a lack of authenticity, the MaPoulos have prioritized accurately replicating their homeland’s flavors. For instance, they haven’t debuted a curryless version of kota popular in Soweto because certain ingredients have been difficult to procure. In the meantime, they keep trucking, hoping to start selling bottles of Ocean’s peri-peri sauce this year, as well as Mpho’s homemade ginger beer, which is a hit at catering gigs. As for establishing a permanent location, they’re waiting to build a larger following. “I know a couple of African immigrants who painstakingly started brick-and-mortars,” Mpho says. “I’m not looking forward to that yet.”

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MORE MUST-TRY AFRICAN FOOD TRUCKS MSOSI KENYAN CUISINE

KALAHARI WORS No South African barbecue, or braai, is complete without sausage. The kind you’ll most often find is seasoned with coriander, nutmeg, and cloves, among other spices, and is often called boerewors, which means “Boer sausage” in Afrikaans. “Boer” refers to descendants of largely Dutch colonists who settled South Africa starting in the 1600s. Despite being the sausage’s namesake, however, they didn’t entirely invent it. (Mpho points to the included Asian spices as evidence.) As such, the MaPoulos named their version after the Kalahari Desert to inclusively reference its origins. Whether he’s making his links with pork and beef or only the latter, Mpho keeps their fat levels at 20 percent to prevent them from overshrinking when cooked. The sausage is often served with pap, a firm corn porridge, and chakalaka, a vegetable relish. At Taste of Soweto, purchase it in a hotdog-like sandwich topped with tomato, onion, and lettuce or, if you’re hosting your own braai, frozen by the kilogram.

Msosi Kenyan Cuisine keeps it humble: The truck has no elaborate wrap job, and its East African offerings are less heavily spiced than many dishes found in local Ethiopian or West African joints. But when you pick up your order, you’ll walk away remembering owner Josphat Ombacho’s generous smile as he handed over your samosas or mandazi (slightly sweet fried dough). Make your midday meal—Msosi often parks on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus during lunch hours—out of tomatoey chicken stew and spiced pilau rice. PIKINE GRILL EXPRESS

Founded in 2015, Senegalese chef David Diop’s Pikine Grill Express was the first food truck in the United States representing his native country’s cuisine. In January, Diop moved its permanent location to a new spot near the Denver-Aurora border, taking the chance to also revamp his menu. While devoted customers can still find favorites like the chicken brochettes and the grilled lamb dibi, he now prepares meatless versions of mafe (peanut stew) and fataya (fried hand pies), which Diop developed in part to cater to the growing number of African and African American Coloradans he’s seen cutting meat from their diets. THE ETHIOPIAN FOOD TRUCK

Years before launching Konjo Ethiopian Food in Edgewater Public Market, Fetien GebreMichael and Yoseph Assefa were rolling up injera in their first food business together, the Ethiopian Food Truck. Look out for the vibrant vehicle—it’s green, yellow, and red, like the Ethiopian flag—between May and September at events across the Denver metro area. Whether you’re going for a tibs plate (chicken or beef simmered in spiced butter and served with a vegetable side) or a two-part veggie combo, the red lentils are a must-have component.

WHAT’S INSIDE COUNTS From left: Taste of Soweto co-owners Ocean and Mpho MaPoulo; kota with a side of chakalaka; a Kalahari wors roll

In Soweto, most large celebrations call for the slaughter and cooking of a sheep, goat, or cow, and many people deem the innards, not the meat, as the best part. The men typically butcher the animal since, per local norms, only they can handle and consume certain organs like the kidneys, pancreas, and testicles, but pots of cooked intestines and liver are popular with everyone. M A R C H 2024 / 5280

CAFE PAPRIKA

MORE MUST-TRY NORTH AFRICAN RESTAURANTS

EST. 1993 MORE THAN THREE DECADES AFTER IT OPENED, CAFE PAPRIKA’S OWNER LOOKS TO PASS HIS MOROCCAN EATERY TO THE NEXT GENERATION.

Chakib Marrakchi admits that Cafe Paprika did not have the strongest start. “Before, I used to manage a restaurant [in Boulder]. I was making good money,” he says. “When I opened my place, it was different. It was hard to build it, to introduce my food to people in Aurora.” He attributes the eventual success of his casual Moroccan restaurant to positive reviews in local publications. Things have been more difficult lately, though: He closed for seven months during the pandemic, spent more than two years serving takeout, and was only able to reopen his dining room last summer. He runs the restaurant alone on many days and will close the doors if a rush of customers means he can’t treat diners

to the experience he wants to deliver. “I don’t want to be slammed. The quality will go down,” he says. “I [want to] serve the food the way I like to eat it.” Some of Marrakchi’s best dishes include b’steeya—a Moroccan specialty of flaky phyllo dough stuffed with shredded chicken and minced nuts that’s dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon—and a wide array of tagines, spiced stews of meat (usually lamb or chicken) and vegetables. Marrakchi believes the consistency of his food’s quality and its generous portions have kept Cafe Paprika going while some of the Moroccan joints that came before his— including Mataam Fez, which was co-founded by Marrakchi’s cousin and operated from 1976 to 2018—have shuttered. He says that reputation can ensure the success of his successor, whoever that might be. He’s not necessarily looking for a new owner to keep everything the same, but he’s hoping to pass along his recipes and even help out part-time. Then, he can happily retire knowing what he worked so hard to build will continue to prosper. 76

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SAHARA

COUSCOUS There’s perhaps no food more emblematic of northwest African cuisine than couscous, small granules of semolina that are steamed until fluffy. In fact, in 2020, UNESCO added the dish to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list, which celebrates historically rich cultural practices and advocates for their conservation. One traditional cooking method is the couscoussière, which Marrakchi describes as an interlocking two-pot vessel. Steam from boiling water in the bottom pot rises through holes in the top one, where the bits of wheat cook. At Cafe Paprika, Marrakchi seasons the couscous with only salt and olive oil, letting other dishes spooned atop the grains—try the tagine with preserved lemon and olives— deliver flavor. For a real taste of Moroccan ritual, stop by the restaurant on a Friday, Muslims’ weekly holy day, which Marrakchi also describes as “couscous day” for the country. “Everybody goes to the mosque,” he says, “[and] every household cooks couscous.”

Step into the spacious, sand-colored dining room of this Greenwood Village eatery, which opened the same year as Cafe Paprika, for belly-warming fare from its co-owners’ home countries: Morocco, where husband-and-wife duo Mohammed Ettachfini and Loubna Zouiten have roots, and Lebanon, from which chef Jihad Younan hails. Start with the sanbousak—spinach- and fetastuffed hand pies—then opt for the kebab combo, which includes a brochette each of lamb, chicken, and shrimp (with hunks of tomato, zucchini, and onion tucked between the pieces of protein), saffron rice, and tahini sauce. GOLDEN FALAFEL

Falafel should be crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and flecked with fresh herbs, says Zakaria Chamseddine, who, along with his wife, Halima, operates Golden Falafel in Hampden. The Chamseddines’ Moroccan-spiced version of the chickpea fritter follows through on that ideal. As such, you should dine in at the tile-adorned restaurant so the falafel stay crispy and dunk them in a garlicky tahini-yogurt sauce or swipe them through parsley-crowned hummus. Both come with the falafel plate along with a healthy helping of fattoush, a cucumber-tomato-radish salad. SUDAN CAFE

The offerings at Sudan Cafe, a counter-service breakfast and lunch spot in Aurora, perfectly reflect the country’s geographic position between North and East Africa. You’ll find ful, an Egyptian staple of stewed fava beans, spiced with Ethiopian berbere and molokhia—a spinachlike North African vegetable—served with injera. Regardless of the region that your meal represents, pair it with cardamomlaced Sudanese coffee, which co-owner Solomon Bulcha serves in individual-size jebenas (traditional long-necked coffee pots). Each jebena holds roughly two espresso cups of strong, steeped coffee, which you can sweeten to your liking.

B A D B LO O D

Islamic dietary laws label foods as halal (permissible) and haram (forbidden). Adherent eateries can avoid certain banned ingredients, such as pork, by merely leaving them off the menu. For other items, like blood, which can linger on regular supermarket meat, chefs must source specifically halal products. At Cafe Paprika, Marrakchi uses protein that follows both halal and kosher prescriptions.

From left: Cafe Paprika’s b’steeya; a plate of couscous; braised lamb shank and chicken tagine

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From left: Peanut soup with fufu, beef kabobs, and grilled tilapia at African Grill & Bar; plantain fufu

AFRICAN GRILL & BAR EST. 2004 IN ITS 20TH YEAR, A STALWART OF COLORADO’S DINING SCENE CONTINUES TO AWAKEN LOCAL PALATES WITH THE LIVELY FLAVORS OF WEST AFRICA AND BEYOND.

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African Grill & Bar’s two-decade legacy emerged from modest beginnings. “We bought our first plates from a dollar store,” says Theodora Osei-Fordwuo, who has co-owned the West African eatery with her husband, Sylvester, since 2004. Trailblazing Colorado’s culinary representation of the Osei-Fordwuos’ native Ghana and other African countries, African Grill & Bar has hopped from locations in Aurora and Green Valley Ranch to its current Lakewood outpost, but the mission— normalizing African food for Front Range diners—has never changed. “A lot of people

have the notion that [African food is] something weird, or it’s something spicy,” Theodora says. “So, just to be able to get people to come through the door, it’s an issue.” That’s why the Osei-Fordwuos deliver a diverse menu— which, along with West African classics, loops in dishes from the continent’s southern and eastern reaches—that ranges from grilled fish and beef kebabs to more than 15 soups and stews. For the uninitiated, the egusi soup, which contains spinach and is thickened with ground melon seeds, and the rich peanut soup (both come with a choice of protein, like chicken,

MORE MUST-TRY WEST AFRICAN EATERIES AKWABA RESTAURANT

SWALLOWS Fufu, ugali, banku, amala—there are countless versions of (and names for) the large balls of mashed starchy vegetables and grains often eaten with flavorful African stews. While their core ingredients and methods of preparation vary wildly from culture to culture, they are often grouped together and called “swallows” in English. On any given day, African Grill & Bar offers seven iterations of them. For newcomers, Theodora recommends starting with yam or plantain fufu. The former is less sticky and generally easier to chew, while the latter is starchier and stiffer, making it more suited for thinner dishes like soups. A particularly labor-intensive swallow is the tamalelike kenkey: Theodora ferments a corn flour dough for several days, divides it in half, cooks one half with some water in a pot, mixes that with the raw half, wraps the mixture in corn husks, and then reboils the parcels. The entire process requires seven hours spent over the stove, but it creates a soft yet sturdy swallow with a pleasantly sour taste.

goat, or oxtail) are especially popular and good intros for newbies. The Osei-Fordwuos’ memorable flavors are still difficult to find in the Centennial State, which means some of their loyal customers drive more than an hour for a taste of their cuisine. But many other Denverites haven’t fully incorporated West African food into their everyday dining-out routines. In fact, even after 20 years, African Grill & Bar is still waiting on its first full house. Theodora remains hopeful: “[Having faithful customers] makes us see that one day, it’s going to be more beautiful.”

The name of Linda Essoh’s restaurant means “welcome” in languages indigenous to Ghana and Essoh’s native Côte d’Ivoire (sometimes called the Ivory Coast), which makes sense: Essoh’s generous hospitality is on display the moment you walk through her doors. In 2021, Essoh relocated Akwaba from the now defunct Afrikmall to airier digs on East Colfax Avenue, delighting those who crave her West African flavors. For a real taste of Côte d’Ivoire, order the sauce kplala, an herbaceous Ivorian soup of molokhia leaves, and the attiéké, a fermented and grated cassava dish reminiscent of couscous. SWEETPEPPER KITCHEN

Jollof rice is one of those dishes that has as many variations as there are people who make it, but the recipe from Shade Adebayo, who runs Sweetpepper Kitchen in Aurora, is a must-try. The four-year-old Nigerian food truck infuses its umami-rich version with ingredients like habanero peppers, chicken bouillon powder, and thyme—all flavors that complement stewed proteins such as chicken, goat, and cow’s feet. Flavor seekers should try the snails braised with red peppers and onions. Don’t expect escargot: These fist-size mollusks make for multiple meaty bites and have a rich, earthy taste. LE FRENCH

There’s no doubt about the main culinary influence of Aminata and Rougui Dia’s Le French, an upscale Denver Tech Center brasserie with a second, six-month-old location in Hale. However, the two sisters, who were nominated for a James Beard Award this year, infuse their most palateprovoking dishes with their Senegalese heritage. Go for plates like the poutine poulet yassa, which replaces the brown gravy typically in the Québécois fries dish with chicken braised in a lemony onion sauce, or the pastels: fried, tuna-stuffed hand pies served with tomato-onion chutney.

RIGHT IS RIGHT

In many parts of Africa, it’s customary to eat with your hands, but when you do so, make sure to only use your right hand. Islamic etiquette dictates that the left hand be reserved for bathroom practices, and even countries with relatively small Muslim populations (like Ghana) tend to follow this guideline. It’s worth giving it a try here, if only to improve your dexterity. M A R C H 2024 / 5280

THE ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT

MORE MUST-TRY ETHIOPIAN EATERIES

EST. 1985 THERE ARE ROUGHLY 20 ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANTS ON THE FRONT RANGE—MOST OF WHICH ARE CONCENTRATED ON EAST COLFAX AVENUE AND SOUTH HAVANA STREET IN DENVER AND AURORA—BUT ONLY ONE CAN SAY IT WAS THE FIRST.

Before Pete Contos stamped his first name on what was once known as just the Kitchen and before the Ogden Theatre swapped out popcorn and Rocky Horror for well drinks and rock stars, Negussie Denku and Elleni Mekonnen made a business decision that would forever change Colfax and, really, the entire Mile High City. Having recently emigrated from Ethiopia, the couple opened Denver’s first Ethiopian restaurant in 1985. “They imagined it as a hangout for all their Ethiopian friends,” says Nardos Negussie, Denku and Mekonnen’s daughter, who works at the Congress Park eatery once a week. “[Many others] had no idea what Ethiopia was.” Locals of all backgrounds, though, quickly caught on to the delicious fare. Full-flavored vegetable and legume stews are central to the cuisine—a necessity considering the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s frequent and essentially vegan fasts, Nardos says—and the Ethiopian Restaurant has always prided itself on its tikur gomen (collard greens). Proteins have their place, too: Spice-laden chicken and lamb dishes, traditionally cooked over an open fire at holiday feasts, simmer throughout the day. Veteran customers will go for the yebeg wot, chopped lamb seasoned with berbere, a chile-forward Ethiopian spice mix. No matter the order, though, meals are almost always served on tangy, pancakelike injera, whose batter is typically fermented for days before Mekonnen, who still serves as the chef after nearly 40 years, drops it onto the griddle.

RAS KASSA’S ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT

INJERA You’ll find injera, a spongy, fermented flatbread, at every Ethiopian joint in town, but don’t expect every version to taste or look the same. While injera is traditionally made with teff, the tiny milletlike grain wasn’t available in Denver when the Ethiopian Restaurant got its start. Mekonnen developed a wheat-based variation, and though teff arrived in the mid-’90s, loyal diners were so attached to Mekonnen’s original recipe that she settled on a part teff, part wheat blend as a compromise. Another unconventional feature remains as well: Since, at the time, the owners could only find rectangular electric skillets rather than customary circular griddles, the Ethiopian Restaurant’s injera has squared edges. Regardless, diners should tear off large pieces of injera to scoop up their entrées— it’s often the only “utensil” on the table—and relish the portion underneath the main dish soaking up its juices. “We’ve tried to stay true to our particular roots [here in Denver],” Nardos says, “which are slightly different from the rest of the community.”

In its 36-year history, Ras Kassa’s has inhabited many storefronts: its first location at the highway turnoff toward Eldorado Canyon, a longtime residence in the heart of Boulder, and, since 2017, a colorful outpost in Lafayette where owner Tsehay Hailu has planted deep roots. Bright red, yellow, and blue walls, plus a charming menagerie of vases and framed photos, build a convivial atmosphere. Form a feast out of mildly spiced veggie stews and a bold entrée, like the assa—chile-spiked, panfried Rocky Mountain red trout whose crispy skin plays well with the injera—or the engudai, mushrooms cooked in African red wine. MESOB ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT

This sleek, 18-year-old eatery in Montclair is a date-night-ready destination for East African eats. Upon arrival, request a table near one of the namesake mesobs—large, traditional baskets used to store injera and often to serve meals atop—and settle down with a round of St. George lagers from Ethiopia’s oldest brewery. Then, split a veggie combo with red lentils, collards, and string beans, among other things, or sample the beef tongue, which is sautéed with jalapeños and onions and served with a dollop of awaze, a thick berbere-based hot sauce. EATOPIA

The most recent iteration of Eatopia opened on Aurora’s Havana Street three years ago, but the 11-year-old eatery has always been Seble Gobena’s labor of love. The kitchen head often leaves her domain, hairnet still on, to greet each table and ask how the food turned out. Meat lovers should go for the richly spiced shifinfin. Gobena starts the dish with quanta firfir, house-dried beef cooked with tomatoes and pieces of injera, then tops it with kitfo (a traditional beef tartare that can be ordered medium or well-done) and a boiled egg, then wraps it all up in more injera.

TEA TIME

Visit a Somali eatery, like Aurora’s Maandeeq Restaurant & Cafe, and you’ll likely find patrons lingering post-meal with a cup of cardamom-infused black tea—reminiscent of Indian chai—served with or without milk. It’s common for residents of Somalia, where alcohol is banned per Islamic law, to drink tea throughout the day. m

From left: Negussie Denku and Elleni Mekonnen of the Ethiopian Restaurant; injera; a combination of meat and vegetable dishes from the Ethiopian Restaurant

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The infinity pool at Garden of the Gods Resort & Club

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TRICKS

If you haven’t visited Colorado Springs recently, the growing city may have surprises in store for you. Here, a guide to the hip additions that are reinvigorating Denver’s neighbor to the south. BY SPENCER CAMPBELL & LINDSEY B. KING

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past October, Adam Wilson and Devin Austin drove from their native Oklahoma to Colorado Springs for a short getaway. They did many of the typical tourist things, including visiting Garden of the Gods, where Austin seemed nervous. In fact, Austin had been acting anxious for most of the trip, so as they entered the park, Wilson asked whether he was OK. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” Austin responded. “I just need to take a walk.” It wasn’t until they passed between two of the National Natural Landmark’s famous sandstone rocks that Austin finally cracked. “He’s shaking at this point,” Wilson said. “So I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ ” That’s when Austin dropped to one knee. Even five years ago, Austin and Wilson would have been hard-pressed to find an evening venue worthy of celebrating their engagement. While Colorado Springs’ topographical attractions—including “America the Beautiful” muse Pikes Peak—have always been inspiring, its cultural and culinary offerings have long been underwhelming. “What we had was nothing,” says David Yi, who grew up in Colorado Springs in the 1990s. “It was just fast food. I think Colorado Springs had the most fast-food chains in America. [Editor’s note: The Daily Beast ranked the metro area 18th per capita in 2011.] There wasn’t a lot of culture or diversity here, so I was itching to leave.” After more than a decade of working in New York City as a fashion journalist, however, Yi returned home (where he now runs the lifestyle website Very Good Light and a skincare company called Good Light Cosmetics) and discovered a very different Springs. “I was so surprised,” Yi says. “There are a lot of cool small shops here, cool cafes, and independent bookstores; there are amazing places to work out. I really have come to appreciate the city.” Colorado Springs’ glow-up—ignited by a diversifying demographic lured to the area by the growing economy, recreational opportunities, and affordable cost of living—has remade the city into a burg that boasts the best of both worlds. Visitors can now plan vacations around venerable tentpoles such as Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods and pad out their itineraries with a slate of innovative restaurants, hip hotels, and other unexpectedly exciting attractions. On the following pages, we highlight fresh spots drawing acclaim from locals and tourists alike plus pay homage to Colorado Springs institutions that continue to deserve your respect (not to mention your patronage).

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GARDEN OF THE GODS RESORT & CLUB

Founded as a private getaway, this luxury hotel isn’t technically new. In fact, it has occupied the most coveted piece of real estate in Colorado Springs—overlooking the spires of red sandstone in its namesake park—for more than 70 years. But in 2013, locals Brenda Smith and Judy Mackey bought the property. Over the past decade, they’ve spent $40 million to transform what had become a fading relic of midcentury elegance into a rustic yet chic showpiece open to anyone who can afford the nightly rate (from $250 to $600-plus for a suite). Of particular interest to Mackey, a former health care executive, was ramping up the resort’s wellness offerings with a medical spa, a new fitness center, and freshly paved tennis and pickleball courts. The result is a comprehensive destination whose facilities finally match the healing nature of its surroundings. Use our itinerary to maximize your well-being during a short stay at Garden of the Gods Resort & Club (GGRC).

Previous spread: Courtesy of Garden of the Gods Resort & Club. This spread, from left: Courtesy of Garden of the Gods Resort & Club (2); The Broadmoor/Courtesy of Visit Colorado Springs

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THE BROADMOOR

4 P.M. Check in to your room as soon as you can, then hit the loo. Seriously. The most recently renovated part of the hotel, the 57 accommodations in the Lodge (GGRC’s main building) feature marble-clad bathrooms the size of efficiency apartments, which means there’s space for waterfall showers and gigantic soaking tubs. Take your time washing away the road—and any residual stress from home. 5:30 P.M. Every room in the Lodge has a west-facing patio that looks down on Garden of the Gods. In other words: There’s perhaps no better spot in the state to watch a sunset. 7 P.M. Throw on your Sunday best (collared shirt and slacks required) for dinner at Grand View, GGRC’s main restaurant. There’s no stuffy, country-club vibe, however; just floor-toceiling windows and a bar made of onyx imported from Turkey. High-end cuts of beef highlight the menu, but keep your arteries clear by enjoying the dinnerportioned Garden of the Gods

signature salad, sprinkled with fruit, nuts, and goat cheese. This is a vacation, though, so don’t shy away from ordering a side of the truffle fries. 9 P.M. Back in your room, flick a switch to ignite the flames in your recently upgraded fireplace—then catch some z’s. 8 A.M. Time to work out. The fitness room is packed with everything from free weights to Pilates reformers, but if you need some guidance, the hotel offers a range of classes, including HIIT, spin, and yoga—most of which are free for guests. Should you require competition, it’s only a short drive to the resort’s recreation center, where six pickleball courts and six tennis courts await.

9:30 A.M. Grand View also serves breakfast, but we recommend replenishing spent calories with an Avocado Delight smoothie (spinach, avocado, pineapple, and banana) at the cafe inside the on-site Strata Spa, your next destination. 10 A.M. Strata offers the basic pamperings: massages, manicures, pedicures, and facials. The salon will even cut and color your hair. But it also embraces Ayurvedic-inspired options, such as acupuncture, bamboo deeptissue massages, and sound-bowl auditory therapy. You want nothing? Strata has that, too: Its dry floatation therapy bed delivers all the benefits of sensory deprivation tanks without requiring you to get wet (think: a heated waterbed). 11 A.M. Spend your last moments before checkout at noon in the adults-only pool, whose infinity ledge drops off over Garden of the Gods. The balmy waters, heated to the mid80s, will ensure you depart the resort feeling warm and fuzzy.

For almost 106 years, the Broadmoor has been synonymous with the city of Colorado Springs. The resort is akin to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and New York City’s Empire State Building—except better, because it has a spa, golf courses, swimming pools, and at least a dozen restaurants. Beyond that, the Broadmoor offers hiking, rock climbing, fly-fishing, falconry lessons, and other outdoor adventures, many held in the canyons west of the property. Then again, lots of people come to the Broadmoor to live how the other half lives indoors. For the most pinkies-out experience, rent the Estate House. The 1920s-era fivebedroom has a library,

croquet lawn, and gourmet kitchen. Quick tip: For those more comfortable in Blundstones than Manolo Blahniks, the resort introduced its all-inclusive Wilderness Experiences—Cloud Camp, the Ranch at Emerald Valley, and Fly Fishing Camp—between 2014 and 2015.

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the 1996 Atlanta Games severed an artery, necessitating amputation. Only 18 months later, he competed in Georgia as a member of the U.S. Paralympics Track and Field team; four years after that, he took silver in the long jump in Greece. Today, his stars-andstripes-bedecked prosthesis stands in the Summer Games hall. WE BELIEVE

Before entering the Winter Games collection, make a hard turn to your left. There, seemingly stashed away inside a hospitality space, stands the scoreboard from the Miracle on Ice—when the underdog U.S. men’s hockey team upset the mighty Soviets in 1980. It still reads 4-3 in favor of the good guys.

U.S. OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC MUSEUM

Like Colorado Springs, museums in general suffer from a reputation for being boring. Also like Colorado Springs, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum shatters that misconception. Opened in 2020 at a cost of $96 million, the 60,000-square-foot facility supplements spellbinding artifacts with emotional and interactive exhibits that give visitors a tangible sense of what it’s like to represent the Red, White, and Blue on the global stage. CLASSIC

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WWII AVIATION At only 14 years of age, this homage to the aircraft that were part of what President Franklin D. Roosevelt once called the “arsenal of democracy” during WWII isn’t one of the Springs’ oldest must-see destinations. However, it is one of the most awe-inspiring. On any given day, the museum serves as home hanger for roughly 29 fully restored flying machines, from Grumman F3F Flying Barrels to Brewster F3A Corsairs. And, yes, most are operational following extensive refurbishment, some of which happens at the onsite WestPac facility. WestPac, a private enterprise that lives on the museum’s campus, is an FAA-certified repair shop that, during daily tours, allows guests to eyeball the propeller repair station and full-service metal forming area. Quick tip: Check the museum’s website for upcoming air shows.

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IN THEIR SHOES

Does your dad respond to Carl Lewis highlights with a haughty, “I could do that”? Now’s the time to prove it, Pops. In the Athlete Training hall, simulators help guests understand the requirements necessary to master Olympic and Paralympic sports, whether that means making the right strategic decision in a game of sled hockey, balancing on a skeleton as it flies down a chute, or sprinting against virtual competitors such as Jesse Owens. WHERE’S THE KLEENEX?

In the Parade of Nations exhibit, wraparound video screens provide the immersive experience of entering an Olympic stadium surrounded by your teammates as the national anthem echoes through the chamber. Just try not to tear up. TRUE GRIT

Hurdler John Register lost his leg after a training accident ahead of

This spread, from left: Courtesy of U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum; Intricate Explorer/Upslash; Courtesy of Visit Colorado Springs

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LIGHTING THE TORCH

Every two years, Olympic torch bearers garner global media attention. The torches themselves? Not so much. But lined up together, as they are in the museum’s opening exhibit—from the first, Berlin’s 1936 utilitarian rod, to the latest, Beijing’s 2022 twisting flame— they become works of art.

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PULPIT ROCK SUMMIT TRAIL

It’s easy to see why people are drawn to Pulpit Rock.The 66-millionyear-old sandstone formation juts high over passersby from the east side of I-25, just north of downtown Colorado Springs, providing the perfect vantage point for admiring the Rocky Mountains. Pulpit Rock is especially beautiful in the morning, when the rising sun lights the peaks to the west in red and yellow while the rest of the town still sleeps in gray. In fact, the view is so alluring—its siren so hypnotic—that, in the past, hikers did whatever was necessary to reach its summit. A few years ago, the city counted 814 social trails, totaling 27 miles, scattered through Austin Bluffs Open Space, the nearly 600-acre swath of city-owned land in which Pulpit Rock resides, many of them cut specifically to reach the high point. To be fair, the banditry was largely the city’s fault. Austin Bluffs had few designated trails, so people simply blazed their own, sacrificing conservation for convenience. The city of Colorado Springs responded by building a direct out-and-back path from a formerly illegal parking lot at the

south end of Pulpit Rock Park directly to the summit, completing construction in October 2022. Like the Manitou Incline, the one-mile route rises steadily to a scenic overlook. The biggest difference? Pulpit Rock’s trail leisurely gains the 345 feet of elevation necessary to reach the top, switchbacking to the 6,591foot summit. Although there are a dozen or so steps to be scaled near the top, Pulpit Rock Summit Trail is still far less extreme than Manitou. That just makes the payoff at the pinnacle one of Colorado Springs’ best outdoor recreation bargains.

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MANITOU INCLINE Since 1990, when a rock slide decimated the tracks of what was once a narrow-gauge funicular railway, crazy…er… fitness-crazed people from all over have traveled to Manitou Springs (15 minutes west of Colorado Springs) to climb what locals call the Incline. Ascending more than 2,000 feet in less than one mile, the 2,744-step stairway from hell begins at 6,530 feet in elevation and ends at 8,550 feet. In some spots, the grade reaches 68 percent, a tilt that can induce vertigo as well as whatin-the-*%&$-am-I-doing second thoughts. Yet an estimated 70,000 gluttons for punishment make reservations to hoof it up the wooden flight annually, a feat that does have one reward beyond earning your après-hike beer: the view of Colorado Springs and the plains beyond far below. Quick tip: Once at the top, you’ll hike three miles back down the Barr Trail. If your quads are fried two-thirds of the way up, though, you can also take the so-called Barr Trail “bailout.” We won’t tell.

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In 2021, North Cheyenne Cañon Park—located 10 minutes west of downtown—opened roughly seven miles of multiuse paths that allow hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders to traverse thick conifer forests with eye-popping views. Here, two routes worth lacing up for, both of which leave from the Daniels Pass trailhead. DANIELS PASS TRAIL TO SWEETWATER CANYON TRAIL Distance: 6.02 miles, lollipop loop Elevation gain: 1,000 feet

Although not a particularly difficult hike, the challenge here is making sure you don’t take a wrong turn. You’ll begin at the Daniels Pass trailhead and switchback your way up to an intersection with the Bruin Trail, where you’ll take a left to continue on Daniels Pass Trail. After a half-mile, you’ll summit 7,575foot Daniels Pass—and could be tricked into taking a left onto

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Sweetwater Canyon Trail. Don’t. You might also be tempted to go onto Middle Sweetwater Trail another quarter-mile down the path; keep right again. At the next intersection, you’ll finally take that left onto Sweetwater Canyon Trail. From there, you’ll traipse through conifers for two miles. When you see a trail to your left, ignore it. After 0.79 mile, you’ll see a trail leading to the summit of Mt. Muscoco on your right. Unless you’re up for a scramble, stay left. Another 0.27 mile brings you back to Daniels Pass, from which point you’ll switchback down to your car.

DANIELS PASS TRAIL TO MT. MUSCOCO TRAIL Distance: 4.25 miles, out and back Elevation gain: 958 feet

Tucked under a canopy of tall pines, this rock-strewn dirt path takes a moderate, switchbackladen route through the park on its way to the summit of 8,020foot Mt. Muscoco. Although the trail is decidedly up, Coloradans who hike with any regularity will find the trek’s elevation gain eminently doable, if not enjoyable. The final half-mile to the summit, however, does require some scrambling—pay attention to signs for the easiest route— that may not feel comfortable for everyone. If you do clamber to the apex, you’ll be rewarded with 360-degree views that include both cityscapes and mountain vistas. (Need further inspiration? Just look at the photo below.) Trekking poles aren’t a bad idea for the return trip.

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GOLD CAMP ROAD Perhaps nowhere is mining history more fun to experience than on Gold Camp Road. This area of what is now Pike-San Isabel

National Forests was developed to prop up the Pikes Peak gold rush. Nine tunnels were blasted through the terrain, and tracks were laid so the Short Line could chug between Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek. The railroad became a road and remained that way until 1988, when one of the tunnels collapsed (others have caved in since). Today, you can drive up Lower Gold Camp Road—passing through tunnels 1 and 2—and park in the sizable Upper Gold Camp Road lot. From there, hike, mountain bike, or use your off-highway vehicle to make your way to several other tunnels. Quick tip: To drive your Jeep from Colorado Springs to Cripple Creek, you can bypass the caved-in tunnels via Old Stage Road (it starts near the Broadmoor) and connect with the latter section of Gold Camp Road.

This spread, from left: Connor Bruson; Lars Leber Photography; Courtesy of Ernest Bordon, Bordon Inc.; Bordon Inc./Courtesy of Blue Star Group; Courtesy of Brenna Skattebo Photography

DANIELS PASS TRAIL SYSTEM

COFFEE CONTINUUM It took a long time for good joe to arrive in the Springs. Here, a timeline of newish spots where you can grab a cup. 2010

The Well

Brandon DelGrosso’s Switchback Coffee Roasters now has two locations, and in 2023, DelGrosso and coowner Trista Heileman opened Provisions Bread & Bakery, which serves Switchback coffee.

2013

ALL THAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN Since 2013, four well-received marketplaces have repurposed existing Springs spaces to create food-and-beverage hot spots. A LONG TIME AGO… The space at 514 South Tejon Street was a trolley shop BUT NOW IT’S A… Food hall called COATI, an acronym that stands for Colorado Automatic Trolley Interchange, with a brewery, two bars, and seven restaurants AND YOU GOTTA TRY… Sidling up to the bar at Uprise Taproom with an Elephant Rock IPA; tucking into the Fish & Wing Platter at Luchal’s; and savoring an over-the-top fruit-based popsicle at the Paleta Bar A LONG TIME AGO… The 1907 building at 315 East Pikes Peak Avenue served as an auto repair shop and a bus depot BUT NOW IT’S AN… Incubator dubbed the Well that wants to help launch up-andcoming restaurant concepts in Colorado Springs AND YOU GOTTA TRY… Ordering an adult beverage at the Gift Horse’s long, curving front

bar and, to give the next day a jolt, grab-and-go breakfast and lunch from its new spinoff, Giddy Up & Go, which will soon be joined by the second outpost of La’au’s Taco Shop, a Hawaiian-inspired spot from the local Blue Star Group A LONG TIME AGO… The Greek Revival–style edifice at 1604 South Cascade Avenue was an elementary school, originally built in 1916 BUT NOW IT’S A… Food hall named Ivywild School, where, in 2013, Bristol Brewing Co. co-founder Mike Bristol, Blue Star Group owner Joe Coleman, and architect Jim Fennell of the

Fennell Group reimagined the old educational building, turning it into a community gathering space (renovated in 2021) with a brewery, bars, and eateries AND YOU GOTTA TRY… Grabbing a spicy chicken or mushroom empanada at Lazo Empanadas (pictured below) and quaffing a pint at Bristol Brewing Co.

Wild Goose Meeting House brought to town NEW manual brew methods, single-origin and direct-trade coffees, and traditional espresso.

2016

Opened by six baristas, Loyal Coffee raised the bar for specialty coffee in the area. The same year, Story Coffee Company owners Don

A LONG TIME AGO… The 42,327-square-foot, redbrick building at 2727 North Cascade Avenue was an elementary school that opened in 1948 BUT NOW IT’S A… Food hall and retail spot called Lincoln Center, made in the image of Ivywild School, that opened in 2016 and hosts 14 merchants, including a brewery, a bakery, a coffee roaster, and a barber shop AND YOU GOTTA TRY… Sipping a brewski from Goat Patch Brewing Co. while your kids get their gymnastics on at Flipshack, which focuses on dynamic movement education

and Carissa Niemyer brought their philosophy of simplicity—in life and coffee—to the city and now have two locations.

2021

Frankly Coffee founders Brandon and Kelly Noffsinger brought a multiroaster approach to their west-side cafe. M A R C H 2024 / 5280

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FALCON STADIUM Coach Prime ain’t hard to find, but for a more spectacular show, consider trekking to the Air Force Academy’s football stadium north of Colorado Springs. Not only did the Falcons go 9-4 in 2023, but also the venue’s vibe is second to none in the state. At home games, fans are treated to unmatched rituals: the cadet march-on, where all 40 squadrons strut in unison onto the field and then dash into the stands; the flight of the falcon mascot; and the Wings of Blue parachute team, whose Ephemera’s tacos

THEN YOU’LL DIG

IF YOU HAVE LONG LOVED

Opened decades apart, these pairs of restaurants aren’t exactly doppelgängers, but they do exhibit some similar characteristics— authenticity paramount among them.

Mountain Shadows, a breakfast favorite in the Old Colorado City neighborhood that’s been doling out biscuits and gravy, green-chile-drenched breakfast burritos, and giant cinnamon rolls since the early 1990s

Shuga’s, a 23-year-old south downtown institution that lives in what was, in 1910, a grocery store and now serves an eclectic menu of soups, sandwiches, bruschetta, and charcuterie boards alongside a well-curated lineup of (strong) cocktails for lunch or dinner

The Golden Bee, an authentic 19th-century English pub that arrived, piece by piece, at the Broadmoor in the early 1960s and serves fish and chips, chicken pot pie, and burgers

Nightingale Bread, a bornin-2017 bakery that, from its location inside the Lincoln Center marketplace, offers quiches, croissants, seasonal scones, cookies, and sandwiches from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday

Ephemera, the brick-andmortar evolution of what had been a pop-up concept from chefs Ian Dedrickson and Adam Ridens, who now bring their experimental brand of cooking—think rack of elk with ratatouille salsa—to a tucked-away room inside the COATI food hall

The Principal’s Office, a dark-woods-and-exposedbrick bar inside the Ivywild School marketplace that’s been pouring clever cocktails and Colorado craft beers since 2013

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members jump from planes to deliver the American flag and the game ball to the field of play. The most thrilling tradition, however, is the flyover: jets screaming toward the stadium and shooting straight up, leaving everyone inside the venue feeling the heat of their engines. Quick tip: All home games include a flyover, but the pageantry—and, therefore, the number of planes flying over the stadium—is ratcheted up during reunion (aka homecoming) games.

This spread, from left: Courtesy of Roman Pena/Ephemera; Courtesy of Air Force Athletics; Courtesy of Isaiah Downing

CULINARY CONTEMPORARIES

WEIDNER FIELD

1 WEIDNER FIELD’s intimate capacity (only 8,023 seats) makes the howling from the team’s supporters’ club, the Trailheads, even more spine-tingling. Get a front-row seat to their coordinated chants and songs by buying tickets in the Trailheads’ dedicated area, section 127. But be warned: These hooligans don’t sit for the entire 90 minutes, so you won’t, either. (If you’re looking for a

more laid-back viewing experience, seats in the stadium’s Phil Long, McDivitt, and ClutchBet clubs come with unlimited concessions— including pints.) 2 THE SEA OF CYAN, aka the Switchbacks’ official tailgate, begins two hours before kickoff when the team shuts down Sahwatch Street. Expect free live music from bands ranging from folk to punk rock, 10

S. Cimarron Ave. 3

S. Tejon St.

Sahwatch St.

S. Sierra Madre St.

The Colorado Rapids have often been criticized for building their stadium, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, in Commerce City—inconveniently far from Denver’s city center. So when it came time for Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, a minor league soccer franchise, to construct a facility of their own, the team didn’t make the same mistake. Opened in 2021, Weidner Field sits at the south end of downtown Colorado Springs, where it has helped revitalize an area of town that had a reputation for being sleepy. As a result, Switchbacks games have become all-day events, where supporters literally party in the streets before cheering the boys in black and blue to victory. We compiled a guide to game day to help you prepare for the team’s home opener on March 16.

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NEW

to 12 booths occupied by local vendors, a mini soccer pitch and video game truck for the kids, and face painting provided by the steady hands of the Trailheads, who work exclusively in black and blue. 3 SOUTH TEJON STREET, one of downtown’s most vibrant thoroughfares, resides two blocks from Weidner. Once there, you can down pregame calories (and enjoy

a taste of home) at Denver Biscuit Company or sample from the 32 taps at Uprise Taproom, which features a rooftop patio overlooking the mountains to the west. 4 TRAINWRECK, which opened a few blocks south of Weidner Field, abutting the tracks, in 2022, is less of a sports bar and more of a sports compound. Outside, the massive facility is home to cornhole sets, bocce ball setups, and four lighted volleyball courts, while the interior features four golf simulators, pool tables, and, at 625 square feet, what’s billed as the largest television in Colorado Springs. Fuel up on familiar but tasty pub fare, from massive soft pretzels served with green chile to sourdough-crust pizza pies. m

M A R C H 2024 / 5280

Girls SUMMER THE

Thirty years ago, the barnstorming Colorado Silver Bullets women’s baseball team played its first season to national fanfare. Three decades later, the players have moved on in their lives, even as their legacy is still being written. BY ROBERT SANCHEZ PHOTOGRAPH BY SARAH BANKS

5280 / MARCH 2024

LISA MARTINEZ RAN A RENTAL CAR OFF AN ICY ROAD NEAR DENVER NEARLY THREE DECADES AGO, THE 29-YEAR-OLD FORMER ALL-AMERICAN SOFTBALL PLAYER DIDN’T PANIC. SHE GOT OUT OF THE VEHICLE, PRESSED HER HANDS AGAINST THE TRUNK, AND TOLD HER MOTHER, WHO WAS WITH HER, TO STEP ON IT. THERE WAS A BASEBALL TRYOUT SHE COULDN’T MISS.

It was winter 1993, but across America, baseball was still in the air. In October, Joe Carter had produced one of the most memorable moments in Major League Baseball history: a Game 6 home run that won a World Series championship for the Toronto Blue Jays. Barry Bonds had just taken home the third of his seven MVP awards, Greg Maddux was in the midst of a nearly unparalleled run as a starting pitcher, and nearly 4.5 million fans made it to Mile High Stadium to see the Colorado Rockies play their home games during the franchise’s first season. Outside of MLB, though, talk around the nation had shifted to the upstart Colorado Silver Bullets, the all-woman baseball team backed by Coors Brewing Company that would play its first games in the spring. In a scene reminiscent of 1992’s A League of Their Own, women came by the hundreds for tryouts, which were held at sites across the country. There was K.C. Clark, a 23-year-old supermarket cashier who left her apartment in Irvine, California, for a tryout in Phoenix. There was Pam Schaffrath, who’d just started playing college basketball when she walked into her coach’s office in Iowa and said she needed to leave for Chicago to try out for a baseball team. “You’ll never forgive yourself if you don’t do this,” the coach told her. Missy Coombes, a 25-year-old middle school PE teacher, got time off from work to get to Orlando, Florida. Shannan Mitchem drove with her mother to a field in Atlanta. When Mitchem arrived, she lined up on the turf with the other women and surveyed her competition. The former Florida State University softball star was certain she’d make the team. And there was Julie Croteau, who’d always been into baseball. She’d grown up in northern Virginia, playing T-ball and Little League. While most girls eventually gravitated toward softball—and the promise of a college scholarship for the best among them—Croteau was devoted to hardball. When she didn’t make her high school’s men’s varsity team as a senior, her family sued the school district for sex discrimination. Croteau asked a judge to grant an independent observer a chance to watch her play and report back to the court. The judge declined, and the family lost the suit. The lasting image from Croteau’s teenage years was watching the boys from the team celebrate her loss on the courthouse steps. 94

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SINCE BASEBALL DIAMONDS first popped up across America in the mid-1800s, women have played hardball. In 1866, Vassar College’s women played the game in woolen, ankle-length dresses. Thirty-two years later, in 1898, Lizzie Arlington pitched for the professional Philadelphia Reserves and later tossed an inning for the minor league Reading Coal Heavers. In the 1920s, Black women occupied roster spots on several Negro Leagues teams. In 1931, 17-year-old Jackie Mitchell signed with her hometown Chattanooga Lookouts. Mitchell “has a swell change of pace and swings a mean lipstick,” a newspaper reporter wrote at the time. Hank Aaron, the prodigious Hall of Fame slugger, would reminisce about a woman named Toni Stone, who replaced Aaron on the Indianapolis Clowns roster after Aaron left the Negro Leagues for the then Boston Braves in 1952. Aaron recalled Stone as a tough second baseman who wore scars from the opponents who purposefully slid into her. Aaron wasn’t the only admirer—and supporter—of women playing in the upper echelons of baseball. Another was Bob Hope, who befriended Aaron during nearly two decades in the Atlanta Braves’ PR department and ultimately founded the Colorado Silver Bullets. Even after Hope left the Braves in 1979 and pursued other opportunities in PR and sports marketing, he never forgot about his conversations with Aaron. In 1985, when the low-level Florida State League announced it was expanding, Hope, and a few others, raised several thousand dollars to create an all-woman team to compete with the rest of the league. Though Aaron joined the front office and served as an unofficial scout, the project eventually fizzled. Seven years later, Hope hadn’t given up. As he traveled the country, selling major companies on sports-related sponsorships and promotions, he pitched the idea of a women’s professional team. “I got laughed out of the room a whole bunch,” Hope says. In late spring 1993, Hope secured a meeting with Leo Kiely, the new chief executive officer at Coors, in Golden, and the first non-Coors family member to have the job. “Leo was a big baseball fan,” Hope says, “and he wanted us to come out and present some ideas that would get attention for Coors Light, which was being marketed as the Silver Bullet.” Hope prepared several proposals but decided to front-load the presentation with his idea for a women’s baseball team. “I figured I could get it out of the way and move on to other things,” Hope remembers. To his surprise, Kiely and the other Coors executives were intrigued.

Previous spread: Laura Wulf (team, batter)

When

Baseball had meant everything to Croteau, so she continued playing, for three years, on a Division III college team. Later, she played semipro ball in Virginia, dodging pitches deliberately aimed at her head while she stood in the batter’s box. After nearly two decades in the game, Croteau finally thought she was done. Then, one day in 1993, she got a call from an acquaintance—something about an all-woman baseball team. “Being on a baseball field made me feel like a whole human being, like anything was possible in my life,” Croteau says today. “This was my opportunity to feel whole again.”

RUBR IC

This spread, clockwise from left: Laura Wulf (5); Sarah Banks

Clockwise from far left: Bob Hope, the founder of the Silver Bullets; Lisa Martinez on the mound; southpaw Missy Coombes pitching; a commemorative ball signed by Silver Bullets players

Kiely offered $50,000 to see if Hope could make his plan work. “I couldn’t believe we’d done it,” Hope says. The team now needed a manager. Hope set his sights on Phil Niekro, a former Braves pitching star who’d eventually earn a plaque in Cooperstown. “Phil was the only person I even considered,” Hope, who’s now 77, says. Niekro’s reputation preceded him. He was a baseball lifer, famous for a floating knuckleball that earned him 318 wins in a 24-year career and the respect of everyone who mattered in pro ball. Most important to Hope, “Knucksie” was a guy who’d ridden the ups and downs of the game. In addition to winning more than 300 games, Niekro lost 274— fourth-most in major league history at the time—and only twice saw his team make the playoffs. “Phil had seen his fair amount of failure,” Hope says. “But he never lost his love for baseball.” Five years after retiring in 1986, Niekro managed the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate in Richmond, Virginia. After a couple of mediocre seasons, though, a call-up to the big league coaching staff hadn’t materialized. Hope knew Niekro wanted to remain in baseball.

In summer 1993, Hope rang Niekro. “It’s a real opportunity to do something in this game,” Hope told his friend. Niekro balked, but Hope cut him off. He wanted his friend to think about the idea for a couple of days. “Mostly,” Hope says, “I wanted him to talk to his wife about it.” Niekro called back within a week: He wanted the job. Although he said his family backed the decision, it wasn’t his wife who had persuaded him. Niekro told Hope that, having grown up in a baseball-loving family in the coal fields of eastern Ohio—his brother, Joe, would record 221 wins during a 22-year major league career—it was his older sister, Phyllis, a standout player herself, who had encouraged Phil to be part of the Silver Bullets team. “Dad always thought Phyllis deserved a shot to show what she could do,” John Niekro, Phil’s son and a former Silver Bullets coach, says. “In a way, I think Dad thought this was his chance to correct some wrongs in the game.”

THE SILVER BULLETS were officially introduced on December 10, 1993, and made headlines around the country. They’d be led by a coaching staff that included Niekro’s brother, Joe, and a slew of former major and minor league players, including Tommy Jackson, who’d later win a World Series ring as a coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks. A series of open tryouts were scheduled in more than 10 cities during that winter. Around 50 women who impressed the coaching staff at the tryouts were invited to spring training that following April, at the Boston Red M A R C H 2024 / 5280

OF SUMMER

Sox’s complex in Fort Myers, Florida. The hopefuls spent a month fielding, throwing, and hitting in the heat and humidity. The players lived in dorms and played daily scrimmages against one another. Even with professional accommodations and a coaching staff that included former MLB stars, some of the women still worried the whole thing was a scam—especially when the team announced its players would make $20,000 for the first season, or nearly double what a minor league baseball player might make in a year. “There’s no way this is happening,” Stacy Sunny, a former Division I All-Decade catcher for UCLA, remembers thinking. “It can’t be real.” The coaches would later realize how unprepared both they and the players were. Softball is played on a smaller field, with a larger ball, and with different rules. Softball hitters generally slap at pitches, in what often looks like a running start toward first base that would sap power from a baseball hitter. There’s also less nuance in the game: Softball runners can’t lead off, which means stolen bases are rare. Middle infielders don’t have to position themselves in case of a steal attempt; first basemen don’t have to watch the pitcher for a throw-over. Besides Croteau, who’d spent much of her college career on the bench at tiny Saint Mary’s College of Maryland, none of the women had played organized baseball in years. Some hadn’t even touched a baseball in decades. “It felt so different in my hands,” Coombes remembers. Few players had swung a wooden bat or had thrown a ball the 120-plus feet from third base to first base. None had ever pitched from a rubber that was 60 feet, six inches from home plate. At spring training, the coaches’ attitudes vacillated between surprise and bewilderment. “It could be a challenging atmosphere,” John Niekro remembers. “That’s putting it mildly.” Because the women played softball, they were used to the exuberant softball spirit—which is the opposite of the more staid, stuffy rhythms of traditional baseball. Someone would make a nice catch in the infield—and then immediately be swallowed by chattering teammates offering high-fives and pats on the rear end. When one woman roped a spring training hit into the outfield and slid into third base for a triple, she leapt into a coach’s arms and wrapped the man in a hug—something you’d never see in a baseball game. She got a talking-to afterward. Still, the women slowly began to win over the coaching staff. Even if they weren’t attuned to baseball’s more conservative culture, each was athletic and highly competitive and had the bona fides to prove it. Mitchem had played four years at Florida State and appeared in three NCAA College Softball World Series. Martinez starred on a national championship team at University of California, Berkeley, and would later pitch on the Puerto Rican softball team at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She hadn’t pitched overhand since the 1970s, so she tried out for the Silver Bullets by zipping the ball in the underhand motion used by softball pitchers. Her future teammates sneered at the oddity, but Martinez put pitch after pitch into the strike zone. “They didn’t laugh after that,” she says. There were also the players who had something to prove. Clark, who played the outfield, suffered from a degenerative eye disease that was slowly robbing her of her peripheral vision. Although she still excelled in the field, Clark struggled at the plate. The Silver Bullets offered her a chance to play defense—and to show something to herself and to the people who she thought had written her off. One pitcher, Leslie Ketchum, had a father who played six seasons of minor league baseball, and she wanted to keep the pro game in the family bloodline. Croteau simply wanted an opportunity to rewrite the ending to her life in the game. “I couldn’t see it any other way,” she says. “I needed that team.” Within four weeks, the 50 hopefuls had been whittled down to a roster of 24. The team’s first game was scheduled for May 8, 1994, Mother’s Day, in Charlotte, North Carolina. 96

5280 / MARCH 2024

ANY EXCITEMENT ABOUT the season was quickly extinguished after the Sil-

ver Bullets lost their first game 19-0 to a semipro All-Star team that included Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd and Leon Durham, two former pros with a combined 18 years of major league experience. Durham hit two home runs and Boyd—whose fastball barely topped 80 mph—relied on an arsenal of breaking pitches to shut down Silver Bullets hitters. By the seventh inning, Boyd had given up just two hits and struck out 12 batters. “It was soul-crushing,” says Stacy Sunny, who started at third base that night. “We probably went in a little overconfident,” John Niekro says today. The team had left spring training hitting the ball well and were getting on base. “But we never really stepped back and said we were hitting the ball all over the place against ourselves,” Niekro says. The team needed a quick reset. A day after the blowout, the Silver Bullets backed out of the Northern League, an independent pro minor league that would have pushed the team into more potentially devastating losses. Instead, they’d become an entirely barnstorming organization— playing outside of any established league and traveling the country while scheduling exhibition games with teams composed of male players who ranged from high schoolers to middleaged beer-leaguers. They’d also trade out wooden bats for the aluminum ones they’d played with in college. There were immediate complications with the team’s schedule. The players didn’t know where they would be week to week, or even night to night. Because the Silver Bullets had Clockwise from right: opened their schedule to nearly all Julie Croteau makes a comers, that sometimes meant hastplay at first base in 1994; ily scheduled games. The team lost its baseball cards of Croteau, Stacy Sunny, and second contest, 7-0, to the Red Mounmanager Phil Niekro tain Bandits in Mesa, Arizona. The

Silver Bullets went to San Francisco to play North California Community College and got drubbed 14-0. Over the season’s first 16 days, the team played games from Jacksonville, Florida, to Winnipeg, Canada. They were outscored 57-1. Perhaps the most difficult—and strangest—part of the schedule was that there weren’t true home games for the team. Although the Silver Bullets had “Colorado” emblazoned on their jerseys, the team played only two games in the state—a July 1 contest against the Pueblo AllStars, in Pueblo, and a July 3 game at Mile High Stadium against the amateur Colorado Sox, which more than 35,000 fans attended. Over five

Sarah Banks (3)

Girls

THE

From top: Laura Wulf; Sarah Banks

and sometimes served as designated hitter. Other teams’ players mocked them before games. “It was like they were saying we’re barefoot and pregnant and blah blah blah,” Clark says. The team traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, in early July to play the Summerville Yankees. Martinez was on the mound. “To say I was motivated is an understatement,” she says. Martinez’s most prodigious underhand pitch was her dropball, which she delivered with a pronated right hand that gave the ball both a falling and a tilting action. The movement was similar to that of an overhand screwball, working down and in on right-handed batters. Martinez pitched those first innings in Charleston, her windmill softball delivery and hip-high release baffling hitters. By the game’s midpoint, the Silver Bullets were up by a couple of runs and the dropball was working well. Standing in the dugout in the eighth inning, Martinez studied the scoreboard. Only then did she realize she was throwing a nohitter. The ninth inning went one-twothree, with a groundout to third base ending the game. After the final out, Martinez and Sunny met each other between the mound and home plate and embraced. Teammates encircled the pair and laughed and cheered and cried. Afterward, they celebrated with beers in the clubhouse.

months, the team would take 64 flights and dozens of bus rides. “At some point, you just want one night to sleep in your own bed,” first baseman Croteau says. “It was exhausting.” By the start of the team’s third month, the Silver Bullets had played 23 games and logged just one victory—a 7-2 win in St. Paul, Minnesota, over a team called the Richfield Rockets. The Silver Bullets were shut out 13 times, including a stretch of four straight games in which they didn’t score a run. Some Silver Bullets players saw more combined losses in May and June of 1994 than they’d experienced during their entire college softball careers. After the team’s 6-1 loss to the Colorado Sox in Denver, the Silver Bullets were in desperate need of a victory. “You don’t want to admit that you’re getting pissed off about dropping games, but we were definitely getting pissed off,” says Schaffrath, who played catcher and outfield

VIDEO OF MARTINEZ’S no-hitter doesn’t exist, or at least no one on the team has seen it. “That’d be so cool to see that last out,” she says. “Just take that little walk in the past.” Martinez, whose married name is Shawver, is in a hotel room in Las Vegas, resting before a ballroom dancing competition the next morning. She’s 59 now and hoping to start dancing professionally. The Silver Bullets folded after four years when Coors pulled its funding for the team, and each year, the memories fade a little more for those associated with the team’s earliest days. Remembering specific opponents and which small towns they visited is most often an effort in futility, made even more difficult because video footage of that first season is scarce. The Silver Bullets’ website, which Hope still operates, looks as if it’s trapped in the mid-1990s. There’s a hodgepodge of names and statistics—the team won just six games and lost 41 in its inaugural campaign—but little else. Coors, which is now part of the Molson Coors conglomerate, has only a few photographs and an old press release to show for its $7 million investment over four years of the team’s existence. Leo Kiely, the former CEO who greenlit the Silver Bullets, died in January 2023. Even the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, is light on Silver Bullets paraphernalia; it has some photos, a couple of jerseys, and an autographed team ball from that first CONTINUED ON PAGE 117 M A R C H 2024 / 5280

RUBR IC

DENVER’S

5280 / MARCH 2024

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LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS WEST AND MAIN HOMES KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY DTC RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

 Black Diamond $15 million to $29,999,999  Double Black Diamond $30 million or more

TEAMS OF 2 AGENTS  Black Diamond $20 million to $44,999,999

EXP REALTY

LIVE.LAUGH.DENVER. REAL ESTATE GROUP COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – COLORADO SPRINGS

Ardee Imerman

WK REAL ESTATE

 Double Black Diamond $60 million or more

Carolyn Ingebritson

TEAMS OF 6 TO 15 AGENTS

Stephanie Ismert

 Black Diamond $40 million to $74,999,999

Ryan J. Mulstay

 Double Black Diamond $75 million or more

YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE MADISON & COMPANY PROPERTIES LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

M A R C H 2024 / 5280

101

TOP PRODUCERS 2024 Darcy Keady

Janci Lowry McClafferty

Dyllan Nguyen

Leah Keeling

Juan Luevanos

Kelly Nichols

Scott Kimball

Jessica Luginbill

Kim Norton

Tara King

Fauna MacKillip

Tracy King

Melanie Madden

Steve Kinney

Leslie Maginn

Nadine Kirk

Tyler Martini

Eileen Kitko

Marlene Maxon

Brad Klein

Julie Maxwell

Joanne Kleinstein

Sandy Mazarakis

Jeff Kloenne

Terry McCaffrey

Krista Koth

Maureen McCarthy

Juli Kovats

Ann Meadows

Stephanie Kroll

Cheryl Melichar

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE HOMESMART HOMESMART RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS RE/MAX ALLIANCE EQUITY COLORADO REAL ESTATE

8Z REAL ESTATE HOMESMART COMPASS

8Z REAL ESTATE LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY COMPASS

Kelly Kummer

PORCHLIGHT REAL ESTATE GROUP

Kyle Kunkle

YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE

Barry Kunselman

PORCHLIGHT REAL ESTATE GROUP

Nancy E. Kunz RE/MAX 100

Jenny Kurpinsky

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Svetlana Kuznetsova

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Jose Laguna

HOMESMART

Susie Langford

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Sean Larkin

KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE DTC

Chad Lauber

COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – COLORADO SPRINGS

Taylor Lawton

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Nancy Levine

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Zori Levine COMPASS

Jason Lewis

YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE

Paige Lilienfeld

PORCHLIGHT REAL ESTATE GROUP

Thomas Lilly

MADISON & COMPANY PROPERTIES

Crystal Lockhart

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

102

5280 / MARCH 2024

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY HOMESMART

PORCHLIGHT REAL ESTATE GROUP RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

8Z REAL ESTATE

GUIDE REAL ESTATE MILEHIMODERN RE/MAX ALLIANCE

8Z REAL ESTATE YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE RE/MAX OF BOULDER RE/MAX OF CHERRY CREEK

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE CHERRY CREEK

David Novak

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Kevin Nydam

COLORADO HOME REALTY

Blake O’Shaughnessy

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Terry Oakes

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Sara Oclassen

8Z REAL ESTATE

Angelica Olmsted

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Elizabeth Owens

RE/MAX ALLIANCE

Vinny Pallone

PORCHLIGHT REAL ESTATE GROUP

Jennie Parson

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Denise Patryas

RE/MAX OF BOULDER

COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – NORTHERN COLORADO

Shaye Patterson

Maegen Merian

Brian Paul

Chris Merman

Suzy Pendergraft

Jim Merrion

Monica Perez

Matt Metcalf

Chris Perkins

HOMESMART

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – BOULDER SIMPLY DENVER - MILE HIGH HOME PRO

Tammy Milano

RE/MAX ELEVATE

Alicia Miller

RE/MAX OF BOULDER

Karen Miller

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Louis Moore

RE/MAX ALLIANCE

Regina Moore

KEY REALTY PARTNERS

Michelle Moran

RE/MAX MOMENTUM

Jennifer Morrissette HOMESMART

Jon Mottern COMPASS

Regina Naves HOMESMART

Linda Nehls

RE/MAX OF BOULDER

Courtney Nelson

PORCHLIGHT REAL ESTATE GROUP

Candace Newlove-Marrs MILEHIMODERN

Ammy Nguyen

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

PORCHLIGHT REAL ESTATE GROUP COMPASS

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE LOKATION REAL ESTATE

Kate Perry

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Scott Petersen

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Jerilee Peterson

MILEHIMODERN

Annzo Phelps

KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE DTC

Nichelle Phillips

CENTURY 21 ALTITUDE REAL ESTATE

Sarah Phillips COMPASS

Dina Piterniece

PORCHLIGHT REAL ESTATE GROUP

Liz Poladsky

FAQ How do you create this list? In June 2023, 5280 posted its Top Real Estate Producers survey. The link to the submission instructions (available at submit.5280.com/ top-producers) was sent out to dozens of real estate brokerages in the seven metro-area counties; it was also shared via social media. Any brokerage with agents who sell homes in the Denver metro area could submit nominations. The survey asked brokerage administrators to provide the names of both individual agents and teams of agents who, based on their sales volumes for 2022, qualified for our list. Nominees in hand, our research department reached out to each agent or team to confirm the sales numbers and to verify basic information. What qualifies someone to be a Top Real Estate Producer? We have four categories: individual agents, teams of two agents, teams of three to five agents, and teams of six to 15 agents. Within each category, we have two tiers: black diamond and double black diamond, which signify different levels of (impressive!) sales volumes. To be on the list, an agent or team of agents must have sold real estate within the Denver metro area and attained a certain amount of sales in 2022. Agents must also have an active license with the state’s Department of Regulatory Agencies; that license must be in good standing, without any disciplinary actions within the past five years.

PORCHLIGHT REAL ESTATE GROUP

April Porterfield

RE/MAX ELEVATE

Ken Posen COMPASS

Matthew Potter HOMESMART

Daphne Queen 8Z REAL ESTATE

León Ramirez

MILEHIMODERN

Arn Rasker

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Christina Ray

LIVE.LAUGH.DENVER. REAL ESTATE GROUP

Alex Reber

MADISON & COMPANY PROPERTIES

Bobby Reginelli

MODUS REAL ESTATE

Abby Renner

RE/MAX NEXUS

TOP PRODUCERS 2024 Your questions about the Top Real Estate Producers list, answered.

Jennifer Riley

John Stegner Jr.

Ed Weaver

Joel Ripmaster

Arnie Stein

Jim Weichselbaum

Symantha Rodriguez

Jennifer Stenbak

Stacy Weinstein

Gina Roth

Kim Stephens

Molly Weiss

Chris Royer

Karina Stevens

Heidi Wendling

Louis Royston

Tania Story

Debbie West

Stacy Rozansky

Karen Straus

Tamara Whalen

Daniel K. Ruth

Troy Strom

Ashton White

Cristina Sajovich

Elaine Stucy

Jackie White

Alfredo Salcedo

Dan Swanson

Lexie White

Lindsey Sampier Baker

Marci Swanson

Sarah White

Shelby Sampson

Vignesh Tanneru

Brad Whitehouse

Coleen Sanders

Ashley Tate

Colin Whitenack

Carissa Sargent

Amy Terry

Ashley Wildeman

Jamie Schingeck

Derek Thomas

Randy Willis

Drew Schneider

Joel A. Thompson

Julie Winger

Sonia Shakeshaft

Dasreddy Thumma

Sandra Shayler

Soledad Tobar

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS SLIFER SMITH & FRAMPTON LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

I’m looking at the list and there seem to be teams in, say, the six to 15 category that only have five agents. What’s that about? As in any business setting, people come and go. Because we want this list to be a useful reference for you, we have only included current members of teams. So, while there may have been seven people responsible for the team’s 2022 sales volume—which would put that group in the six-plus category—only five may still be working with that squad today. I’ve heard that being on the list requires an agent or a brokerage to advertise with 5280—is this true? Nope. Inclusion in the Top Real Estate Producers list is not dependent upon the decision to advertise with the magazine. Sometimes agents and brokerages decide to advertise; however, if, when, and/or how much anyone advertises is not taken into consideration when compiling the list. I’m an agent, but my brokerage didn’t receive the survey this year. How do we participate in the future? The next Top Real Estate Producers list will likely run in March 2025. The survey should be live and available to metro-area brokerage managers who visit submit.5280.com/ top-producers in the summer of 2024. If you have questions about participation, please call 303-832-5280 at any time.

YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS WK REAL ESTATE

RE/MAX LEADERS PORCHLIGHT REAL ESTATE GROUP THE AGENCY – DENVER LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY RE/MAX OF CHERRY CREEK RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS EQUITY COLORADO REAL ESTATE

Kevin Shelledy COMPASS

Neelam Shrestha

RE/MAX NORTHWEST

Barb Silverman

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Jon Simisky

8Z REAL ESTATE

Jennifer Singer

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Dotson Skaggs

KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE DTC

Daryl W. Smith

RE/MAX OF BOULDER

Fred Smith

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Leisa Sollenberger Leslie Resnick

8Z REAL ESTATE

Ryan Retaleato REDFIN

Jason Reynolds

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

LaDawn Sperling

8Z REAL ESTATE

RE/MAX AVENUES LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY COMPASS

8Z REAL ESTATE KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE CHERRY CREEK LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY COLORADO HOME REALTY CENTURY 21 ALTITUDE REAL ESTATE HOMESMART

THRIVE REAL ESTATE GROUP

8Z REAL ESTATE COMPASS

RE/MAX ALLIANCE HOMESMART

COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – DENVER CENTRAL

Ayad Toma

RE/MAX LEADERS

Ann Torgerson HOMESMART

Katelynn Tran

EQUITY COLORADO REAL ESTATE

Julie Trunzo

YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE

Oleg Tsybulskiy

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Jack Urbano

MILEHIMODERN

Blaine Ussery

MILEHIMODERN

Hawk Vanek

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Ramon Vargas RE/MAX 100

Teresa L. Vendegnia

Jeff Stander

Medra Volpi

HOMESMART

Robert Stark

Dane Rickard

Chelsea Steen

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – DENVER WEST

David E. Richins

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE

RE/MAX NORTHWEST COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – SOUTH METRO AT DTC

James T. Wanzeck

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Susie Wargin

SLIFER SMITH & FRAMPTON RE/MAX 100

8Z REAL ESTATE

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS HOMESMART

MILEHIMODERN YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE HOMESMART LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS YOUR CASTLE REAL ESTATE

8Z REAL ESTATE COMPASS

KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE CHERRY CREEK

Nicole Wolf

COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – NORTH METRO

Brandi Wolff

GUIDE REAL ESTATE

Andrea Wright

RE/MAX ALLIANCE

Stu Wright

WK REAL ESTATE

Srini Yarlagadda HOMESMART

Dene Yarwood

WK REAL ESTATE

Allie Yates

THE AGENCY – DENVER

Dawn Zalfa

COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – EVERGREEN

Marietta Zygaj

8Z REAL ESTATE

INDIVIDUAL AGENTS

D O U B L E B L A C K D I A M O N D 

Lori Abbey COMPASS

Tim Aberle

THRIVE REAL ESTATE GROUP CONTINUED ON PAGE 120

RE/MAX ALLIANCE

M A R C H 2024 / 5280

103

Dining Guide

PRICE KEY

Average Entrée $ $$ $$$ $$$$

under $15 $16 to $20 $21 to $30 $31 and higher

SYMBOL KEY

Dragon’s Pearl

Indicates inclusion in 5280’s 2023 list of Denver’s best restaurants. These selections are at the discretion of 5280 editors and are subject to change. A5 STEAKHOUSE

$$$$

LoDo / Steak House This unfussy chophouse by the team behind Forget Me Not and Tap and Burger features perfectly seared steaks, hearty sides, and draft cocktails. Never pass up the beef tartare katsu sando and the chickpea fries to start your meal. Reservations accepted. 1600 15th St., 303-623-0534. Dinner AFRICAN GRILL & BAR

ANNETTE

$$$

Lakewood / African Explore a bevy of dishes from across Africa at this warm and inviting restaurant run by the Osei-Fordwuo family. Peanut soups, fried fish, samosas, and jollof rice are just some of the crave-worthy options you’ll order again and again. Reservations accepted. 955 S. Kipling Parkway, Lakewood, 303-985-4497. Lunch, Dinner

Aurora / American James Beard Award–winning chef Caroline Glover’s Annette delivers a lineup of seasonal salads, pastas, wood-fired proteins, and other comforting bites in a modern, inviting space. Don’t skip dessert, particularly if pecan pie is on the menu. Reservations accepted. 2501 Dallas St., Suite 108, Aurora, 720-710-9975. Dinner AUDREY JANE’S PIZZA GARAGE

BANH & BUTTER BAKERY CAFE

Boulder / Pizza Expect perfect New York–style sourdough pies featuring inventive toppings at this joint. Try the Hot Honey Disco Pie with salami picante, mushrooms, and Calabrese honey. Reservations not accepted. 2675 13th St., Boulder, 303-442-2032. Lunch, Dinner

Aurora / French Thoa Nguyen crafts French pastries inspired by her Vietnamese heritage at this East Colfax cafe. Go for the dazzling crêpe cakes, each made with 25 to 30 layers. Reservations not accepted. 9935 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora, 720-513-9313. Breakfast, Lunch BLACKBELLY

$$$

Boulder / American Chef Hosea Rosenberg’s carnivore-friendly menu focuses on charcuterie, small plates, and daily butcher specials. Try the koji-cured heritage pork chop. Also check out the adjacent butcher shop and market, which serves breakfast and lunch and is stocked with locally made retail goods. Reservations accepted. 1606 Conestoga St., Boulder, 303-247-1000. Dinner 104

5280 / MARCH 2024

In a nod to Chinese folklore, a large paper dragon holding a pearl in its mouth stretches across the ceiling at Nana’s Dim Sum & Dumplings in LoHi. The flamboyance of the piece, along with the five-month-old dinner spot’s crimson lights, house music, and swanky cocktails, shows that coowner Jack Lu did not intend to create a run-of-the-mill dim sum house. The homemade dumplings’ taste, though, lives up to the eatery’s grandmotherly moniker. We particularly like the rarer dim sum items, such as chicken and corn pot stickers or thumblings reminiscent of bite-size, panfried pork buns. Nana’s offerings are becoming easier to find, too, with multiple new outposts on the menu: A Boulder location opened in December, and spots in Aurora and downtown Denver are on the horizon.

$$$$

BRUTØ

LoDo / International This Michelin-starred restaurant highlights heritage grains and house ferments in a Latin-influenced, omakase-style tasting menu. Tack on the cocktail or nonalcoholic beverage pairing to make the experience even more special. Reservations accepted. 1801 Blake St., 720-325-2195. Dinner CANTINA LOCA

COMAL HERITAGE FOOD INCUBATOR

LoHi / Mexican Chef Dana Rodriguez’s welcoming LoHi taqueria invites diners to connect over plates of tacos, shareable entrées, and drinks infused with the Chihuahua, Mexico–born matriarch’s own line of agave spirits, Doña Loca. Order the molcajete. Reservations accepted. 2890 Zuni St., 303-284-6738. Dinner

RiNo / International Immigrant and refugee women develop the skills to operate their own food businesses by serving up renditions of their family recipes at this indoor-outdoor restaurant. Try the pupusas or the plato caribe, fried fish with tostones and coleslaw. Reservations not accepted. 1950 35th St., 303-292-0770. Breakfast, Lunch

CURTIS PARK DELICATESSEN

Curtis Park / Deli This neighborhood deli serves a menu of fine classic sandwiches (like the Curtis, made with corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and house-made Thousand Island). Also try the Cherry Creek location. Reservations not accepted. 2532 Champa St., 303-308-5973. Lunch DAUGHTER THAI KITCHEN & BAR

$$$

LoHi / Thai This date-night-ready Thai restaurant from Ounjit Hardacre serves beautifully plated dishes and inventive cocktails with an elegant ambience to match. The menu features tried-andtrue favorites such as pad thai and massaman curry alongside a rotating lineup of rare-inDenver specialties. Reservations accepted. 1700 Platte St., Suite 140, 720-667-4652. Lunch, Dinner DEATH & CO

$$$

RiNo / Contemporary The famed New York City bar offers top-notch cocktail service and an inventive menu in the lobby of the Ramble Hotel. Try the smoked wild mushrooms. Reservations not accepted. 1280 25th St., 720-330-2660. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

WANT MORE DINING OPTIONS? Visit our online listings at 5280.com/restaurants.

Sarah Banks

Indicates a restaurant featured in 5280 for the first time (though not necessarily a restaurant that has just opened).

DINING GUIDE EDGEWATER INN

Edgewater / Pizza This pizzeria has been family owned and operated for more than 60 years. Try the Howdy Pizza, a combo of sausage, peppers, mushrooms, and jalapeños. Reservations not accepted. 5302 W. 25th Ave., Edgewater, 303-2373524. Lunch, Dinner

EL TACO DE MEXICO

Lincoln Park / Mexican This Denver favorite serves Mexican food with an emphasis on authenticity. Try the chile relleno burrito. Reservations not accepted. 714 Santa Fe Drive, 303-623-3926. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

FISH N BEER

$$$

RiNo / Seafood Kevin Morrison offers approachable, fresh seafood and a hearty beer list at this casual oysterette. Reservations accepted. 3510 Larimer St., 303-248-3497. Dinner FOX AND THE HEN

LoHi / American This sunny brunch eatery brightens up any morning. The animal-style hash brown smothered in American cheese and special sauce (an homage to In-N-Out) is a must-order, but any of the toasts or egg dishes are a smart way to start your day. Reservations not accepted. 2257 W. 32nd Ave., 303-862-6795. Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch

FRASCA FOOD AND WINE

$$$$

Boulder / Italian The elegant cuisine always wows at Frasca, an ode to the cuisine of Friuli-Venezia Giulia in northeastern Italy from master sommelier Bobby Stuckey and chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson. Splurge on executive chef Ian Palazzola’s ninecourse Friulano menu. Reservations accepted. 1738 Pearl St., Boulder, 303-442-6966. Dinner

THE GINGER PIG

Berkeley / Asian Chef-owner Natascha Hess serves Asian-inspired street food with playful twists at this casual spot. The lamb stir-fry and the Hong Kong French toast are must-order dishes. Also try the takeout-only Boulder location. Reservations not accepted. 1035 Pearl St., Boulder, 303-442-0782. Lunch, Dinner

GUARD AND GRACE

$$$$

HIGHLAND’S INDIAN CUISINE

$$$

Downtown / Steak House Chef Troy Guard’s modern steak house offers a chic setting for its elevated fare. Try the flight of filet mignon. Reservations accepted. 1801 California St., 303-293-8500. Lunch, Dinner

Highlands Ranch / Indian Enjoy upscale curries, biryani, and tandoori selections at the first Indian restaurant in Highlands Ranch. Reservations not accepted. 9344 Dorchester St., Suite 101, Highlands Ranch, 720-420-9374. Lunch, Dinner

HIRA CAFE & PATISSERIE

HOPS & PIE

IL POSTO

$$$$

IMPERIAL CHINESE

$$$

JAMAICAN GRILLE

JAX FISH HOUSE & OYSTER BAR

$$$

Aurora / Ethiopian Pastry chef-owner Hiwot Solomon pairs her from-scratch desserts and Ethiopian breakfast plates with house-roasted, single-origin coffee at this cheery cafe. Reservations not accepted. 10782 E. Iliff Ave., Aurora, 720-949-1703. Breakfast, Lunch

Berkeley / Pizza Craft pizza and local brews are this spot’s forte. Load up your pie with toppings such as Texas barbecue sauce and jalapeños, and wash it all down with a choice of more than 20 beers. Reservations not accepted. 3920 Tennyson St., 303-477-7000. Lunch, Dinner

RiNo / Italian Sample Andrea Frizzi’s imaginative Italian cuisine in a sleek, metropolitan environment. Don’t miss the seasonal risotto or the pineapple zeppole (Italian doughnut holes) with passion fruit coulis and coconut anglaise. Reservations accepted. 2601 Larimer St., 303-394-0100. Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

Baker / Asian This stalwart offers Cantonese, Mandarin, and Sichuan food in an elegant setting. Reservations accepted. 431 S. Broadway, 303-698-2800. Lunch, Dinner

Lincoln Park / Jamaican This family-owned Jamaican restaurant serves classic Caribbean-centric dishes like jerk chicken, fried plantains, and rice and peas. Reservations accepted. 709 W. Eighth Ave., 303-623-0013. Lunch, Dinner LoDo / Seafood Enjoy sustainable seafood in an upbeat atmosphere. Specialties include the raw

106

5280 / MARCH 2024

CELEBRATE THE COLORADO SYMPHONY’S CENTENNIAL WITH THESE CONCERTS AND MORE ALL SEASON LONG!

Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with Peter Oundjian

Pink Martini with your Colorado Symphony

Yo-Yo Ma with the Colorado Symphony

An Alpine Symphony with Peter Oundjian

APR 12-14

APR 19

MAY 5

MAY 24-26

COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG | 303.623.7876 VIEW ALL EVENTS USING THE QR CODE

DINING GUIDE oyster bar and seasonally composed plates. Multiple locations. Reservations accepted. 1539 17th St., 303-292-5767. Dinner KATSU RAMEN

Aurora / Japanese Satisfy your cravings with one of the traditional styles offered at this cozy spot. Get the most out of your dollar with a combo meal. Reservations not accepted. 1930 S. Havana St., Aurora, 303-751-2222. Lunch, Dinner

THE KITCHEN AMERICAN BISTRO

$$$

LA DIABLA POZOLE Y MEZCAL

LoDo / American Seasonally inspired classics, an excellent drinks menu, and warm hospitality are the draw. Also try the Boulder location. Reservations accepted. 1560 Wazee St., 303-623-3127. Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

Ballpark / Mexican This lively eatery from James Beard Award finalist Jose Avila serves up pozole and other traditional Mexican fare at affordable prices. Don’t miss the weekend brunch for chilaquiles, huaraches, and a killer house michelada. Reservations not accepted. 2233 Larimer St., 720-519-1060. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch LE FRENCH

$$$

Hampden / French This chic Belleview Station bistro, owned by French-Senegalese sisters, transports diners through Parisian cuisine with African influences. Also try the Hale location. Reservations accepted. 4901 S. Newport St., 720-710-8963. Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

108

5280 / MARCH 2024

LUCINA EATERY & BAR

$$$

South Park Hill / Latin American Bold flavors from Latin America, the Caribbean, and coastal Spain tantalize at this lively restaurant. Try the mofongo, a plantain mash with pork belly chicharrón, or the two-person paella with rotating toppings only served on Fridays and Saturdays. Reservations accepted. 2245 Kearney St., Suite 101, 720-814-1053. Dinner

MONO MONO KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN

LoDo / Korean Savor crispy Korean fried chicken wings along with simple sides like kimchi and pickled daikon and starters like gochujang-slathered spicy rice cakes at this industrial eatery. Multiple locations. Reservations not accepted. 1550 Blake St., 720-379-6567. Lunch, Dinner NANA’S DIM SUM & DUMPLINGS

NOISETTE RESTAURANT & BAKERY

$$$

NOLA VOODOO TAVERN AND PERKS

MANGO HOUSE

LoHi / Chinese Enjoy a spread of house-made dumplings and shareable Asian plates at this swanky restaurant in LoHi. Xiaolongbao lovers should go for the bite-size “thumblings.” Reservations accepted. 3316 Tejon St., Suite 102, 720-769-4051. Lunch, Dinner

MARIGOLD

$$$

LoHi / French Chefs Tim and Lillian Lu serve elegant renditions of bourgeoisie-style specialties (French home-cooked comforts) in a romantic, light-drenched space. Tear into the perfectly crisp baguette to set the Parisian scene for your dining experience. Reservations accepted. 3254 Navajo St., Suite 100, 720-7698103. Dinner, Brunch

MISFIT SNACKBAR

Aurora / International This immigrant- and refugee-led food hall is home to six outstanding culinary concepts, including Urban Burma, Swahili BBQ Grill, and Nepali Spice. 10180 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora, 303-900-8639. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Lyons / European This small, light-filled restaurant serves seasonally driven French- and Italian-influenced fare. The farinata (chickpea pancake) is a delicious mainstay of the frequently changing menu; the amaro-centric cocktail program is also delightful. Reservations accepted. 405 Main St., Suite B, Lyons, 303-823-2333. Dinner City Park / Contemporary You’ll never be bored by the imaginative, flavor-packed offerings from chef-owner Bo Porytko at this eclectic concept housed inside Middleman cocktail bar. Start with the chips and dip. Reservations not accepted. 3401 E. Colfax Ave., 303-353-4207. Dinner

Clayton / Southern New Orleans native and owner Henry Batiste serves his grandmother’s recipes for gumbo, po’ boys, and much more at this Louisiana-inspired spot. Reservations accepted. 3321 Bruce Randolph Ave., 720-3899544. Lunch, Dinner

M A D E FO R YO U

CONGRATULATIONS TO PORCHLIGHT AGENTS RECOGNIZED BY 5280 AS TOP PRODUCERS

TEAM OF 2, DOUBLE BLACK DIAMOND $45M+

TEAM OF 6+, DOUBLE BLACK DIAMOND $75M+

TEAM OF 2, BLACK DIAMOND $20M+

INDIVIDUAL BLACK DIAMOND $15M+

ANNE & JAKE SINGLETON

BARRY KUNSELMAN

CAROL BRAND

COURTNEY NELSON

DINA PITERNIECE

DUNBAR HARDY

JESSICA LUGINBILL

KELLY KUMMER

KEVIN BYRNE

LINDSEY SAMPIER BAKER

LIZ POLADSKY

STEVE & KRISTEN LE PEAU

MARY GERWIN

HANNAH HUNNICUTT

RACHEL SIMRING

KRISTEN MILLER

Anne: 303.884.0084 | Jake: 303.257.7902 anne@porchlightgroup.com | jake@porchlightgroup.com

720.317.3649 dina@porchlightgroup.com

303.931.2283 kevin@thebyrnegroup.com

5280 City Living | 303.619.3150 mary@porchlightgroup.com

303.887.0588 barry@porchlightgroup.com

303.859.7922 dunbar@dunbarhardy.com

970.214.9715 lindsey@lindseysellscolorado.com

5280 City Living | 720.999.1609 hannah.hunnicutt@porchlightgroup.com

720.291.6253 carolbrand@porchlightgroup.com

303.808.1306 jessica@luginbillhomes.com

303.359.6365 liz@porchlightgroup.com

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DINING GUIDE OAK AT FOURTEENTH

$$$$

Boulder / Seasonal This bright space just off the Pearl Street Mall offers a diverse, ever-changing menu of seasonal, oak-fired eats from chef Peter Ho and creative cocktails from Bryan Dayton. Order the kale salad, roasted ocean trout, or a handmade pasta. Reservations accepted. 1400 Pearl St., Boulder, 303-444-3622. Dinner

OSAKA RAMEN

Q HOUSE

RiNo / Japanese Jeff Osaka’s modern ramen shop features original noodle soups, bento boxes, and creative small plates. Try the mochi doughnuts. Reservations not accepted. 2611 Walnut St., 303-955-7938. Lunch, Dinner

PETE’S KITCHEN

Cheesman Park / American A staple for late-night food, Pete’s is known for its breakfasts but also serves burgers, gyros, and souvlaki sandwiches all day. Reservations not accepted. 1962 E. Colfax Ave., 303-321-3139. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

PHO 95

Mar Lee / Vietnamese Authentic Vietnamese cuisine is served up every day at this noodle house. Try your pho in any of the 22 different ways that are offered. Also try the Centennial location. Reservations not accepted. 1401 S. Federal Blvd., 303-936-3322. Lunch, Dinner

THE PIG & THE SPROUT

LoDo / Americna Tucked behind Union Station, this dichotomous eatery offers something for

everyone. Order the brisket poutine from the Pig side of the menu, or opt for lighter fare from the Sprout side. Reservations accepted. 1900 Chestnut Place, 720-535-9719. Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

City Park / Chinese Enjoy a modern take on Chinese cuisine at this City Park eatery operated by chef Christopher Lin, an alum of Momofuku in New York City. Try the braised pork rice served with pickled mustard greens and braising jus. Reservations accepted. 3421 E. Colfax Ave., 720-729-8887. Dinner

QUE BUENO SUERTE

$$$

Platt Park / Mexican The menu at this vibrant restaurant offers familiar items like tacos and fajitas as well as upscale, regionally inspired Mexican fare. Reservations accepted. 1518 S. Pearl St., 720-642-7322. Dinner, Brunch

RECESS BEER GARDEN

RESTAURANT OLIVIA

$$$$

LoHi / American This spot offers an oasis to sample 25 local and international cold brews on tap. Nibble on the pork torta or tuck into a hearty burger. Reservations not accepted. 2715 17th St., 720-638-0020. Lunch, Dinner, Brunch Washington Park / Italian This cozy yet modern neighborhood spot from chef Ty Leon specializes in fresh pastas and Italian classics like porchetta and risotto. Reservations accepted. 290 S. Downing St., 303-999-0395. Dinner

SAFTA

$$$$

SAME CAFÉ

SAP SUA

$$$

RiNo / Mediterranean At Safta, acclaimed chef Alon Shaya and his team serve modern Israeli fare. Crave-worthy specialties include hummus, labneh, and other dips accompanied by wood-oven pita and crispy Persian rice with cherries and sunflower seeds. Also check out the weekend brunch buffet. Reservations accepted. 3330 Brighton Blvd., Suite 201, 720-408-2444. Dinner, Brunch City Park West / Seasonal SAME is short for So All May Eat, which means pay-what-you-can pricing with an ever-changing menu. Reservations not accepted. 2023 E. Colfax Ave., 720-530-6853. Lunch

Congress Park / Vietnamese This smart eatery from husband-and-wife duo Ni and Anna Nguyen finds its culinary footing in Vietnamese flavors. Herbaceous offerings like chrysanthemum green salad and culantro-capped tomato toast are favorites of the menu, as are seafood plates like the hamachi collar with a coconut caramel glaze. Reservations accepted. 2550 E. Colfax Ave., 303-736-2303. Dinner SHI MIAO DAO YUNNAN RICE NOODLE

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5280 / MARCH 2024

Aurora / Asian This build-your-own rice noodle soup restaurant specializes in noodles from China’s Yunnan province and boba milk teas. Reservations not accepted. 2000 S. Havana St., Aurora, 720-583-2839. Lunch, Dinner

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DINING GUIDE SONNY’S MEDITERRANEAN

Highland / Mediterranean This counter-service joint’s falafel and house-roasted chicken are topnotch. Try either in a pita sandwich stuffed with french fries and feta. Reservations not accepted. 2622 W. 32nd Ave., 720-479-8813. Lunch, Dinner SPUNTINO

$$$$

$$$

Berkeley / American Feast on Indigenous fare such as fry bread tacos made with ingredients sourced from Native producers at this fast-casual spot. The company also has an online marketplace for Native-produced bison and pantry goods and donates prepared meals to tribal communities in need. Reservations not accepted. 3536 W. 44th Ave., 720-524-8282. Lunch, Dinner

$$$

Aurora / Korean House-made tofu is the main draw at this airy Korean eatery from chef-restaurateur J.W. Lee. Order the spicy seafood soondubu stew featuring silken tofu with the individual-size, pressure-cooked rice that’s prepared tableside. Reservations not accepted. 2060 S. Havana St., Aurora, 303-954-9372. Lunch, Dinner

Arvada / Contemporary Visit this farm-to-table spot in Olde Town Arvada for beautifully presented dishes made with local produce by chefs Jordan Alley and Brandon Kerr. Don’t miss the foie gras parfait or the hot honey fried chicken. Reservations accepted. 7605 Grandview Ave., Arvada, 720-630-7908. Dinner SUNDAY VINYL

LoDo / European This Union Station restaurant offers warm hospitality, exquisite cuisine, and an extensive wine list, all to the soundtrack of a vinyl-only playlist. Order the duck-liverstuffed gougères (French cheese puffs) and one of the indulgent desserts. Reservations accepted. 1803 16th St., 720-738-1803. Dinner

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Five Points / International Head to this charming teahouse-bookstore-market for loose-leaf and specialty teas and all-day fare like soups, salads, sandwiches, and freshly baked pastries. High tea service is also available. Reservations accepted. 611 22nd St., 303-593-2013. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Highland / Italian Enjoy the eclectic and locally sourced menu at this Italian-inspired, husbandand-wife-owned spot. Go for any of the dishes with Southern Indian influences—a product of chef Cindhura Reddy’s heritage—like malai kofta gnocchi. Don’t miss the house-made gelatos for dessert. Reservations accepted. 2639 W. 32nd Ave., 303-433-0949. Dinner STONE CELLAR BISTRO

TEALEE’S TEAHOUSE AND BOOKSTORE

TOCABE, AN AMERICAN INDIAN EATERY

TOFU STORY

TUPELO HONEY SOUTHERN KITCHEN & BAR $$$

LoDo / Southern Nosh on reimagined versions of down-home dishes, such as the signature honey-dusted fried chicken. Reservations accepted. 1650 Wewatta St., 720-274-0650. Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

UCHI DENVER

$$$$

Curtis Park / Japanese This bustling eatery from James Beard Award–winning chef Tyson Cole delivers artful and inventive Japanese small plates and sushi made with some of the freshest fish in town. Visit for the daily happy hour, when nigiri and temaki are less than $10. Reservations accepted. 2500 Lawrence St., 303-444-1922. Dinner UNCLE

Speer / Asian This reliable Pan Asian noodle house from chef-owner Tommy Lee has a revolving menu of steamed buns, small plates, rice and curry bowls, and ramen. Order the picy dan dan noodles for a soupless slurping experience. Also try the Highland location. Reservations not accepted. 95 S. Pennsylvania St., 720-638-1859. Dinner THE UNIVERSAL

Sunnyside / American This breakfast and lunch nook is an industrial farmhouse-chic spot for breakfast foods, including tasty eggs Benedict and biscuits and gravy. Reservations not accepted. 2911 W. 38th Ave., 303-955-0815. Breakfast, Lunch URBAN VILLAGE GRILL

$$$

Lone Tree / Indian Chef Charles Mani serves classic and contemporary dishes from regions across India at this eatery inside Park Meadows Mall. Order the chef’s tasting menu, a multicourse feast featuring Urban cauliflower, butter

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DINING GUIDE chicken, and other popular dishes. Reservations accepted. 8505 Park Meadows Center Drive, Suite 2184A, Lone Tree, 720-536-8565. Lunch, Dinner $

US THAI CAFE

Edgewater / Thai Classic, fresh ingredients, spicy dishes, and a chef straight from Thailand make for an authentic, if mouth-tingling, dining experience. Try the green curry. Reservations accepted. 5228 W. 25th Ave., Edgewater, 303-233-3345. Lunch, Dinner

VIEWHOUSE

VITAL ROOT

WELLNESS SUSHI

Ballpark / American This is your place to catch the game and enjoy a variety of bar bites, from burgers and tacos to steak. Watch your favorite team while enjoying a draft beer and a plate of nachos. Multiple locations. Reservations accepted. 2015 Market St., 720-878-2015. Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

YAHYA’S MEDITERRANEAN GRILL & PASTRIES $$

City Park West / Mediterranean This family-run restaurant serves silky hummus, a variety of excellent grilled kebabs, and from-scratch sweets. Try the beef koobideh. Reservations accepted. 2207 E. Colfax Ave., 720-532-8746. Lunch, Dinner

YAZOO BARBEQUE COMPANY

Five Points / Barbecue This unpretentious counter-service barbecue joint offers a Deep South menu, featuring slow-smoked pork ribs and brisket. Dig in at the outdoor picnic tables. Reservations not accepted. 2150 Broadway, 303-296-3334. Lunch, Dinner

ZOCALITO LATIN BISTRO

$$$

Downtown / Mexican Formerly located in Aspen, chef-owner Michael Beary’s upscale Oaxacan eatery found a home in the heart of Denver. Try the pork tenderloin with red mole sauce, grilled cactus, corn truffles, and goat cheese. Reservations accepted. 999 18th St., Suite 107, 720-923-5965. Dinner

 These listings are in no way related to advertising in 5280. If you find that a restaurant differs significantly from the information in its listing or your favorite restaurant is missing from the Dining Guide, please let us know. Write us at 5280 Publishing, Inc., 1675 Larimer St., Suite 675, Denver, CO 80202 or dining@5280.com.

Berkeley / American Justin Cucci’s fourth eatery focuses on quick, healthy food. Grab a seat in the airy space and nosh on creative, wholesome fare such as cashew “queso” dip or a sunflower risotto. Reservations not accepted. 3915 Tennyson St., 303-474-4131. Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

Congress Park / Japanese Vegan sushi stars at this fast-casual joint by husband-and-wife duo Steven and Phoebe Lee. Don’t miss hot options like the soupless ramen. Reservations not accepted. 2504 E. Colfax Ave., 720-306-4989. Lunch, Dinner THE WELTON ROOM LOUNGE

$$$

Five Points / Contemporary This restaurantlounge’s globally inspired tapas have some serious heft. Go for the Colorado hanger steak or the red pork belly bao, and don’t miss the visually stunning cocktails. Reservations accepted. 2590 Welton St., 720-447-9502. Dinner, Brunch WHITTIER CAFE

WILDE

XICAMITI LA TAQUERÍA

Whittier / Cafe This espresso bar, which supports social-justice-related causes, serves coffee, beer, and wine sourced from various African nations and a small menu of pastries, breakfast burritos, panini, and more. Reservations not accepted. 1710 E. 25th Ave., 720-550-7440. Breakfast, Lunch

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LoHi / American This cheery brunch spot in LoHi offers a menu of refreshing cocktails and filling SoCal-inspired fare. Try the grapefruitinfused Afternoon Delight cocktail with a crab cake Benedict on a split buttermilk biscuit. Reservations not accepted. 3618 Tejon St. Breakfast, Brunch

Golden / Mexican This long-standing joint serves cooked-to-order burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and alambres (skillet dishes) made with recipes drawing from Walter Meza’s childhood in Mexico. Reservations not accepted. 715 Washington Ave., Golden, 303-215-3436. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

LITTLE INDIA RESTAURANT & BAR MARCH 2024 / 5280

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J O I N N O W

BBI

UNIVERSITY

Learn More

THE GIRLS OF SUMMER

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 97

season. “It’s a little bit like here today, gone tomorrow,” says Schaffrath, 52, who’s been a Chicago police officer for 24 years. “We did our thing, and it was fun and rewarding, but then the world moved on.” Although she spent three seasons with the team, Sunny doesn’t think too much about legacies. “I’m just happy that, for a few glorious years, I got to play pro baseball,” the former catcher says. “How many people in this world get to say that?” Part of this is perhaps a consequence of the era. “Imagine if we’d been around at this time, rather than 30 years ago,” Clark says. “We’d have the internet and social media.Think about what Silver Bullets on TikTok or Instagram would look like. The attention would be nuts.”

TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS after the team folded—by its fourth and final season, the team posted a

vastly improved 23-22 record—Silver Bullets alums still talk occasionally. They’re mothers and wives and professionals in things other than baseball. Julie Croteau is the director of strategic communications and events at the Stanford Cancer Institute. Stacy Sunny is the VP of technical operations and remote crewing at Fox Sports Net. Lisa Shawver is working on that dancing career, but she’s also an entrepreneur and motivational speaker. Shannan Mitchem is now Shannan Lovelady, a breast cancer survivor who’s raising three kids in a sports-obsessed home with her husband, a high school football coach whose team won the Georgia state championship in 2022. “I’m Mom now,” Lovelady says. Still, there’s a framed Silver Bullets jersey hanging on a basement wall, in case the kids forget Mom was an amazing athlete in her own right. Fifteen years ago, a bunch of the women got together in Atlanta, where Phil Niekro still lived. They swapped stories. They talked about how Niekro could make them feel like they’d just let down their own fathers if they made an error in the field. They talked about a coach who yelled when they ran back to the dugout after striking out. “What are you so happy about?” he’d shout. The voice still rang

in their ears. They talked about Shawver’s nohitter. They talked about the time Sunny got hit in the face with a fastball and played again that week. They talked about knocking back beers at the bar after a game while groupies tried to hit on them, about fleabag motels, about the coast-to-coast plane rides. They’ve seen their ranks get smaller over the years. Joe Niekro, their pitching coach and Phil’s brother, was the first to go. He suffered a blood vessel rupture caused by a brain aneurysm in 2006 and died at 61. The day after Christmas in 2013, third base coach Paul Blair had a heart attack and was pronounced dead at the hospital. Hitting coach Joe Pignatamo died of dementia in 2022. Four years ago, the texts started flying among old teammates: Phil Niekro was battling prostate cancer. He’d kept quiet about it, but the end seemed inevitable. At 81, he was grinding out the last months of his life like a warhorse starting pitcher muscling through the final outs on his way to a complete game. Lovelady got a call in December 2020. It was Niekro’s family. “Dad was going downhill pretty quickly,” John, Niekro’s son, remembers. At the time, Lovelady lived less than 10 miles from Niekro’s house, and she’d visited

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THE GIRLS OF SUMMER

a few times over the years. Although she’d swapped out Mitchem as her last name nearly 15 years earlier, Niekro still called her “Mitch.” One morning before Christmas, she drove to Niekro’s home to see her manager for the last time. They talked for about an hour. Niekro looked tired, but he brightened as they reminisced about their families and a friendship that now stretched across nearly three decades. Mostly they talked baseball. At one point, Lovelady admitted she’d wanted her manager’s validation—that she probably still wanted it—and that she’d always fought to stay on the field because she never wanted Niekro to think he’d made a mistake by putting her on the team. Before Lovelady left, she held her manager’s hand for the final time and looked into his eyes. “You were good, Mitch,” Niekro said. She cried all the way home.

V E R O N I C A A LVA R E Z was relaxing in her yard

in northwest Denver this past fall, planning the next few months of her baseball life. The 40-year-old Oakland Athletics coach is a rarity in the pro game. As one of only about 30 women coaching in Major League Baseball,

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5280 / MARCH 2024

she’d recently been promoted to a job overseeing Oakland’s training program in the Dominican Republic—fertile ground for the game’s future superstars. It had been a busy few years for Alvarez, who’d begun her career in the majors as an A’s spring training coach in 2019 and then moved into a job coaching the organization’s minor league catchers. In July 2022, she filled in as manager of Oakland’s High-A Lansing (Michigan) Lugnuts and became the first woman ever to manage a pro game. Her team won 6-3 over the Great Lakes Loons. “Honestly,” she says, “I’m probably the luckiest person alive.” Before becoming a softball catcher at Villanova University, Alvarez was a kid growing up in Miami. The daughter of Cuban refugees, Alvarez lived in a three-bedroom home she shared with her baseball-crazed parents and brother. Like her father, she loved the sport: the sound of the bat on the ball, the history, the link to her parents’ native Cuba. As a young ballplayer, Alvarez could hit for power. She could pitch and catch and play pretty much every position on the field. In summer 1994, she was 11 years old. The dream of becoming a professional baseball

player was giving way to the reality that softball likely would be her path if she wanted a college scholarship. She turned on the television in her family room. A game was on, but there was a team playing that the girl with baseball dreams didn’t even know existed. Who are the Silver Bullets? she remembers wondering. Alvarez was captivated. “I watched every second of that game,” she says. “There was a woman at every position. Every hitter who came up was someone who looked just like me.” To a girl growing up in South Florida, the baseball field that day looked like opportunity—freedom to choose a path in life, to pick a future. Of course, softball won out. Alvarez played at Villanova, got a degree, and moved on with her life. After she graduated from college in 2005, she returned to Miami and worked as an administrator in the school district where her father was also an administrator. A few years into the job, she was thinking back to that game she’d seen on TV years earlier, opened her laptop, and Googled “Colorado Silver Bullets.” Among the results was a link to USA Baseball, which sponsored American teams in international competitions and was creating a women’s baseball program to compete

THE GIRLS OF SUMMER

Courtesy of Jean Fruth

Veronica Alvarez in the dugout with a couple of fellow Athletics coaches

against teams in other parts of the world. The toughest competitors were the Japanese and the South Koreans, who’d invested in women’s leagues that played full summer schedules. The idea that Alvarez could return to the diamond and represent the USA in a game she’d loved since childhood was enticing. Alvarez got in touch with the organization and eventually headed off to a tryout in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In 2008, the then 25-year-old made her debut with USA Baseball, helping the team to a bronze medal in the women’s baseball World Cup. She’d play again in 2010 and 2012. In 2015, Team USA won gold at the Pan-American Games. Two years later, Alvarez was asked to coach at the MLB Trailblazer Series and later at the MLB Girls Breakthrough Series Showcase & Development Camp. At the camps, she encouraged the young women to stay in the sport, to not be swayed by people who talked about softball being the only route for girls, to stand firm that baseball was also a women’s game. In 2018, Alvarez became an assistant coach on the USA Baseball Women’s National Team staff. The following year, the Oakland A’s called. “The rest is history,” she says. As she talks about her career in baseball, which has become a life in baseball, Alvarez’s mind keeps returning to that Silver Bullets game in 1994. What would have happened if she hadn’t turned on the television at that moment? “It’s funny how things work out,” she says. That single game became a memory that never left her, which turned into a Google search 14 years later, which led to a tryout, which led to all this. “It’s crazy, right?” she says. “How my life turned out this way because of that team.” Alvarez smiles, shakes her head in disbelief, and laughs. She holds the smile, then purses her lips. “I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the Silver Bullets,” Alvarez says, and she could barely get the words out before her eyes welled. “Those women, they don’t even know me. But I owe them everything.” m Robert Sanchez is 5280’s senior staff writer. Email feedback to letters@5280.com.

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THE AGENCY – DENVER

Christy Hepp Christina Kern

CHELSEY FRANKLIN & BROOKE LEPINE PORCHLIGHT REAL ESTATE GROUP

Chelsey Franklin Brooke Lepine CIANCIO TEAM

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Dee Ciancio Steve Ciancio

DAVE FISH TEAM RE/MAX OF BOULDER

Dave Fish Kym Hansler

DENVER MOUNTAIN LIVING KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE CITY PROPERTIES

Michael Hughes Anne Wells

Greg Card Patty Ryan Anton

JANIS PROPERTIES

PHILLIPS TEAM

FORD FOUNTAIN TEAM

KELLER WILLIAMS FOOTHILLS REALTY

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – BOULDER

Dave Janis

JED MACARTHUR TEAM RE/MAX OF BOULDER

Emily Grunfeld Jed MacArthur

KELLY BACA & GAIL WHEELER LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Kelly Baca Gail Wheeler

KELLY REED & SUSIE BEST MILEHIMODERN

Kelly Reed

Claudine Phillips Shad Phillips

PREMIER HOMES TEAM

GOODACRE GROUP MILEHIMODERN

Jean Duggan Mike Duggan

RICH GRIBBON TEAM

IANNONE GROUP AT COMPASS COMPASS

Rich Gribbon Taylor Schmidt

ROBIN LAKE TEAM

JAE KIM TEAM RE/MAX 100

Robin Lake Bob Persichetti

KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE DTC

RULE PROPERTIES

KELLY MOYE

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

COMPASS

KINCAID TEAM RE/MAX OF CHERRY CREEK

SCHLIFKIN TEAM

Doug Hutchins Leslie Monaco

Doug Kincaid Pamela Kincaid

DUDLEY TEAM

LARSON & LANDGRAVE

Mitch Rothman Sheila Schlifkin

KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE DTC

SHELDON TEAM

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Jennifer Davenport Emily Henderson

GLERY ROSS GROUP KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE DTC

Jonathan Lopez Roy Lopez

GRIFFIN MORGAN HOMES COMPASS

Jill Griffin Brittany Morgan GUY TEAM HOMES RE/MAX OF CHERRY CREEK

Debra Guy Christopher Harvey HEATHER & SEAN

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Sean Endsley Heather Graham HOFSTRA TEAM

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Kathy Hofstra Diane Johnson

HOMES BY JACKIE JONES TEAM RE/MAX ALLIANCE

Josh Harrod Jackie Jones

HOMES BY US GUIDE REAL ESTATE

Ezra Aldern Andre Whitt 122

5280 / MARCH 2024

Eugene Kim Jae Kim

KELLY TEAM

Ben Rule Erin Rule

EMILY HENDERSON & JENNIFER DAVENPORT

Stephanie Iannone Mindy Nassar

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

DOUG HUTCHINS TEAM

Gifford Dudley Trish Dudley

Bill Goodacre Tim Goodacre

RE/MAX OF BOULDER

Bob Kelly Sean Kelly

COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – SOUTH METRO

Wanda Ford Kathryn Fountain

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Angela Beldy Ann Lenane

KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE DTC

Kacey Bingham Jared Blank

Todd Landgrave Alan Larson LE PEAU TEAM

PORCHLIGHT REAL ESTATE GROUP

Kristen Le Peau Steve Le Peau

MCCLAIN GROUP MADISON & COMPANY PROPERTIES

Larina McClain Bree Vialpando MILLER WILDE COMPASS

Evan Miller Tari Wilde NICOLE RUFENER & ANTOINETTE WHARTON MILEHIMODERN

Nicole Rufener

NO COAST PROPERTY GROUP COMPASS

Brody Stinson O’BRIEN TEAM COLORADO COMPASS

Don O’Brien Kelly O’Brien OWN-SWEETHOME TEAM

KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE DTC

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Cindy Sheldon Kyle Sheldon

SIÂN MURPHY GROUP WK REAL ESTATE

Ben Lampert Siân Murphy

TODD & TRACY COLE LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Todd Cole Tracy Cole

TOM & DENISE BARNWELL LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Denise Barnwell Tom Barnwell

Chris Hurwitz Kelly Moye KRONENBERGER TEAM RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Rusty Hogan Kim Kronenberger LEE TEAM

COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – SOUTH METRO AT DTC

David Armayor Louie Lee

MCKINLEY GROUP COMPASS

Emily Grasso Josh McKinley MCLAUGHLIN TEAM RE/MAX ALLIANCE

Douglas McLaughlin Paige McLaughlin NICHOLS AND LEE TEAM MILEHIMODERN

Corrie Lee Karen Nichols

TOM GROSS TEAM

NICOLE RIDLEY & KRISTI LUCAS TEAM

KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE DTC

CORCORAN PERRY & CO.

Brittany Armstrong Tom Gross

Kristi Lucas Nicole Ridley

WILLARDSEN HOMES

STORCK TEAM

MADISON & COMPANY PROPERTIES

EXIT REALTY DENVER TECH CENTER

Heather Kimball Brook Willardsen

Aaron Storck Tatyana Sturm

YEDDIS GROUP

TEAM VIVI

COMPASS

HOMESMART

Fran Yeddis Josh Yeddis

Vivi Gloriod Philip Talley

P.J. FARRELL/JEFF BUSCH

TEAMS OF 2 AGENTS

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Irina Debirova Elena Timoshina COLDWELL BANKER GLOBAL LUXURY DENVER

Jeff Busch P.J. Farrell

D O U B L E B L A C K D I A M O N D 

TRISH BRAGG & MAGGIE ARMSTRONG

Maggie Armstrong Trish Bragg

ANNE & JAKE SINGLETON

VESTA HOMES

PORCHLIGHT REAL ESTATE GROUP

KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE DTC

Anne Singleton Jake Singleton

Libby Levinson-Katz Elizabeth Sacerdoti

5280 M A G A Z IN E P ROM OT ION

MAR 23

NOWAPR 28

Spotlight: Inside Collections Care The 5280 Brunch Event Asterisk | 1075 Park Ave W, Denver, CO 80205 and Conservation Exhibition 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Clyfford Still Museum | Open Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Exhibition closes April 28, 2024

Explore vibrant art and glimpse behind the scenes in an exhibition that merges art and science. Enjoy events for all ages including free days, music in the galleries, mediation, talks, workshops, family programs, infant art crawls, and more.

Treat yourself and your crew to an afternoon of all things brunch featuring sweet and savory bites from our city’s best brunch restaurants, cocktails, lounges, a DJ, photo booths, and more! Information and tickets at 5280scene.com/5280-brunch-event.

Information and tickets at clyffordstillmuseum.org.

Wake up with the Jubal Show

Drive home with JR

Commercial free weekends

TOP PRODUCERS 2024 WOLFE-BOUC GROUP

COLORADO LIFESTYLE HOMES

GERLOCK HOMES

LINA & LUCA GROUP

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

COMPASS

COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – DENVER CENTRAL

MADISON & COMPANY PROPERTIES

Chris Bouc Ian Wolfe

WOODRUM TEAM COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – FORT COLLINS

Ben Woodrum Michelle Woodrum ZUCKERT GROUP MILEHIMODERN

Alison Zuckert John Zuckert

TEAMS OF 3 TO 5 AGENTS BL ACK DIAMOND

AMY Z TEAM HOMESMART

Abby Blum Stephanie Blum Amy Zukowski ANZUR & ASSOCIATES COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – SOUTH METRO

Andrea Anzur Brian Anzur Jo-Ann Anzur Amy Lebsack

BARTON, GADE, MARTINEZ TEAM COLDWELL BANKER GLOBAL LUXURY DENVER

Kelli Barton Katie Gade Heidi Martinez BRIDGE TEAM

RE/MAX OF CHERRY CREEK

Katy Ayers Alexander Brachfeld Shelley Bridge Pam Tomlinson

BRING HOME DENVER KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY DOWNTOWN

Garrett Dinnel Jamie Gaab Luke McEvilly Jake Miller Scott Rosengrants

BUSS-TODD DENVER COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – DENVER CENTRAL

Ron Buss Susan Todd

CAPNEY COLLECTION COMPASS

Brooke Capra Devin Capra Kevin Capra Amanda Ragulsky Mike Raugust CLIFFORD COLORADO LIFESTYLES COMPASS

Michelle Clifford Amirah Counts Stephanie Goodenough Logan Heithold David Mans

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5280 / MARCH 2024

Tiffany Burke Amy Frankmore Kathy McBane COLORADO LUXURY GROUP COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – BOULDER

Kimberly Junior Seth Larson Kaylee Murphy Brian Mygatt

COLORADO LUXURY GROUP COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – BOULDER

Carol Powers

COLORADO REAL ESTATE TEAM MADISON & COMPANY PROPERTIES

Michael Floyd Scott Matthias Holly Payne Ian Prichard Logan Willems

COURTNEY TEAM RE/MAX LEADERS

Laura Campbell Ronda Courtney Cevey Pennington CURATED RESIDENTIAL COMPASS

Tricia Dessel Jenner Eiss Jennifer Gilligan Chally Wiener DENVER GROUP COMPASS

Jason Dalbey Matt Griebel JP Hachey Chelsea LeVey Jacob Slater DREAM SMITH TEAM RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Brock Hanson Kimberly Larsen Jackson Sanborn Landin Smith Spencer Wilson

DWELL COLORADO KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE CHERRY CREEK

Amy Hulsey Martha Potter-Goldstein Brian Rosen ELITE HOME SALES TEAM RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Jenny Gomez Ally Peters Andrea Romano Jim Romano Michelle Romano

ERB/STEELMAN TEAM RE/MAX OF CHERRY CREEK

Sharon Clayton Laurie Erb Jennifer Steelman FOX GROUP COMPASS

Jeff Fox Tripp Howell Jamie Patrick Lange Patrick

Dan Gerlock Illona Gerlock Amanda Rivers HERO TEAM COMPASS

Danae Hall Felix Luck Byron Stuart Anabel Tellez HOHOLIK TEAM MILEHIMODERN

Audrey Hoholik Morgan Hoholik Paige Hoholik HOTZ GROUP KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE DTC

Elizabeth Hotz Larry Hotz Meredith Hotz

HUDSON HOME GROUP COMPASS

Ray Blaesing Heather Haller Kelly Hudson David Krohne Noah Slauson INTEGRITY GROUP RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Tase Flores Dustin Griffiths Pamela Mayka Rockland Miller

IVY COLLECTIVE COMPASS

Dante Burl Lizzy Confalone Christie Lanyon Caitlin Mollner JEFF ERICKSON GROUP LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Carliss Erickson Jeff Erickson Rebeccah McIntosh Ryan McIntosh

KOLARSICK, LAVERICK, RYAN

Luca Baud Lina Krylov Igor Roudatchenko

LYDIA’S HOME TEAM RE/MAX ALLIANCE BOULDER

Sheri Brown Lydia Creasey Jim Dixon

MAIOCCO GROUP RE/MAX ALLIANCE LAFAYETTE

Lenny Maiocco META HOMES

RE/MAX ALLIANCE

Tami Davidson Nick Painz Chuck Zaragoza

MIESEN-HARPER TEAM MILEHIMODERN

Megan Harper Rachael Miesen Susan Miesen

MIKE BURNS TEAM RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Mike Burns Sue Hall Sarah LeBuhn Peggy Norwood NEIR TEAM

KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE CITY PROPERTIES

Laura Fuller Alex Neir Stacy Neir

NEWILL KASPAR GROUP COMPASS

Kylie Kaspar Laurie Lehman Lucy Newill NOEL & MARTINEZ TEAM RE/MAX ALLIANCE LONGMONT

Christopher Martinez Steven Noel Kaylee Thurston PREMIER GROUP COMPASS

COLDWELL BANKER GLOBAL LUXURY DENVER

Josh Geist Mike McCabe Nick Muldoon

KORNBLUM GROUP

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Nita Kolarsick Garvin Laverick Stephanie Ryan COMPASS

Steve Burrell Nicole Colvig Zach Eaton Tim Jantz Jesse Kornblum KRUSE NUSSBAUM TEAM KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE DTC

Staci Burns Steven Kruse Jim Nussbaum

KRUSE TO CLOSE TEAM RE/MAX ALLIANCE

Mark Kruse Elaine Maul

REED ESTATE TEAM

Andrea Baumann Heather Reed RERESULTS HOMESMART

Leslie Le Andrew Martinovich Russell Woloch SAAB GROUP COMPASS

Bryan Kolasa Gina Saab Tony Saab

Tennyson • LoDo • Cherry Creek • University Hills • Park Meadows • Highlands Ranch • 16th + Pearl

TOP PRODUCERS 2024 SEITZ KAL-HAGAN

BURGESS GROUP

MY DENVER TEAM

COMPASS

KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE CITY PROPERTIES

Liz Forster Marilyn Kal-Hagan Dianna May Laura Seitz Laura Whalen

Andy Burgess Catherine Burgess COLORADO URBAN LIVING RE/MAX ALLIANCE

COMPASS

Tavia Galvin Erin Houston Lisa Magleby Sean Stover Nicki Thompson

SUNDBERG GROUP

KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE CHERRY CREEK

SPRUCE RESIDENTIAL

Olivia Bell Ethan Bullock Jeni Moeller David Trow COMPASS

Jennifer Burke Daniel Garbe Sarah Hubbard Brady Keenan Brian Sundberg TEAM DENVER HOMES LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Michele Ciardullo Chantel Sandoval Mor Zucker TEAM FONTYN

COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – NORTH METRO

Jen Braa Lori Fontyn Teresa Wood

THOMAS RATAY TEAM RE/MAX ALLIANCE

Mark Gisler Gregory Johnson James Thomas

WEHR HOMES TEAM RE/MAX 100

Dave Huddle Curtis Wehr Chris Wolff

TEAMS OF 3 TO 5 AGENTS

D O U B L E B L A C K D I A M O N D 

DENVER’S TOP TEAM

Jacci Geiger Wendy Glazer Sana Wood

Stacey Bushaw Amanda DiVito Parle Karen Levine Lisa Reich

LIV SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Josh Behr Linda Behr Jake Mackensen Nicole Scholle

BERNARDI GROUP COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – BOULDER

Karen Bernardi Madison Cervo Alyssa Dean Megan Evoe

126

5280 / MARCH 2024

Kelly Atteridg Bryce Dolan Patrick Dolan Karolyn Merrill

DREAM WEAVERS

PHIPPS TEAM

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

COMPASS

Shanon DeBelle Taylor Hetzer Jason Weaver Kathlene Weaver E AND L TEAM

Lauren Crossan Aimee Lombardi Robyn Phipps RANKIN, GOULDER & KISSINGER COMPASS

Elizabeth Ryterski Laura Shaffer

Jane Goulder Amy Kissinger Allison Rankin

ESCAPE GROUP

REMMERT GROUP

RE/MAX ELEVATE

COMPASS

Shawn Kelley Erin Susser Jonathan Susser FRANK DURAN TEAM RE/MAX ALLIANCE

Renee Duran Frank Duran Ty Hart Michael Palmer COMPASS

ALAN SMITH TEAM

BEHR TEAM

Patrick Brown William Greig Hunter Jorgensen PATRICK DOLAN TEAM

HELM WEAVER HELM

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

PATRICK BROWN GROUP COMPASS

RE/MAX OF BOULDER

Kristen Abell Abby Barratt Sarah Frohnapfel

David Pratt Alan J. Smith Corbin Smith

MADISON & COMPANY PROPERTIES

John Erlandson Pandora Erlandson Jenna McMenaman Patrick McMenaman

DIVITO DREAM MAKERS

Lynn Eckell Mary Hopson Claudia Lopez Amber Mehmedovic

COMPASS

PANDORAJOHNPROPERTIES

RE/MAX ALLIANCE

HAUS EXCLUSIVE ABELL TO SELL

Dee Chirafisi Kevin Garrett Matt McNeill

TEAMS OF 6 TO 15 AGENTS BL ACK DIAMOND

5280 RESULTS COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – SOUTHWEST METRO

Bobby Dusbabek Loy Hall Debbie Joseph Dorie Lisowska Kimberly Ryan Candy Self Dave Treece ARROW GROUP

WEST AND MAIN HOMES

Brianna Kliesmet Rachel Kling Julie Lunn Lora Martinez Mic Ortega Sarah Riggs Colleen Waldorf

ART OF HOME TEAM MODUS REAL ESTATE

Marc Bayes Molly Helbig Michael Matthews Liz Thompson Heather Truhan Kenneth Truhan Soraya Veloso

CC SIGNATURE GROUP COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – COLORADO SPRINGS

COMPASS

Camellia Coray Shanna Flaherty Nettie McElhany Jeremiah Miller Kaira Smith Zane Whitfield

SCHLICHTER TEAM

COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – BOULDER

Vanessa Hilbert Lindsey Hughes Steve Remmert Michelle Steiner COMPASS

Casey Baker Tom Pitzer David Schlichter Jen Widler STODDARD, DANA, AND MURPHY TEAM COLDWELL BANKER GLOBAL LUXURY DENVER

Marilyn Dana Elizabeth Murphy Janie Stoddard

FOWLER GROUP

Sarah Bobo Brie Fowler Jillian Fowler Tom Fowler Brandon Rearick Amy Tallent Kayleigh Weickum Kailen Yost

JACKIE GARCIA TEAM RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

RE/MAX NORTHWEST

Marco Castilla Noelle Chole Jackie Garcia Dana Goldfarb Ben Prucey Maritza Torres

INFINITY PROS

TAMBORRA TEAM

COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – SOUTH METRO AT DTC

COMPASS

RE/MAX LEADERS

COMPASS

Danielle Gordon Pamela Helm Patti Helm Michelle Warner Libby Weaver

Kelly Paulk Sarah Scott-Wilson Ashley Warren

SUBRY GROUP

Justin Pfeifer John Subry Pamela Subry

Laura Cantalamessa Tianna Matheja Mauri Tamborra

KEY GROUP

TEAM DOKKEN

COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – FORT COLLINS

COMPASS

Jimmy Stewart Rena Wallingford

Ty Dokken David Kazma Mary Noga

MARCUS TEAM

Laurie Elston Marcus Debbie Jacobs Karen Lamar Bryan Lipman Michael Marcus Yaron Marcus

MILE HIGH LIFESTYLES COMPASS

Emily Arrick Lindsey Ayres Melissa Farrar Jesus Gonzalez

TOP PRODUCERS 2024 Jaden Hanson Kylee Haralson Ben Henry Amanda Hoang Michael Munoz Karlye Pokorney Jennifer Tims Marlania Trujillo Carolyn Villano NEW DOOR GROUP COMPASS

Amy Ballain Lindsey Beas Gretchen Blase Kristen Freiboth Ryan Garvey Candice Guillen Hunter Hayes Paige Janulewicz Carrie Korth Matt Mulcahy Hadley Trent Patty Whittington NEW PERSPECTIVE TEAM COMPASS

Jordyne Bailey Jody Donley Laura Hudgins Kim Kouba Amanda Murphy Consuelo Sidas

Shawn Hansford Troy Hansford James McWilliams Courtney Vance UTZINGER GROUP RE/MAX ALLIANCE

Rozele Fitzmier Justin Scheer Deborah Utzinger Terry Utzinger Sheila Weaver

TEAMS OF 6 TO 15 AGENTS

D O U B L E B L A C K D I A M O N D 

5280 CITY LIVING PORCHLIGHT REAL ESTATE GROUP

Mary Gerwin Hannah Hunnicutt Chad Mendoza Kristen Miller Lexie Musselman Rachel Simring Shaylisa Turner BE1 TEAM COMPASS

Spencer Barron Leland Davenport Mike Epke Kevin Guarneros Jason Hansen Francis Lanzano Fred McNab David O’Brien Jennifer O’Brien Ryan Pue

Daev Brown Kris Caldwell Alex Chapman Liz Daniels Jacob Dittman Nate Forse Tina Gregory Sean Hannon Amanda Kelleher Colin Kelley Adele Lewis Jacob Meyers Greg Pickett Gunnar Simon John Vestal

RESOURCE GROUP

BUY AND SELL 5280

O’BRIEN GROUP COMPASS

RE/MAX LEADERS

Don Howell Traci Kennedy Alyssa Longo Taylor Longo Melissa Park Kevin Ribbens Kerron Stokes

ROWLEY GROUP COLDWELL BANKER REALTY – PARKER

Joe Blinn Heather Maddox Michelle Orlandino Nikki Quinn Adelia Redalen Wendy Rowley

SCHOSSOW GROUP COMPASS

Pamela Devaney Hunter Lucas Annecy Olson Molly Petrelli Amy Richardson Dale Schossow Nick Schossow April Stahl TROY HANSFORD TEAM RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Jamin Cook James Fiala Shannon Fiala

COMPASS

Cyndie Alexander Amy Atkinson Kyle Behnke Ingrid Burke Erik Carman Laura Cronin Aliya Duffy Kyle Foster Nick Leibbrand Erin Posey Sean Ring Krislyn Sayre Deanna Wolfe ELEVATED LIVING GROUP COMPASS

Nick Anderson Bridget D’Angelo Savannah Fultz Ken Gellman Tenzin Gyaltsen Forrest Johnson Bill Knapp Kevin Merlander Hayley Mork Megan Quinn Mayfield Hannah Safari Sam Sheets Michael Turra Krissy Woodruff-White Lisa Wynne

ELITE HOME PARTNERS

PEDAL GROUP

KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY

COMPASS

Brendan Bartic Kathryn Bartic James Berkley Lisa Blake Scott Brasfield James Button Brandt Ellwood Greg Greenhalge Tennille Johnson Lily Lopez Jeff Lovato Jim Loveridge Trevor Okamoto Katie Sylvis John Taylor

Boulos Ayad Carolyn Barlow Kate Blalack Kristin Creamer Jennifer Emich John Farley Chris Haught Laura King Alissa Peterson Botsy Phillips Alan Quiller Brad Quiller Tim Shea Jon Sisenwein Chris Sweeney

GRIFFITH HOME TEAM

PREFERRED PROPERTIES GROUP

RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

COMPASS

Sara Baumbach Landon Bellum Lauren Creadick Ryan Day Travis Gray Vanessa Gray Chad Griffith Dustin Griffith Devin Martinez Alex Mierau Jordan Ortega Raman Sharma Carrie Terrones Nicholas Trujillo Janna Vanner

HIGGINS KALUSH COLLECTIVE COMPASS

Marsha Badger Sarah Fader Amy Gilbride Cari Higgins Kristin Kalush Dave Rich Courtney Uyeshiro MONARCH GROUP COMPASS

Maddi Abercrombie Lacy Caudel Sally Ann Chapline Allie Kirby Melissa Milder Brogan Lee Rossi Tabitha Tobias NOLAN WILSON GROUP COMPASS

Kori Biernacki Danielle Brossart Katherine Gowdey Lauren Kettle Sarah Nolan Taylor Wilson NOSTALGIC HOMES GROUP COMPASS

Jenny Apel Angelica Apel DJ Baca Stefanie Broom Arturo Bugarin Elizabeth Clayton Michelle Henkel Alesia Kieffer Jasen Koebler Elizabeth Luna Bart Rhein Jill Samuels Jean Sunn Corey Wadley

Paul Bishop Toni Ciarlelli Teri Colbert Pam Dunn Kim Foster Kathy Hussey Michael Mahoney Nancy Murray McFadden Susan Pearce Karen Pepper Roseanne Ruiz Kasha Songer REAL ESTATE EXPERTS OF DENVER RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS

Jennifer Anderson Kimberly Brust Mary Beth Brust Erica Chouinard Jeffrey Doland Dena Falcone Lauren Immel Heather Ingram Rike Palese Taylor Palese Seantay Phelps Jonathan Stewart Keiler Marla Strick Malaika White SAVVY GROUP

KENTWOOD REAL ESTATE CHERRY CREEK

Carly Anderson Kat Brill Megan Fleischli Katherine Knowlton Stacey Stambaugh Nikki Tennant Nicole Wadsworth TUPPERS TEAM

MADISON & COMPANY PROPERTIES

Matt Bachus Dana Bossert Tupper Briggs Alice Carmody Carrie Hurich Peg Schroeder Jennifer Trinco m

M A R C H 2024 / 5280

127

AC T L I K E A L O CA L

THE OVERSIMPLIFIED GUIDE TO:

Layering

If Colorado’s fickle spring weather leaves you at a loss in front of your wardrobe, you need to learn the science of layering. Luckily, class is in session with Crested Butte–based explorer Eric Larsen—the only person to visit the North and South Poles and summit Mt. Everest during the same year. — B A R B A R A O ’ N E I L

128

There are three main layers: a base layer, which should be formfitting to reduce bulk and made from wool or synthetic fabric to wick sweat away from your skin; a thicker midlayer for insulation; and a wind- or waterproof outer shell to shield you from the elements.

The specific garments you choose depend on your activity and the conditions. You’ll want lighter items such as a thin fleece midlayer for warmer days or highintensity outings. Pick heavier garb—such as a down coat midlayer—for chilly activities that won’t leave you winded.

Use gloves, neck gaiters, caps, and other accessories to fine-tune your comfort. For example, whether Larsen is walking his dog or trekking in Antarctica, he always wears a balaclava, which he can doff on the move if he gets too hot.

As you warm up during your hike, ski, or snowshoe, mix and match your mid- and outer layers with your accessories until you’re warm enough to be comfortable but not hot enough to sweat. Water absorbs body heat 25 times faster than air.

It takes a lot more energy for your body to make heat than it does to retain it, so once you stop moving—say, for lunch or a summit beer— immediately layer up lest you waste those calories rethawing your jacket.

5280 / MARCH 2024

ILLUSTRATION BY SIMONE MASSONI

TALK ABOUT A BONA FIDE SHOWSTOPPER. AND IT ALL STARTS WITH A STUNNING NEW AREA RUG. What’s the fastest, easiest way to make your home look spectacular? Simply roll out an area rug to bring more style and color into your life. At Carpet Exchange, we have a wide array of truly beautiful options for you to choose from. So stop by. We’ll have you on a roll in no time.

LIVE WHERE YOU LOVE YO U R E D G E I N T H E C O M P E T I T I V E D E N V E R R E A L E STAT E M A R K E T

Buying or selling a home is where your lifestyle and financial goals meet, and your decisions can have longlasting effects. Your goals are my top priority, and every strategy along the way is implemented with those in mind. Whether it’s consultation, negotiation, or just a little hand-holding, I put my clients first and I’d love to help you or your loved ones buy or sell a home in the Denver area.

GET TO KNOW COLIN 303.912.5394 | colinco.com colin@colinco.com