4 JANUARY 29-FEBRUARY 4, 2026 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 15 CLEANING HOUSE Inside the disastrous year that destroyed this Capitol Hill club. By Emily Ferguson 6 PUP TALK Colorado bill would ban the sale of dogs, cats at pet stores. BY HANNAH METZGER 8 OVER THE RAINBOW Are Pride fl ags too freaky for Shrek the Musical in Parker? BY ZACHARY VISCONTI 10 ANYONE FOR PENNIS? Comedians are trading bars for pickleball courts. BY TONI TRESCA 12 OODLES OF NOODLES The ten best ramen joints in metro Denver. BY GIL ASAKAWA 10 Culture 12 Cafe 15 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 22 24 Marijuana CANNABIS CALENDAR ............................ 24 HIGH NOTES ............................................. XX VOLUME 49 NUMBER 22 JANUARY 29-FEBRUARY 4, 2026 E D I T O R I A L Editor Patricia Calhoun News Editor Thomas Mitchell Food and Drink Editor Molly Martin Music Editor Emily Ferguson Culture Editor Kristen Fiore Social Media Editor Katrina Leibee Staff Writers Bennito L. 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Peri- odicals postage paid in Denver. Domestic subscriptions may be purchased for $100/year or $50/six months. Postmaster: Send address changes to Westword, P.O. Box 5970, Denver CO 80217. Mailing address: P.O. Box 5970, Denver, CO 80217 Street address: 1278 Lincoln Street, Denver, CO 80203 For general information, call: 303-296-7744 For Editorial, email: [email protected] ON THE COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY MONIKA SWIDERSKI LETTERS T O T H E E D I T O R YOU CAN COMMENT ON ANY STORY AT WESTWORD.COM; SEND LETTERS TO [email protected] Don’t miss a word! The stories in this print edition are just a fraction of the pieces we publish every week on westword.com. For a cheat sheet on all that content, subscribe to our daily newsletter at westword.com/profi le. You can also follow @denverwestword on Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, Instagram and TikTok. And it’s all free! DARRELL ANDERSON “THE NEXT STEP,” KRISTEN FIORE, JANUARY 22 D A N C E F E V E R Cleo Parker Robinson is such a treasure! Thank you for the excellent story. And to have Darrell Anderson’s work on the cover! Such a tribute to these legendary Colorado artists. Jamie Rogers Denver Such dignity and community. Romana Urrutia Denver “EAT UP HAVANA,” ANTONY BRUNO, JANUARY 22 S T R E E T D R E A M S Mark Antonation’s original series on Federal was great, and Antony Bruno’s series on Havana was just as good. Can’t wait to see what street you take on next! Maybe Colfax? It could use the attention. Joe Rodriguez Dener Mississippi towards I-225 also seems to have many gems. Aaron Nye Raton, New Mexico “TRUMPER TANTRUM,” PATRICIA CALHOUN, JANUARY 2 (AND OTHER STORIES) E V E R Y O N E ’ S E N T I T L E D T O T H E I R O P I N I O N I enjoy the opinion section very much. West- word really represents Denver in a special way. I appreciate everything Westword does for the Mile High City readers and community. Daniel Liguori Denver I had hoped that Patricia Calhoun’s “Trumper Tantrum” would be the last we would have to hear about President Trump’s vendetta against Colorado. But then came the Minneapolis shootings of Colorado native Renee Good and Alex Pretti, whose parents live in Arvada. It seems like even outside the state, Colorado gets caught in the crossfi re. It’s the price of freedom. Thomas Vigil Denver Just a reminder that we’ve stopped using the term Colorado native unless you are actually Indigenous. Kim O’Hara Denver I have protested. Peacefully. Politely. Not with a gun. Loaded. With red pinpoint scope. Nor with another magazine of twenty more bullets. Not even with a pocket knife or nail clipper that could be seen as a weapon. Law enforcement has been shot and killed all over our country. Police have been shot and killed by guns. Who do you call when the bad guys are at your home? Drug gangs? Maybe add these facts to your story. Frank Mclaughlin Denver “TOP 50 RESTAURANTS,” MOLLY MARTIN, JANUARY 15 C A N Y O U T O P T H I S ? Molly Martin, I always love your Denver metro food scene column, and the latest is no exception. Just one question: How did Il Forno di Tutti not place? David Santa Cruz Arapahoe County How could you NOT include Bastien’s in this list? Howard Jaidinger Wheat Ridge Every restaurant on here advertised with you. Seems like pay to play. Jason Alfonso Denver Editor’s note: There is no connection between advertising and the Top 50 Restaurants, just as there is no connection between advertising and the editorial picks for the Best of Denver, which are separate from the Readers’ Choice Poll that is now live. Have something you’d like to suggest for this year’s edition? Send it to editorial@westword. com.
