2 westword.com WESTWORD APRIL 27-MAY 3, 2023 | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 5 BEE HERE NOW Have you heard the buzz about this honey of a business? BY CATIE CHESHIRE 10 SHOWTIME! Post-pandemic, theater companies get their acts together. BY TONI TRESCA 12 BEER HERE The ten best breweries in Denver. BY MOLLY MARTIN 15 GIRL POWER Promoter Amanda Menard is on a roll with 4130 Management. BY JUSTIN CRIADO 10 Culture 12 Cafe 15 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 18 26 Marijuana TOKE OF THE TOWN ................................ 26 ASK A STONER ......................................... 28 STRAIN GANG .......................................... 30 VOLUME 46 NUMBER 35 APRIL 27-MAY 3, 2023 E D I T O R I A L Editor Patricia Calhoun Editorial Operations Manager Jane R. Le News Editor Chris Perez Culture Editor Emily Ferguson Food and Drink Editor Molly Martin Cannabis Editor Thomas Mitchell Social Media Editor Katrina Leibee Staff Writers Catie Cheshire, Bennito Kelty, Benjamin Neufeld Senior Contributors Alan Prendergast, Michael Roberts Contributors Amy Antonation, John Bear, Staci Berry, Teague Bohlen, Jake Browne, Hyde Chrastina, Jacqueline Collins, Linnea Covington, Justin Criado, Susan Froyd, Lizzie Goldsmith, Nick Hutchinson, Marty Jones, Danielle Krolewicz, Karl Christian Krumpholz, Kristen Kuchar, Conor McCormick-Cavanagh, Cleo Mirza, Abigail Nueve, Ryan Pachmayer, Michael Paglia, Kristin Pazulski, Adam Perry, Ashlee Redger, Evan Semón, Amber Taufen, Toni Tresca, Kastle Waserman, Juliet Wittman Editorial Interns Julianna O’Clair, Sandra Vo Music Listings Chris Speed A R T Art Director Jay Vollmar P R O D U C T I O N Production Manager Michael Wilson Assistant Production Manager Erin Kirk Graphic Designers Chris Arneson, Tori Bohling C R E A T I V E S E R V I C E S Senior Graphic Designer Allie Seidel A D V E R T I S I N G Account Manager Natalie Proctor Senior Multimedia Account Executives Amy Camera, Aaron Lembke, Danelle Trujillo Multimedia Account Executives Trayl Chaffee, Quincy Lynch, William Savoie, Allison Wissink Marketing and Promotions Manager Heyward Manning Event Marketing Manager Britton Sacharski House Account Manager Anna Hortik Operations Manager Maddie Miller Digital Coordinator Carver Hodgkiss Digital and Advertising Sales Manager Taylor Wheeler Advertising Director Teri Driskell C I R C U L A T I O N Circulation Manager Ty Koepke B U S I N E S S Business Manager Sarah Dunahay Financial Accountant Robert Scribner AR Coordinator Stacy Phillips IT Systems Manager Kris Robinson Receptionist Cindy Perez Associate Publisher Tracy Kontrelos Publisher Scott Tobias V O I C E M E D I A G R O U P Executive Editor Christine Brennan Executive Associate Editor Andy Van De Voorde Editorial Director Chelsey Dequaine-Jerabek Corporate Controller Beth Cook Legal Counsel Steve Suskin Chief Financial Offi cer Jeff Mars Chief Executive Offi cer Scott Tobias V M G N A T I O N A L National Advertising: 1-888-278-9866, www.voicemediagroup.com Senior Vice President of Sales Operations Joe Larkin D I S T R I B U T I O N 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. C O P Y R I G H T The entire contents of Westword are copyright 2022 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 2023 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 or classifi ed advertising, call: 303-296-7744 For general information, call: 303-296-7744 For Editorial, email: [email protected] “MAKE ROOM FOR MUSHROOMS,” THOMAS MITCHELL, APRIL 20 S H R O O M S E R V I C E Great story by Thomas Mitchell about the business boom in psychedelics. Thanks for clarifying how things will work. I count on you guys to give me the straight story. (Too bad the cool cover was buried by an ad.) Jay Romano Denver Get ready for all the quacks and hacks to come out of the woodwork just like they did after Amendment 64 passed, ruining the medical marijuana market. Like cannabis, these natural drugs have real potential for healing, but they also have a real potential to be abused by commercial interests. Lucinda Vigil Denver I picked up a Westword on 4/20 and was pleasantly surprised to see that after over a decade since hemp was legalized, Westword looked like it had fi nally done an article about hemp’s fuel potential — only to fi nd the cover was a cheesy advertisement for a dispensary. I should have known better than to hope Westword might have gotten its priorities straight. RJ Lotze Denver “TOASTED,” MOLLY MARTIN, APRIL 20 T H E B R E A D Z O N E That’s my fi rst apartment in Denver in the background, and the fi rst Quiznos ever in the foreground. What’s going on with my little slice of Cap Hill? This is sad. Andrew Tauchen Westminster By my experience, Quiznos has gone downhill in recent years. The last half-dozen times I have gone to one, the sandwiches have been a disappointment — doesn’t mat- ter which location. It’s a bummer, because I used to really like them. Mark E. Matheson Broomfi eld It was better when it was a cheap Italian restaurant that had Italian subs. The only advantage they had was toasted subs, and then others started doing the same. They cost more, and the quality wasn’t better. Josh Engel Westminster I ate at the original Quiznos once or twice in the early 2000s because it was one of a handful of places where my boyfriend would eat lunch...and he was paying. The last time I ate at a Quiznos was a couple of years after, at a different location, and not at my preference. Nothing memorable — as in I literally don’t remember anything about the food, except something about toasted bread? Nathan Sanzone-McDowell Denver “COURTING DISASTER,” PATRICIA CALHOUN, APRIL 13 W H A T E V E R F L O A T S Y O U R V O T E Fox knew they were screwed and Dominion was going to prove malicious intent. They lied, they knew damn well they were lying, and they’re desperate to not have a bunch of other lies exposed. And now their idiot viewers will go right back to gobbling up all their lies. Josh Guite Denver Calling a vote switching machine a vote switching machine will get you in trouble? Andy Stout Denver Everybody should have realized long ago that Fox’s entire business model is based on hoodwinking poorly educated rubes from the sticks and lying to them for ratings and profi t. You have to be really detached from real- ity to think that Hugo Chavez’s ghost stole an election using bamboo ballots sent in from China on Italian satellites. They had no evidence, but a crackhead pillow salesman says it, so it MUST be true! Joe Velasco Denver ON THE COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY EVAN SEMÓN 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! 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