Innehållsförteckning för March 2023 från 5280 Magazine

SUBSCRIPTIONS 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 1-866-271-5280 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST Monday through Friday; or send an email to circulation@5280.com. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR & DINING GUIDE 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…

In 2016, when Mariah Hodges was preparing for her capstone project at Georgia’s Savannah College of Art and Design, inspiration struck in the form of a water wiggler toy. The late ’90s relic—a squishy, glitter-filled stress toy—didn’t just lead to a good grade. It led to Electric Bubblegum. Founded in 2017 in Aurora, Hodges’ hometown, the fashion brand infuses its clothing and accessories with a liquid glitter recipe that took Hodges more than a year to perfect. The formula is long lasting, meaning her throwback designs—such as the Cosmic Harmony Purse, a collaboration with Los Angeles–based jeweler Trixy Starr—won’t dry out or mold like the ones from the decade of Lisa Frank. Hodges’ timing couldn’t have been better: Gen Zers have become infatuated with Y2K-era styles and are using TikTok…

If you’ve ventured out on U.S. 36 within the past two decades, you probably know Efrain’s of Boulder. Since 1998, the no-frills institution has offered a straightforward menu of margaritas, enchiladas, fajitas, and other rib-sticking Mexican fare that’s as reliable as your favorite pair of well-worn jeans. The man behind that comforting cuisine is Efrain Gomez, who built his restaurant on a foundation of recipes passed down by his mother, Rosalia, a native of Chihuahua, Mexico. After working in Boulder restaurants since the ’70s, Gomez opened the first Efrain’s Mexican Restaurant in Lafayette in 1991. Roughly six years later, he turned that operation over to his siblings and launched a Boulder location, a spot he owns and operates separately. There, he taught generations of Boulderites what Mexican food—particularly green chile—should…

4 YRS in Denver & Boulder 20,500+ Total Transactions 749 Licensed Agents $15.5B+ Total Sales Volume CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR TOP PRODUCING AGENTS OF 2022! Source: REColorado via BrokerMetrics ranking by office based on sales volume 1/1/2022-12/31/2022 for all property types >$2M for Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson Counties. IRES MLS via BrokerMetrics ranking by office based on sales volume 1/1/2022-12/31/2022 for Boulder County Solds >$2M (all property types). REColorado and IRES data spanning 1/1/2019 to 12/31/2022 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. Photos may be virtually…

Curated Residential | 303.475.6097 | tricia.dessel@compass.com Leveraging her expert knowledge of Boulder and Grand Counties, Tricia creates curated home buying and selling experiences for her clients. Known for thoughtful selection, organization and presentation of homes, she strives to serve as a steadfast source of support through the entire process. Tricia’s solution-oriented approach, coupled with acute attention to detail, consummate professionalism, and collaborative mindset, results in unparalleled concierge — level service and excellent outcomes in even the most challenging housing markets. Tricia’s most successful transactions are a result of trust, aligned values and consistently going above and beyond to create great outcomes together. AWARDS 5280 Double Black Diamond Realtor in 2020, 2021 & 2022 #49 Boulder County Realtor Real Producers in 2021 Compass Boulder & Statewide Top Producing Team Member by…

303.587.3846 | UrbanSolCollective.com A proud Denver native, Kelly Thompson has served the area for more than 30 years. Her family’s roots in Denver date back more than a century, so you won’t find a more insightful advocate for your real estate journey. Kelly’s commitment to service and dedication to her clients has made her a sought-after agent. She is known for her attention to detail and her ability to negotiate favorable terms on behalf of her clients. She is also well respected in the industry and has been recognized with numerous awards locally and recognized nationally in the Top 1.5% of agents by RealTrends America. When she isn’t assisting clients, you can find Kelly golfing, skiing or enjoying time with her family and her pups. “Luxury is the Experience”…

PUBLIC STREETS In much of the Mile High City, food trucks may operate for up to four consecutive hours between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. each day in each designated zone for which they hold an annual permit ($50, on top of their retail food establishment license). The vehicle must be parked at least 20 feet from any intersection and 300 feet from a public park or parkway (unless it is part of a festival or contracted event). As the LoDo situation demonstrated, the city can implement extra restrictions in specific neighborhoods, often at the behest of area residents or business owners. Trucks are never allowed in downtown’s Central Business District, and although LoDo’s weekend mobile vendor ban was mostly lifted, limits on how late trucks can be out and…

HOLDING WATER In order to meet state regulations, every food truck—even if it’s only serving grub, not preparing it—needs to have a hand sink. Special Order: Fire and Vine, which dishes up Italian cuisine, asked NAFT for a ride with four sinks, one of which is dedicated to washing fresh veggies, another to mops. WHAT’S COOKING? Food preparation equipment varies greatly but can include anything from a stove to a fryer to a convection oven—all appliances that must be bolted to the floor. Special Order: Megachain Taco John’s tasked MHCFT with building a $220,000 truck equipped with everything its restaurants have, from taco warmers to a prep line. OUTSIDE THE BOX The standard service window size is six feet, enough space for owners to take orders and deliver food. Special…

RAYBACK COLLECTIVE This six-year-old Boulder venue is a sprawling indoor-outdoor gathering place with a stage for live music, a coffeeshop, and a full bar. Nosh on bites from up to three rotating food trucks—regulars include Arepas Caribbean and McDevitt Taco Supply—at picnic tables on the fire-pit-furnished patio. Year-round; 2775 Valmont Road, Boulder CIVIC CENTER EATS On summer Wednesdays and Thursdays, a caravan of more than a dozen food trucks and carts offer lunch fare via downtown’s Civic Center Eats. The event started at the eponymous park back in 2011, but it became more accessible last year: Organizers piloted a pay-what-you-can model, a flexible fee structure for meals that will return this summer. May through September; 101 W. 14th Ave. RUN WESTY RUN During the warm-weather months, the shaded picnic tables…

For four years, co-owners Ki’erre Dawkins (left) and Khristian Matthews of Saucy’s Southern BBQ lugged their open-air food trailer around Denver, dodging the elements while meeting the snowballing demand for their Mississippi-style barbecue. All that hustling paid off this past October, when they upgraded to a fast-casual brick-and-mortar in University Park. There, Dawkins and Matthews—who met at Mississippi State University—pair friendly Southern cookout hospitality with a food-coma-inducing menu of hot links, wings, and ribs. (They also offer a line of barbecue and wing sauces infused with THC, which patrons can pick up at more than a dozen local dispensaries.) We asked the duo about the highs and lows of finally setting their business in concrete. 5280: What changed for the better after you opened the storefront? Matthews: We always wanted…

For almost two decades, the Bureau of Reclamation and the seven Colorado River Compact states have been working to manage the Colorado River’s shrinking water supplies and, ultimately, to prevent lakes Mead and Powell—the nation’s largest reservoirs, which are filled by the Colorado River—from drying out. But half measures, a relentless drought, and an accelerating climate crisis have authorities struggling to keep up. “The period between emergencies and Band-Aids is getting shorter and shorter,” says Taylor Hawes, Colorado River Program director at the Nature Conservancy, an international environmental nonprofit. So last June, when the bureau called on the states governed by the compact to cut the amount of water they draw from the river each year by two to four million acre feet to keep the reservoirs from reaching dead…

PRICE KEY (Average Entrée) $ UNDER $15 ◼ $$ $16 TO $ 20 ◼ $$$ $ 21 TO $ 30 ◼ $$$$ $ 31 AND HIGHER. Want More Dining Options? Visit our online listings at 5280.com/restaurants. SYMBOL KEY NEW Indicates a restaurant featured in 5280 for the first time (though not necessarily a restaurant that has just opened). 25 BEST Indicates inclusion in 5280’s 2022 list of Denver’s best restaurants. These selections are at the discretion of 5280 editors and are subject to change. A 25 BEST A5 $$$$ Downtown / Steak House The team behind Forget Me Not and Tap and Burger offers a refreshing chophouse experience with a stellar lineup of steaks in a hip, delightfully funky bar and dining room. Reservations accepted. 1600 15th St., 303-623-0534. Dinner…

Simple joys in life come in many forms. Drinking a hot cup of black tea, playing with a dog in the park, watching a good college football game, and finding perfect corduroy on a bluebird day in the high country qualify as uncomplicated pleasures in which I continually delight. For years, though, I found utter glee in something most people probably wouldn’t place on their lists of little blisses: On certain spring and summer weekends, a cavalcade of food trucks would set up in a parking lot across the street from my Wash Park home, and on those days, I would giddily abandon my fridge for as many meals as possible. There were arepas and dumplings and barbecue and tacos. One year, I had chicken and waffles, German-style potato salad…

In 2017, Olivia Meikle stumbled across a gravestone that simply read “Mother.” At the time, Meikle and her sister and fellow academic, Katie Nelson, had been thinking about collaborating on a podcast about history’s forgotten women, but Meikle, an adjunct instructor of gender and women’s studies at Naropa University in Boulder, was worried no one would tune in. The memorial convinced her to help give these women their names back. Launched in 2018, the duo’s biweekly show, “What’sHerName,” has been downloaded over 1.6 million times and boasts an international roster of subjects such as Ching Shih, a Chinese pirate who commanded more than 40,000 sailors in the early 1800s. To honor Women’s History Month, we asked Meikle for a guest lecture on unheralded women from the Centennial State. MARY MILLER…

Coffin races. Frozen T-shirt contests. A hearse parade. These bizarre rituals have long honored Nederland’s chillest resident: a Norwegian man named Bredo Morstøl who died in 1989 and has been cryogenically preserved inside a shed in town for decades. In 2002, Nederland’s chamber of commerce created a festival around Morstøl’s legend to attract tourists in the offseason. It worked—some 20,000 attendees flocked to the tiny town of 1,500 to catch 2022’s Frozen Dead Guy Days (FDGD). But when Nederland officials and FDGD’s owners failed to reach an agreement this past November to continue the event, most assumed the celebration was, well, dead. Instead, it’s been resurrected in Estes Park by a new owner, Stanley Hotel proprietor John Cullen. The move has many wondering: How do locals feel about losing the…

303.641.7484 | stephanie.iannone@compass.com Stephanie Iannone is an award-winning Realtor with over 30 years of experience in the real estate and relocation industries. Her dedication to her clients, leadership in the community, and excellence in the trade have made her one of the most successful brokers in Colorado. She has closed over $670,000,000 in real estate transactions. Stephanie is a passionate leader and a unique business person with a dynamic personality that achieves extraordinary results for her clients. AWARDS Named Top 25 Most Powerful Salespeople in Colorado* Bestowed Denver’s Top Real Estate Agents Five Star Award for over a decade Owned and Lead a Top 50 Colorado Women Owned Company for over a decade *SOURCE: ColoradoBiz Magazine…

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.…

Yuan Wonton’s emerald-hued Sichuan eggplant dumplings, all I can think about is sinking my teeth into the crispy-bottomed parcels of charred vegetables. I forget how cold my fingers are from waiting in line outside for 30 minutes. I don’t care that I’m perched on a bench inside a crowded brewpub. And I’m definitely not pondering all the logistics it takes for chef-owner and 2023 James Beard Award nominee Penelope Wong to serve her menu of refined Chinese cuisine from a converted Ford E350. Yuan Wonton is just one of the more than 600 food truck businesses in the Mile High City that battle ever-changing city regulations for mobile eateries, complex vehicle maintenance, and volatile weather conditions to stay on the road. Those challenges are, of course, in addition to the…

MONDAY Wong, along with her co-owner and husband, Rob Jenks, and sous chef, NgocAnh Nguyen, heads to Yuan Wonton’s Montbello commissary kitchen at 9 a.m. They grind and knead meat; chop ginger and cilantro; roll out silky, stretchy dough; and hand-pleat dumplings until nearly 10 p.m. TUESDAY Back at the commissary from 9:30 a.m. into the evening, Wong finishes folding and pleating 4,000 dumplings for the week’s single planned service. “I can roll, cut, cook, and do dishes, but I’m not allowed to pleat,” Jenks says. “That’s all Penny.” Then, the team flash-freezes the savory parcels to preserve their tasty fillings. Today, some are stuffed with a take on one of Wong’s favorite childhood dinners: slow-poached poultry over rice with ginger-scallion oil. WEDNESDAY Early in the day, Wong adds the…

On any given day, a parking lot near the intersection of East Colfax Avenue and Chambers Road in Aurora is packed with a maze of dozens of food trucks and countless hungry patrons. The gathering, which began at the start of the pandemic, is dubbed La Plaza Colorado. Doug McMurrain—who has developed big-box stores such as Walmarts and Home Depots and also founded a Hispanic-centric marketplace concept in Atlanta—owns the vast lot and began renting out spaces to mobile vendors for as little as $300 per month. Yessamin Castro, 23, helps her parents operate Tacos La Victoria, which most visitors frequent for its rare-in-Denver tacos alambre: tortillas stuffed with carne asada, bacon, bell peppers, and onions. The business debuted in 2019, but the family saw an increased flow of customers…

One way we can help close the looming municipal water supply gap is to take the water we already have and use it again. And again. And again. To that end, this past November, the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission adopted a set of regulations governing direct potable reuse (DPR). The process takes wastewater from our sinks, showers, and, yes, toilets and processes it to such a high standard that it can be pumped straight back into our local tap water systems instead of being used in industrial settings or released into rivers to mix with natural flows. Grossed out? You shouldn’t be. All water is recycled water, says John Rehring, Colorado’s national representative to the WateReuse Association, a trade organization that promotes water recycling. “We’re drinking the same stuff…

INDIVIDUAL AGENTS ◆ 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 ◆◆ Double Black Diamond $45 million or more TEAMS OF 3 TO 5 AGENTS ◆ Black Diamond $30 million to $59,999,999 ◆◆ Double Black Diamond $60 million or more TEAMS OF 6 TO 15 AGENTS ◆ Black Diamond $40 million to $74,999,999 ◆◆ Double Black Diamond $75 million or more…

Hunt’s feature “When Will The Water Run Out?” (page 86) explores what can be done about Colorado’s troubling water crisis, which could leave half a million homes without water by 2050. BALANCING ACT ”I grew up near a river in the South but also lived in the New Mexican desert for years, so Colorado is both insanely dry and insanely humid to me at the same time.” TIME CRUNCH ”The people in power need to act now, because we can’t kick the can down the road anymore.” HOW TO HELP “Make it clear to your elected officials that action is needed—even if those efforts are painful.”…

Alex Kaufman makes a series of smooth powder turns before plunging into a grove of conifers. It’s early in the new year, and the fortysomething is wearing a red Colorado Rapids jersey, long johns, and threadbare shorts. On his feet: ancient blue telemark boots and black Marquettes, a brand of discontinued ski-snowshoe hybrids. But Kaufman’s wardrobe and equipment are hardly the most peculiar details of this scene. Instead, it’s his terrain choice. The slope into which he’s sliced these lines isn’t in Summit County. It’s behind the Colorado Mills Mall in Lakewood. A woman walks her dog nearby. “I don’t sit in traffic, I don’t wait in lines, and I never ski in tracked-out snow,” says Kaufman, who estimates that he’s tallied more than 250 days on his Marquettes during…

Sushi seems like the final frontier of vegan cuisine: How can you possibly dupe raw fish? But that’s exactly what chef Steven Lee and his wife, Phoebe, are doing at Congress Park’s four-month-old Wellness Sushi, the Mile High City’s first plant-based Japanese restaurant. At the fast-casual spot, Lee turns konjac (a starchy root vegetable) into battered and fried pseudo-shrimp that crunches like the real thing inside tempura rolls; crowns sushi with razor-thin eggplant that simulates slippery slices of freshwater eel; and tops ramen with soy-based soboro (ground protein). “We’re not just doing it for the [vegans],” says Lee, who is passionate about offering flavor-packed seafood alternatives that are more nutritious and sustainable than their counterparts from the ocean. The growing demand for the tastes and textures of his offerings—which include…

Ella Wilson tightens the laces on her boots, slides into the start gate, positions her skis into the tracks, and waits for a signal from her coach to begin her descent. As the 14-year-old accelerates down the ski jump, she’ll reach 55 mph. What comes next is a moment most Coloradans will never experience. “Once you’re going down the hill, everything stops: It’s just you and your skis. Then, right as you go into the air, it’s the best feeling ever,” says Ella, who soars roughly four meters off the ground and hopes to hit a distance of approximately 70 to 100 meters. “It’s dead silent, and you feel like you’re floating.” That rush is, in part, what keeps the Steamboat Springs teenager hooked on the notoriously difficult and niche…

With over 35 years of combined real estate experience and 4 generations of living in the Denver metro area, The Seitz Kal-Hagan Team has a well-earned and respected reputation. It is their calling and true desire to share in Denver’s past and future! This team is committed to bringing their expertise of staging homes to sell, negotiating for clients while earning repeat and referral business. Educating buyers and sellers about the ever-changing Denver market and supporting clients as they move throughout the stages of their lives. They are at your service in assisting with every part of the transaction to alleviate the pressure of one of the biggest investments you will make. Invest in your future. Live your dreams. Laura and Marilyn have grown the team to elevate your real…

$7,000 Amount Resendiz paid for a 1974 Chevrolet P30 van with a refurbished engine and transmission $35,000 Cost to install cooking equipment, lighting, plumbing, flooring, and insulation $3,000 Fee for Luchador’s custom vinyl wrap job $25 Wage, by the hour, Resendiz pays his wife, Cristina Bazan, and fellow hospitality veteran Heriberto Sosa $8 Net profit made on each order of the $14 quesabirria, the truck’s most popular item: four griddled tortillas loaded with melted cheese and juicy beef shoulder and served with braising broth…

PHO KING RAPIDOS Rather than cooking the pho and grilled-meat-loaded rice bowls that are staples at other local Vietnamese spots, husband-and-wife team Long Nguyen (pictured) and Shauna Seaman dish up their own brand of fusion cuisine. The results are inventive creations such as juicy roast duck and noodles in a citruss-piked broth, sticky wings tossed in a fish-sauce-based glaze with garlic confit, and chicken with turmeric-and ginger-kissed rice. —PK PIKINE GRILL EXPRESS Chef David Diop introduces Coloradans to the bold flavors of his homeland in West Africa via North America’s first Senegalese food truck and catering company, launched in 2015. Look for his brochettes—large chunks of habanero-hot-sauce-basted, grilled poultry served with tomatoey jollof rice, crispy fries, and a simple salad drizzled with ranch—and the yassa special, whose seasoned tilapia, lamb,…

SCHNITZELWIRT In 2019, longtime hospitality pro and Austria native Mario Milkovics bought his food truck, from which he slings rib-sticking bratwurst, sauerbraten, and other traditional German dishes. Don’t miss the stellar jägerschnitzel, a platesize breaded and fried pork cutlet smothered with rich, creamy mushroom sauce and accompanied by stewed red cabbage and buttery potatoes. —Riane Menardi Morrison TACOS TEPA When the wildfire smoke over Boulder County cleared in December 2021, Tacos Tepa owner Pedro De La Cruz thought he’d lost it all in the Marshall fire. He nearly had: Everything the Mexico native owned burned except for his truck, van, and two-month-old food trailer. It was a sign to keep his fledgling business going, he says. Now customers line up at his truck for tortillas stacked with Jalisco-style carne asada,…

URBAN BURMA With its reflective exterior and rounded roof, it’s easy to assume Urban Burma’s traveling food trailer is a modified Airstream—but it’s not. Siri Tan (left) and his brother Martin, who hail from Myanmar (formerly Burma), opened a restaurant serving the country’s cuisine back in 2019 inside Aurora’s Mango House food hall. After the effects of the pandemic in 2021, they decided to go mobile. From a stainless steel trailer that resembles the iconic aluminum camper, the Tans serve samosas with sweet tamarind sauce, sii cheh kao sweh (noodles with garlic oil), and tea leaf salad. TOBY’S PO’BOYS Anyone who’s been to New Orleans has likely tasted the heaven on a bun that is an overflowing shrimp po’boy. It was only fitting, thought NOLA native Damon Tobias, that a…

In January, the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) updated the Colorado Water Plan. The document, first published in 2015, lays out the actions stakeholders—from ranchers to utility companies—can take to prepare for a drier Centennial State. It also tries to predict the future. Using climate models and input from experts, the plan outlines a range of possible tomorrows. They all have one thing in common: If we don’t start implementing strategies like building new reservoirs and banning thirsty grass lawns—neither of which are baked into CWCB’s prognostications—there won’t be enough H²O to go around by 2050. Here are the many water worlds we could encounter. Multiverse WEAK ECONOMY • Temperature Increase: None The economy at home and abroad struggles, and that’s good, at least when it comes to water supplies.…

How do you create this list? In June 2022, 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 2021, 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,…