December 31, 2020
FREE
DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
LoneTreeVoice.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 16 | SPORTS: PAGE 17
VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 47
Program renews indoor dining Only restaurants that are certified can offer inside sit-down service BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
ficult to predict a precise opening date, we are targeting early 2021 to open in Lone Tree,” Arena said. Schmitz does not believe the Park Meadows location is in for as bad of an experience as Aurora’s. In-N-Out officials submitted plans for its Lone Tree location in August 2019 and city staff has been preparing for In-N-Out’s opening day for the past year, Schmitz said. The city recently collected input from nearby property owners, Schmitz said, including the Park Meadows mall, and devised an opening day traffic plan suitable to everyone. The main goal, Schmitz said: “We wanted to keep all our public
Some restaurants in Douglas County were permitted to immediately open for indoor dining after the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment gave official approval for the county to begin a business certification program Dec. 23. The program, first piloted in Mesa County, allows approved counties and municipalities to certify businesses that meet a list of advanced COVID-19 protection measures beyond what is required. These Douglas County businesses, which can open under reduced-capacity restrictions, are called “Certified COVID Best Practices Business” once certified and have a certificate deeming them so inside their store. Because the county was able to pre-certify businesses, 33 businesses were able to immediately open under these reduced restrictions. That included 18 restaurants, 14 gyms and one indoor event venue. More than 100 other businesses were in the process of being certified as of Dec. 23, according to a news release from
SEE BURGERS, P4
SEE PROGRAM, P15
The Lone Tree In-N-Out location, expected to open early next year at 9170 Westview Road, will have the second-busiest drivePHOTOS BY NICK PUCKETT thru of any In-N-Out location.
Lone Tree In-N-Out to open in early 2021 City prepares for opening day of burger joint BY NICK PUCKETT NPUCKETT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Lone Tree city and business officials hope In-N-Out Burger lives up to its name when it officially opens in early 2021. The recent grand openings of In-N-Out locations in Aurora and Colorado Springs suggest the Park Meadows location could have wait times reaching several hours. “There is a general anxiousness about what the traffic will look like around the site,” said Justin Schmitz, City of Lone Tree public works director. “The opening
day in Aurora — people did take notice.” The Aurora In-N-Out Burger restaurant opened Nov. 19, and the next day, the Denver Post reported wait times reached 14 hours. In-N-Out officials expect its Lone Tree location, at 9171 E. Westview Road, to have the franchise’s second-busiest drive-thru, capable of holding 26 cars at one time. Only the In-N-Out near Los Angeles International Airport will have a greater drive-thru capacity at 30 cars. Lone Tree’s In-N-Out is in the final stages of construction, according to Carl Arena, an In-NOut vice president, in a Dec. 14 email. “While the nature of the new construction process makes it dif-
ALMOST TIME The start of winter sports practices and competition are moved up a week P17
TAKING A SECOND LOOK
Images to remember from the past year
PAGES 6 AND 7