4 FEBRUARY 12-18, 2026 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 12 INSIDE THE GRIND The high-risk gamble of opening a restaurant in Denver today. BY ANTONY BRUNO 6 THE HEAT IS ON How Colorado leaders are pushing back against ICE. BY BENNITO L. KELTY 8 BLACK GIRL MAGIC Coco Bardot is gearing up for one of her busiest months of the year. BY CLEO MIRZA 17 RISE AND SHINE Rootbeer Richie and the Reveille is the Band Colorado needs. BY EMILY FERGUSON 8 Culture 12 Cafe 17 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 20 23 Marijuana CANNABIS CALENDAR ............................ 24 HIGH NOTES ............................................. XX VOLUME 49 NUMBER 24 FEBRUARY 12-18, 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 ILLUSTRATION 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! PHOTOGRAPH BY BENNITO L. KELTY “PUTTING THE HEAT ON ICE,” BENNITO L. KELTY AND HANNAH METZGER, FEBRUARY 5 T H E H E A T I S O N Immigration: Yet another example of the White Man’s arrogance. These aliens came here, stole our lands and broke all treaties. Now they want to decide who can and can’t live here. We should band together and demand that these individuals be deported. Marvin Running Horse Pagosa Springs Westword virtue signaling again. Steven Kuhn Castle Rock This is not about immigration; the dumb- est president in American history is trying to create a police state. He wants to be emperor of the world. Resist! Mike Bogira Denver “PUP TALK,” HANNAH METZGER, JANUARY 29 R U N O F T H E M I L L State and local laws banning retail sales of animals are critical for shutting down puppy mills, and Coloradans have made it clear that they support this vital legislation. Contrary to industry assertions, practically every dog sold in a pet store came from a puppy mill. Some retailers and online ads tout that animals are sourced from “licensed breeders,” but puppy mills are commonly licensed by the USDA. Licensure means that the USDA can inspect a facility, but with an abysmal number of inspectors to go around, breeders are seldom visited, and inspections are announced well in advance, giving them plenty of time to prepare. Coupled with the meager protections granted to animals used for breeding and the fact that when violations are noted, breeders often have a chance to correct them (if only temporarily) without a formal citation, inspections have almost no impact on the industry. That is evi- denced by the high number of complaints from buyers who’ve purchased gravely ill puppies. Laws that protect animals and consumers are ones we should all support. And everyone can help spare animals from suffering by choosing to adopt, not shop. Audrey Endres Boulder Ban backyard breeders and puppy mills altogether and make the consequences stiff. Betty Prutch Denver “CLEANING HOUSE,” EMILY FERGUSON, JANUARY 29 H O U S E A R R E S T Your Mom’s House was the worst venue in Denver by far. Lots of bad interactions with this business over the years. Sage Helperman Commerce City That place was always packed to the hilt when it was the Snake Pit back in the early 2000s. There was always a line of people trying to get in there back in the day. Like Night at The Roxbury! You could barely move in there on a busy night because there were too many people crammed in. Jeremy Smith Denver Can someone please save this space and make it great? It’s cute, and I have so much hope for it to be turned around. Chayla Bingham Denver The employees who tried to buy it over a year ago should get fi rst dibs. Ian Tyson Denver Hey, I’ve seen this movie before. Happy Gilmore, right? Shooter McGavin wins the auction, then Happy wins it back during the golf tournament! Kenneth Boos Windsor Editor’s note: The City of Denver is holding a Treasurer’s Sale of The Pearl Stop LLC dba Your Mom’s House at 2 p.m. February 13.
