All the About Denver’s Best Residential Community Since 1961 Since 1961 All theNews News About Denver’s Best Residential Community Volume 51, Issue No. 3
A Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. Publication
April 2012
Cake Crumbs Whips Up a New Neighborhood Commissary Location By Erin Vanderberg Editor
The retail location at 5151 E. 28th Avenue has seen many incarnations in the past decade – Chinese and Thai restaurants, a convenience store, a medical marijuana dispensary, a marijuana edibles bakery, and often simple vacancy – a fact not lost on its neighbors, Denon and Sean Moore, owners of the Cake Crumbs bakery. Any visitor to the Cake Crumbs bakery would know that their Kearney St. location is thriving. The line is long, the eating areas consistently busy and the cupcakes seem to fly off the shelves. So it’s only natural that the Moores would be looking for an off-site kitchen/commissary where they could have more room to bake the 100 specialty cakes and 10,000 cupcakes the bakery generates in an average peak week. “We’re interested in the property because we are a part of the neighborhood,” says Denon, who looks out onto the property from the backdoor of her home where she lives with Sean, their two kids and two dogs.
The lengthy process to find such a location began last year. Before the deal was brokered, and after two lenders turned them down, the Moores decided that if they received a third strike, they’d be out of the game. Luckily, their third lender, CapitalSource of Englewood, was the charm. The Moores have garnered additional financial support from the city’s Office of Economic Development and the Small Business Adminstration. The OED and SBA loans will go directly to capital improvements on the site. “Even though the building will not have a public use right away, our intentions are that the neighborhood will see improvements day one,” said Denon. Though they have been renting the space for the month of March as part of the closing agreement with the landlord, the renovations will begin April 1, when the contracts are finalized and the capital investment resources are available. Kuhn Construction will renovate the interior and refinish the exterior. Landscape updates are also in the works. The major advantage of the commissary location is that it will allow the bakery to main-
tain the production levels they’ve reached. This past summer, Cake Crumbs discontinued their wedding cake services due to space constraints – a service that could eventually be restored in a year once they get settled in the GPHN/Erin Vanderberg new location. Down Cake Crumbs plans to start renovations to the northeast the road, the Moores corner of 28th and Fairfax on April 1. are considering a retail Cake Crumbs will also launch a new conlocation at the Fairfax site. The new location will require the imme- cept dessert truck in April. Like its predecessor, diate addition of four full-time bakers to their Clementine, the Denver Cupcake Truck, the new truck will sweeten the Ides of April with a existing staff of 20. Cake Crumbs is in the throes of a busy tax day launch. They’ve never been busier but, according 2012, having just opened another location in Colorado Springs on February 21 at 3 E. Bijou. to Denon, “It’s a good busy. It’s all positive.” They had operated a cupcake in the city for just Editor’s Note: The closing date for Cake a year, and its popularity created a high demand Crumbs’ new commissary is March 30th, affor a brick and mortar shop. ter the GPHN goes to print. Keep up-to-date “Unlike Denver, we can count the compewith the story on Twitter @parkhillnews. tition in the Springs on one hand,” said Denon.
Go Local Park Hill: Park Hill’s Locally-Grown Website By Erin Vanderberg Editor
Contributed Photo/Davis Family
Creators of golocalparkhill.com, Greg and Melissa Davis, designed a website to make it easy to shop local and keep current on neighborhood events.
A website to get you in the Park Hill neighborhood know, designed by husband and wife team Greg and Melissa Davis, will celebrate its first anniversary this May. Golocalparkhill.com is Greg’s brainchild and Melissa’s labor of love. They do it to give back to the community, to make it easier to shop local, and so they won’t miss one more Blessed Sacrament summer pig roast. “There were a lot of times we didn’t know about events,” said Greg. “Also, there are a lot of businesses in Park Hill that, unless you knew they were there, you wouldn’t go there.” Go Local Park Hill aims to fix that, not just for the Davis family, but for everyone interested in what there is to eat, do and buy in Park Hill. The easy-to-navigate website offers listings of events, restaurants, retail, culture, gyms, programs and churches. Melissa also maintains a news feed on the site, and frequently posts on Facebook and Twitter.
BBQs, Bike Rides, Parades, Home & Garden Tours and Farmers Market: You won’t want to miss these Park Hill events!| Pg. 2-5 City Park West Man Summits for Someone | Pg. 8 Camp Local! The Park Hill Summer Camp Schedule is Here | Pg. 9 Denver Parks and Recreation Talks With GPHC About their Playground Design Contest at City Park | Pg. 13
The Davis family moved to Park Hill eight years ago, from Five Points, and, years before that, Wisconsin where Greg and Melissa met at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse. Greg works at the EPA and Melissa left her job at the Mile High Down Syndrome Association last year to stay at home with their nine- and fiveyear-old daughters. Greg and Melissa’s experiences in the environmental sciences and public policy fields taught them that the biggest impact a consumer makes are with everyday purchases. Since settling down in Park Hill, the Davises have made a conscious effort to make the mainstay of their purchases locally, to integrate themselves into the community and to be a little self-sufficient, too – they keep a beehive at their home, and whip up batches of homebrew and kefir on a regular basis. “The more you search out the goal of (buying local), the more you find,” said Greg. Greg cites a few businesses they’ve discovered in the process: the Rocky Mountain Guitar
See golocalparkhill.com on pg. 7
Dancer’s Advantage Takes Ballet to Turtle Park | Pg. 15