Friday, July 11, 2025
⛅ Light rain • High: 87°F • Low: 63°F

Good morning, Denver. Happy Friday! You've made it to the home stretch, just one more wake-up until you can trade your laptop or tools for a lawn chair at Bastille Day in Cherry Creek. I'm betting that French rosé is sounding pretty magnifique right about now.

In today's RB Daily:

• Broadway businesses band together to battle the blues

• A 70-million-year-old neighbor discovered under the museum

• Your weekend is packed with French flair, fireworks, and free fun

You may also notice that I’m changing the format of this newsletter to make it more compact. I hope you like it :)

Always feel free to email me at [email protected] with comments.
Kiki ❤️ 

THE DIGEST

Broadway's Business Owners Say "Non" to Neglect with New Tax District Remember when Broadway was just dive bars and vintage shops? Now it's fighting to keep its soul (and its stores). Local businesses are proposing a General Improvement District that would add about $2,400 annually to commercial property taxes to fund 24/7 private security. Luke Johnson, who runs Luke & Company Fine Pet Supply, is leading the charge after watching neighbors like Fancy Tiger Crafts and TRVE Brewing close up shop.

The $1.1 million annual budget would mostly go toward security to handle what Johnson diplomatically calls "drug use that fuels problems." Translation: People swinging metal pipes in the street isn't great for the handmade jewelry business. The Underground Music Showcase might be evolving, but Broadway needs help staying weird in all the right ways.

Museum Parking Lot Yields Prehistoric Prize In the most Denver discovery ever, construction workers found a 70-million-year-old dinosaur fossil under the Denver Museum of Nature & Science parking lot. Because of course we did. This herbivore is now the oldest and deepest dinosaur fossil ever found in the city, discovered hundreds of feet below where you usually circle for 20 minutes looking for a spot.

Joker Plays the Long Game on Nuggets Contract Nikola Jokic is passing on a contract extension with the Nuggets this year, but before you panic-text your group chat, it's actually smart money moves. The three-time MVP can sign for more cash next summer, because apparently being the best player in the world comes with some decent negotiating power.

After back-to-back second-round playoff exits, Jokic was brutally honest: Denver wasn't good enough to win it all. At least someone in this town can admit when the altitude isn't the only thing taking our breath away.

LOCAL BUSINESS

RiNo's Brewery Scene Gets Another Plot Twist Queens Eleven in RiNo poured its last pint after nine years, joining the growing list of craft casualties. But fear not, hop heads: the Sandlot Brewery at Coors Field lives on, because nothing pairs with a Rockies loss quite like a locally brewed beer.

Meanwhile, Dave's Hot Chicken just opened in Greenwood Village, because apparently suburban Denver needed more ways to cry while eating. The Nashville hot chicken chain sold for $1 billion this year, proving that pain really does sell.

Cherry Creek Gets Fancier (Somehow) The Leven Supply crew is bringing their upscale deli concept to Cherry Creek North later this year, complete with full bar and actual trees inside. Because nothing says "Denver dining" like eating a $18 sandwich under indoor foliage while discussing your CrossFit WOD.

WHAT'S HAPPENING

This Weekend: July 11-13 

It's Friday, which means you have exactly one day to figure out which of these amazing events you'll actually make it to. Spoiler: You'll probably end up at the brewery down the street, but dream big!

Friday July 11 - Sunday July 13 🇫🇷 Bastille Day French Festival • All Day • Cherry Creek North 📍 2nd Avenue from Clayton to Adams
💰 FREE admission, ticketed events vary What: Three days of French culture without the jet lag. Crepes, champagne tastings, Edith Piaf tributes, and Breton dancing lessons. Basically, Cherry Creek transforms into Paris but with better parking.

🎭 Cirque du Soleil at Ball Arena • 7:30pm • Ball Arena 📍 1000 Chopper Cir 💰 $45-$150 What: Gravity-defying acrobatics that'll make your yoga class look pedestrian. Pro tip: The cheap seats are still amazing when people are flying through the air.

🎸 High Lonesome Bluegrass at Black Hawk • 8pm • Ameristar 📍 111 Richman Street, Black Hawk 💰 $35-$65 What: Get your twang on in the mountains. Free shuttle from downtown available if you're smart about your whiskey consumption.

⚾ Rockies vs. White Sox + Fireworks • 6:40pm • Coors Field 📍 2001 Blake St 💰 $15-$75 (Rooftop tix still available!) What: Come for the fireworks, stay for... well, just come for the fireworks. But hey, at least we're not the White Sox.

Saturday July 12 🥐 Bastille Day Grand Tasting • 11am-4pm • Fillmore Plaza 📍 1st Ave & Fillmore St 💰 $75 advance/$85 door What: Unlimited tastings from 30+ restaurants. Pace yourself or you'll be speaking French by 2pm (and not the good kind).

🦋 Butterfly Pavilion 30th Birthday Bash Saturday July 12 • 10am-4pm • Westminster 📍 6252 W 104th Ave 💰 $8-$12 What: Celebrate three decades of making grown adults whisper in wonder. Special bug encounters and birthday cake. Yes, the butterflies get cake too.

🎶 Jazz in the Park Sunday • 6pm • City Park 📍 2001 Colorado Blvd 💰 FREE What: Smooth sounds under the summer sky. Pack a picnic, grab a blanket, pretend you understand jazz theory.

⚾ Rockies vs. White Sox + Fireworks Round 2 • 6:10pm • Coors Field 📍 2001 Blake St 💰 $15-$75 What: Because nothing says America like watching baseball and explosions two nights in a row.

Sunday July 14 🏃‍♀️ Bastille Day 5K • 8am • Cherry Creek North 📍 Start at 2nd & Clayton 💰 $40-$50 What: Run off your croissant guilt from Saturday. Finishers get champagne because this is Cherry Creek, darling.

🎨 Denver Art Museum Free Day • 10am-5pm • DAM 📍 100 W 14th Ave Pkwy 💰 FREE for kids, $15-22 adults What: Culture yourself before football season starts. The Martin Building has AC, which is basically an exhibit itself this weekend.

🎬 Month of Video: Outdoor Projections • Sunset • Various Locations 📍 Check website for locations 💰 FREE What: Video art projected on buildings downtown. It's like Instagram stories but actually artistic and you have to leave your house.

Recurring Weekend Favorites 

• Union Station Farmers Market: Saturdays 9am-2pm - Where $8 peaches seem reasonable

• RiNo Art Walk: Self-guided anytime - Now with 30% fewer breweries!

• Denver Beer Co. Tours: Sat & Sun 2pm - Learn why your IPA costs $9

Plan Ahead Next weekend (July 19-21) highlights:

• Underground Music Showcase early bird tix on sale

• Colorado Symphony at Red Rocks

• More restaurants closing (probably)

Free Stuff This Weekend Because rent is too high:

• Yoga on the Rocks: Saturday 7am at Red Rocks (BYO mat and oxygen)

• Denver Botanic Gardens Free Hour: Friday 3-4pm (Be that person who sprints through)

• First Friday Art Walk: RiNo, Santa Fe, Tennyson (It's technically second Friday but who's counting)

EXTRA SPRINKLES

🌶️ Spotted: Two bears at Red Rocks during Tuesday's concert. Even wildlife knows the venue is unbeatable.

🚲 Denver's giving away money for neighborhood projects! Up to $1,500 for mobility initiatives. Time to pitch that adults-only bike parade idea.

📱 Aira ASL App now available at all Colorado workforce centers - breaking down barriers one sign at a time.

DENVER BY THE NUMBERS 🌡️ This weekend's forecast: 95°/68° (weather.gov) 🏔️ Snow at Loveland: 0" (shocking, I know) 🍺 Weekend events happening: 73 🚲 Days until Underground Music Showcase: 15 🦖 Million years our new dino friend is old: 70

If you enjoyed this newsletter or found it helpful, please share it with your friends and family. If you have any comments or suggestions, message me at [email protected] 

Thank you for reading!

Love,
Kiki