YOU CAN COMMENT ON ANY STORY AT WESTWORD.COM; SEND LETTERS TO [email protected] LETTERS TO THE EDITOR “TACO BELLE,” CHRIS VANJONACK, FEBRUARY 4 ¿QUÉ PA S A , C A S A ? If Casa Bonita closes permanently, that is the proverbial “nail in the coffi n” for old Denver and might as well include all of Colorado. This state has been losing its identity one piece at a time, losing to bullshit architecture, slot homes and box homes that look like a giant litterbox fi lled with turds. The soulless people who invest in these new ways are making Denver one giant litterbox! Chris Earls Westminster If Casa Bonita doesn’t open back up, I will die of great sadness and spend my last days crying in a dark room eating Taco Bell. Christine Bernat Denver Santiago’s or even Taco Bell needs to take over the food-and-beverage portion of Casa Bonita. The food would be edible, and we’d all start going again. Hell, yes, I want a half-and-half smothered burrito and a Dos Equis while my kids are running around! Jason Parfenoff Lakewood Dear Meow Wolf: Please take over and bring back Casa Bonita x 1000. What a fan- tastic space that could be reinvented while preserving old Denver. JeNnilla Bean Denver “FOUNDATION WARS,” KYLE HARRIS, JANUARY 28 MORE FOR LESS Your coverage of the power imbalance be- tween nonprofits and foundations is im- portant. I’d add the voices of twenty local nonprofi t organizations — the majority of which are led by leaders who are Black, Indig- enous and people of color — asking founda- tions to cut the red tape and increase funding. Neha Mahajan, executive director of Trans- formative Leadership for Change, a nonprofi t that serves BIPOC leaders in social justice organizations, says it best: “Against all odds, Don’t miss a beat! Follow @DenverWestword on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Whether you love or loathe Casa Bonita, it’s part of our cultural landscape. Search our archives and read more...much more. ON THE COVER COVER ART BY EVAN SEMÓN AND GETTY IMAGES 5 we’re trying to end the school-to-jail pipeline, eliminate poverty, solve climate change, end educational disparities — and we’re supposed to do all of this on shoestring budgets in the model of nonprofi t scarcity. We’re asking phi- lanthropy to give us resources we truly need to achieve liberation for our communities.” This request is absolutely reasonable, especially when it’s known that private foundations are only required by the Internal Revenue Service to distribute 5 percent of our assets every year. The remaining 95 percent is traditionally invested in markets that contribute to the same inequities, wealth/opportunity gaps, that our missions purport to be addressing. At best, it can be viewed that we founda- tions are breaking with $95 what we are try- ing to fi x with $5. At worst, it can be argued that we are charity-washing by touting a mis- sion that only covers 5 percent of our assets. If we are truly committed to our missions and communities, foundations need to take full responsibility for the impact of 100 percent of our assets, not just 5 percent. Kristi Petri AJL Foundation, executive director I couldn’t agree more that these nonprofi t organizations should be doing less, not more to receive necessary funding during these incredibly diffi cult times, and focusing on the amazing work that they have proven to do. The Arts Affi nity Group (AAG) changed from its Art Tank presentation grant model to a Random Acts of Arts Philanthropy (RAAP) model in the middle of 2019 for this very rea- son. We felt that in order to be more equitable, in order to honor the great work that these nonprofi t organizations are doing for the community, why should we ask them to do more work for us? Shouldn’t we award grants on their past and future promise because they are giving everything for their mission? AAG awarded seven RAAP grants between September 2019 and the end of 2020, with our fi rst RAAP grant going to FEMpowered at Youth on Record. The sheer nature of the hurdles of applying for some of these grants automatically limits which organizations have the staff, technol- ogy and capacity to even apply for them. Dina Bleeker Arts Affi nity Group, Denver VOLUME 44 NUMBER 24 FEBRUARY 11-17, 2021 W AR T Art Director Jay Vollmar PR ODUC TI ON Production Manager Michael Wilson Assistant Production Manager Patrick Eul Graphic Designers Chris Arneson, Erin Kirk CRE A TIVE SER VI CES Senior Graphic Designer Allie Seidel 9 WE (HEART) COLORADO Some sweet stories from a bittersweet year. 17 ABOUT FACE Originally planned as an open-faced sandwich shop, Open leans on top Denver chefs for inspiration. BY MARK ANTONATION 18 LOVE LETTER Michael Goodwin pays tribute to Denver music with a new zine. BY JOHN BEAR 6 News 14 Culture 17 Cafe 18 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 20 26 Marijuana TOKE OF THE TOWN ................................ 26 ASK A STONER ......................................... 28 STRAIN GANG .......................................... 30 AD VER TI S ING Account Managers Claire Holt, Lexi Macaluso Senior Multimedia Account Executives Amy Camera, Aaron Lembke, Heather Lowe, Danelle Trujillo Multimedia Account Executive Nicholas Casa Digital Operations Coordinator Anna Hortik Senior Digital Account Coordinator Maddie Miller Sales Operations Manager Will Wytias-Sobel Digital and Advertising Sales Manager Taylor Wheeler Advertising Director Teri Driskell C I R CULA TI ON Circulation Manager Ty Koepke Circulation Coordinator Chris Speed BUS INESS Business Manager Sarah Dunahay Accounting Assistant Dee Jones AP/Payroll Specialist Nayeli Baker AR Coordinator Stacy Phillips Receptionist Cindy Perez Systems Manager Joshua Korpela Associate Publisher Tracy Kontrelos Publisher Scott Tobias V O ICE MEDIA GROUP Executive Editor Christine Brennan Executive Associate Editor Andy Van De Voorde Corporate Controller Beth Cook Legal Counsel Steve Suskin Chief Financial Offi cer Jeff Mars Chief Executive Offi cer Scott Tobias VMG NA TI ONAL National Advertising: 1-888-278-9866, www.voicemediagroup.com Senior Vice President Sue Belair Senior Vice President of Sales Operations Joe Larkin DI S TRIBUTI ON Westword is available free of charge. Additional copies of the current issue may be purchased for $1, payable in advance at the Westword offi ce. Westword may be distributed only by authorized Westword distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of Westword, take more than one copy of each issue. COP YRI GHT The entire contents of Westword are copyright 2020 by Denver Westword LLC. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, with- out the express written permission of the Publisher, Westword, P.O. Box 5970, Denver CO 80217. Back issues may be purchased for $2 each plus postage from the Westword offi ce (issues older than six weeks subject to availability). The Best of Denver 2020 is $5 plus postage. Story reprints are available for $1 plus post- age; call 303-296-7744 to place an order, or check our archives at www.westword.com. Westword (USPS478230) is published weekly by Denver Westword LLC, 1278 Lincoln Street, Denver CO 80203. Periodicals postage paid in Denver. Domestic subscriptions may be purchased for $50 yearly. 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 retail advertising call: 303-293-8007 For classifi ed advertising call: 303-296-8661 For general information call: 303-296-7744 ® EDIT ORIAL Editor Patricia Calhoun Editorial Operations Manager Jane R. Le Music and Arts Editor Kyle Harris Food and Drink Editor Mark Antonation Cannabis Editor Thomas Mitchell Clubs Editor Jon Solomon Staff Writers Conor McCormick-Cavanagh, Michael Roberts Senior Contributor Alan Prendergast Contributors Lauren Archuletta, John Bear, Teague Bohlen, Oakland L. Childers, Miles Chrisinger, Jacqueline Collins, Linnea Covington, Claire Duncombe, Susan Froyd, Clara Geoghegan, Byron Graham, Kenneth Hamblin III, Michael Emery Hecker, Nick Hutchinson, Krista Kafer, Danielle Krolewicz, Karl Christian Krumpholz, Kristen Kuchar, Katrina Leibee, Sage Marshall, Sarah McGill, Cleo Mirza, Michael Paglia, Adam Perry, Jonathan Shikes, Aaron Thackeray, Chris Walker, Juliet Wittman westword.com | CONTENTS | LETTERS | CALHOUN | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | WESTWORD FEBRUARY 11-17, 2021 JAY VOLLMAR
