Best Store on the 16th Street Mall I Heart Denver Denver Pavilions 500 16th Street 720-317-2328 iheartdenverstore.com We heart the I Heart Denver store and its founder, designer/entrepreneur Samuel Schimek. He started this enterprise devoted to local artists, makers and all things Colo- rado in 2011, and it’s become the go-to spot for tourists and locals alike. Where else can you fi nd a scratch-off poster that lets you note all the fourteeners you’ve climbed, or a shaker full of Colorado wildfl ower seeds, or shot glasses devoted to the Big Blue Bear? As the long-anticipated (long-dreaded?) reno- vation of the mall gets underway, I Heart Denver remains a bright spot illuminating all the creativity in Colorado. In fact, the city would be wise to just turn this entire stretch of 16th Street over to Schimek; we’d love to see what he could do with it. Best Store at Denver International Airport Kazoo & Company Mezzanine, Concourse B 303-317-1285 fl ydenver.com/enjoy_relax/shop/kazoo- company-toy-store Now that the horrifi c plans to turn DIA’s Jeppesen Terminal into a shopping mall are dead, it’s time to bring on the fun! Longtime Denverites fondly recall when the Tattered Cover was still in Cherry Creek North, the nearby Chez Jose was serving up fat burritos the size of a loaf of bread, and Kazoo & Com- pany was the coolest toy store around. It closed in 2014, the victim of both the ease of online shopping and signifi cant changes to the neighborhood. But a small part of Kazoo & Company survives at DIA, and it brings the kid in us joy to see it every time we’re on Concourse B. It’s not as big as the origi- nal, and it doesn’t have near the astounding inventory. But it’s an oasis of entertainment in an airport that can sometimes be a joyless place, and we’d like to see some of its magic spill into the terminal. 22 Best Store on West Colfax Little Man Ice Cream Factory 4411 West Colfax Avenue 720-550-6777 littlemanicecreamfactory.com Before South Park’s creators announced that they were taking over Casa Bonita, before Meow Wolf opened in the shadow of the viaduct, West Colfax Avenue was already starting a comeback. One of the prime drivers: Little Man Ice Cream Fac- tory, which opened in 2019 as a production kitchen for the various stores in the Little Man empire, as well as a Willy Wonka- like tasting room whose decor is almost as tasty as the ice cream and other confec- tions made here. But there are more sweet treats in this spot, including special events ranging from fundraisers to swing dances to yoga classes that draw people from the neighborhood — and beyond. Cool! Best Store on East Colfax Marczyk Fine Foods 5100 East Colfax Avenue 303-243-3355 marczykfi nefoods.com In April 2002, Marczyk Fine Foods opened the doors of its fi rst market on East 17th Av- enue, a place that celebrated quality ingredi- ents and products — and local community. In 2011, the crew behind the store — husband and wife Pete Marczyk and Barbara Mac- farlane, as well as brother Paul Marczyk — opened a second outpost in an old Safeway on East Colfax, a bigger store that featured all of the same amenities, along with a kitchen to up the ante on prepared foods and a next- got a new lease on life during the pandemic. Daughter Sydney made a TikTok documen- tary on the shop that went viral, bringing FashioNation a new generation of online shoppers. But we like stopping in the store on Broadway, to check out the Doc Martens releases, see the latest lines (including Forest Ink, run by a goth family), maybe catch a rock star or two, and celebrate that what’s old is new again. Bonus points for the Babysitter’s Nightmare alter-ego. These kids are all right. Best Store on the Pearl Street Mall El Loro Jewelry & Gifts 1416 Pearl Street, Boulder 303-449-3162 elloroboulder.com Before Pearl Street got so tony, full of fancy eateries, Free People and shops stocking la- dies’ yogawear and running gear, there was clockwork no matter what other services in the city are breaking down, or when your trash is now slated for pick-up. But at least Denver offers a free reminder that you’re about to get a fi fty-dollar ticket if you don’t move that car: Sign up on denvergov.org for My pocketgov, which will send monthly alerts right before your street-sweeping day. After that, it’s up to you. Best Almost-Free Service Black Dollar Saturdays Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center 2836 Welton Street 303-297-0823 brotherjeff.com If you don’t know Brother Jeff, you don’t know the heartbeat of Five Points, where Jeff Fard serves as switchboard, business booster and opinion-maker for the Black community at large. The new Black Dollar Saturday is perhaps his most grassroots ini- tiative: He opens his Welton Street cultural center to Black entrepreneurs, artists, cooks and makers every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the spirit of Ujamaa, Kwanzaa’s principle of Cooperative Economics. Come down and spend a dollar on soy candles, pencil portraits, plates of soul food, pickles, vinyl albums, jewelry or whatever happens to be on the tables each week. Best Community Service Ink Lounge 29 South Fox Street 303-321-7101 inklounge.com door liquor store. Over the years, Marczyk’s has added a bakery and an even bigger food- prep facility (with a lineup overseen by chef Jamey Fader), as well as events that draw traffi c off of Colfax, but the goal of empha- sizing both quality and community remains. Now, as the enterprise celebrates its twenti- eth anniversary, it continues to grow; there’s always something cooking at Marczyk’s. Best Store on Broadway FashioNation 1595 South Broadway 303-832-2909 vixensandangels.com FashioNation has the energy of a teenager... but it turns 35 this year. The store founded in 1987 by Paul and Pam Italiano as a safe place for punks, goths and other alternative kids to safely explore their identity through clothes El Loro, a store that would have been called funky back in 1977 when it fi rst opened, popping up on the then-brand-new Pearl Street Mall. It’s still funky decades later, part rock shop and part jewelry store — a place where college kids can buy affordable gifts from around the world, tarot cards and crystals to hang around their necks, and smooth polished stones or pewter charms to keep in their pockets. El Loro lacks all pretension, is tourist-friendly, and a great place to take kids shopping. We hope it stays that way for at least another 45 years. Best Free Service My pocketgov denvergov.org/pocketgov Along with every April Fools’ Day comes the biggest joke in Denver: the start of street sweeping, which seems to run like Ink Lounge founder Stuart Alden has long been known for some of the coolest de- sign work and screen printing for artists, bands, small businesses and nonprofi ts that are clients at Ink Lounge. But his “Good Ink Missions” really caught our attention this past year. These social-impact proj- ects range from workshops with kids that create a dialogue about art with a pur- pose to running community fundraisers for local nonprofi ts — and Alden has really picked up the pace. Don’t miss one of Ink Lounge’s L!BERTee-Shirt Printing events: If you bring a T-shirt, Alden will donate his screen-printing services to raise awareness around a social issue. Best Snow Alert @denversnow twitter.com/denversnow Though Denver didn’t get snow until late in the season, there was plenty of action in the new year — and the Twitter account unit- ing the community through it all has been @ denversnow. Every time it snows, this Twit- ter account gleefully posts the details for its friends/followers, rejoicing in the precipita- tion. Rather than bemoaning commutes, cold or inconvenience, @denversnow helps Den- verites celebrate the weather and every drop of moisture that lands. There’s no business like snow business! continued on page 26 APRIL 7-13, 2022 WESTWORD | BACKBEAT | MUSIC & VENUES | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | SHOPPING & SERVICES | CONTENTS | westword.com GETTY IMAGES
