Voice
Lone Tree 8-22-2013
Lone Tree
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 12, Issue 32
August 22, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlonetreenews.com
Event leaves bitter ‘Taste’ Food, alcohol in short supply amid cornucopia of complaints
Lone Tree Mayor Jim Gunning speaks at the Aug. 15 Cabela’s grand opening while Douglas County Commissioner Jill Repella, Cabela’s chief operating officer Michael Copeland, third from left, and Cabela’s corporate retail affairs manager John Castillo listen. Photos by Jane Reuter
Cabela’s opening draws about 5,000 Hunters, campers and curious gather to formally open Lone Tree store By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com Parker resident Joe Folmar and Elizabeth’s Chris Alward suffered through a cold, windy Wednesday night in the Lone Tree Cabela’s parking lot. Thursday morning, that earned them spots near the front of a line a few-thousand-people in length. “We slept in our lawn chairs, tucked into a little ball,” Folmar said. “It was probably about 50 degrees with 30 mph winds. I think it’s worth it. Now, it’s just what kinda goodies are we going to get?” Cabela’s gave gift cards in varying amounts — one for $500 — to the first 500 people in line for the Lone Tree store’s Aug. 15 grand opening. Campers started showing up at the store Aug. 13, store officials said. By the time the doors opened at 11 a.m., they estimated 5,000 people were waiting in a line that stretched all the way around the 110,000-square-foot building. Another 5,000 more gathered several miles north at the Thornton store, which opened simultaneously. Lone Tree’s store, at 110,000 square feet, is slightly larger than Thornton’s, and even surpasses the 85,000-square-foot Sidney, Neb., store in size. Most in line said they were longtime Cabela’s customers, many of whom previously had made the long journey to the Sidney store. Cabela’s is headquartered in Sidney. Some were hunters, some campers and some just curious. “I think we mainly came because it’s fun to people watch,” said Golden resident Kerry Bostwick. “This is really fun. Everyone is so laid back.” “I’m excited to look at the clothing and shoes and not have to guess at the size,” said Littleton’s Randy Alldridge, who in the past was a Cabela’s catalog shopper. Rock music blasted across the parking lot, and cart-pushing Cabela’s employees doled out water bottles and doughnuts to the waiting customers. While tour buses deposited customers at the back of the store and the overflow parking lot at Havana Street and RidgeGate Parkway threatened to overflow, store employees rallied inside. Football in hand, Cabela’s regional retail manager Diane Uhlenkamp revved up the more than 200 staff members and corporate visitors crowded inside the store’s massive main hall. “It’s Super Bowl time,” she said. “It’s gon-
Cabela’s staffers high-five the Lone Tree store’s first shoppers as they enter the store moments after the Aug. 15 grand opening of the 110,000-square-foot facility.
Thousands of people waited in line the morning of Aug. 15, in anticipation of Cabela’s opening its doors. na be big from here on out. Take great care of those folks out there because that’s what we’re here for.” “This has been (founder) Dick Cabela’s dream — to have a store in Denver,” Cabela’s COO Michael Copeland said, adding the opening of two stores simultaneously exceeded that vision. “We’ve already set some records this week. I don’t know what they put in the water in Denver.” Copeland led employees in a cheer, asking, “Who are we?” “Lone Tree, Lone Tree, Mile High Great,” the staff roared in return. Moments before the doors opened, store, county and city officials addressed the huge crowd, most of whom were so far from the doors, they couldn’t hear the speeches.
Cabela’s is “a perfect complement to the world-class retail we have down here,” said Lone Tree Mayor Jim Gunning, urging the crowd to remember the day was a celebration of Cabela’s. “So when you walk in, don’t be stingy.” County Commissioner Jack Hilbert took Gunning’s advice to heart. An avid outdoorsman, Hilbert said he spent about $1,000 during a preview event at the store and another $100 on opening day. “This is fantastic,” he said. “You don’t see a grand opening in Douglas County like this.” “Awesome,” County Commissioner Jill Repella agreed. “I’m extremely proud. The site exceeded my expectations, the store exceeded my expectations, the grand opening exceeded my expectations.”
By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com After an event one vendor called a black mark on the city that left many participants vowing never to return, the Taste of Lone Tree’s future is uncertain. The sixth annual event, held Aug. 10 and 11, was plagued by rain, food and alcohol shortages, decreased vendor participation and an apparent shortage of volunteers. Board members for the Lone Tree Chamber of Commerce, the event’s organizer, asked recently hired executive director Linda Harmon not to comment, and instead issued a three-paragraph statement Aug. 15. “We are disappointed that the event did not uphold the high standards many have come to expect when attending and we apologize for your frustrations,” the statement read. “A Taste of Lone Tree needs to reflect positively on the City of Lone Tree and its many offerings.” The chamber plans to hold a debriefing on the event in the next couple of weeks, board member Donna Russell said. The event’s future, “is certainly one of the questions we will be discussing,” she said, adding the chamber welcomes participation in the as-yet unscheduled discussion. Visitors complained about a variety of issues, including a lack of tables, seating and vendors, changes in the ticket prices, sample sizes and a fenced-off VIP area some found lackluster. Mother Nature inflicted the harshest blow to the event. A Saturday night rainstorm that left the Lincoln Commons ground muddy prompted organizers to delay Sunday’s opening an hour. As volunteers scrambled to spread mulch, hundreds gathered in the parking area near the front gate — too far from the entrance to see signs explaining the delay. Lone Tree Brewing Company co-owner John Winter said his employees were given poor information on numerous points, including anticipated turnout. By mid-day Saturday, the brewery was tapped out of the beer it had planned for both days, with no ability to get more until Sunday. “I really don’t ever want to see our city, our community, subject to this type of mess again,” Winter said. “This was such a black mark on the community, I’m truly embarrassed. Unfortunately, most people see the Taste of Lone Tree as a reflection upon the city. People expected a nice event. It didn’t turn out that way.” Frustrated as he is, Winter said he would be there for a 2014 Taste of Lone Tree. “This is our back yard and I’m not going to abandon it,” he said. “We need to be a standup community that makes it right. If this is to continue, we can’t have a duplicaEvent continues on Page 9
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