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Axios Denver

Get smarter, faster about what’s happening in your backyard with local reporters John Frank, Alayna Alvarez and Esteban L. Hernandez.

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Pickleball's surge in popularity is pushing Denver's parks and rec department to take action.

Driving the news: Department leaders want to use $2 million from the mayor's proposed 2024 budget to build new pickleball courts across the city.

The money would come from a legacy fund made possible by a parks tax that city voters passed in 2018, Scott Gilmore, deputy executive director of Denver Parks & Recreation, tells us.

Why it matters: This would mark the city's most concentrated investment toward pickleball to date, Gilmore says, signaling the craze could be here to stay.

It could also serve as a solution to noise complaints from neighbors and a lack of court space for players.

What they're saying: The goal is to build the courts "in places that will not cause conflict for pickleball players," Gilmore says.

Details: The city plans to build six to 10 pickleball courts in areas at least 500 feet from people's homes, though not all sites have been identified.

One that has, however, is Martin Luther King Jr. Park, where officials plan to use some of the $2 million to add six more courts for a total of 10 — the biggest concentration of courts in the city.

Of note: A pickleball court costs roughly between $400,000 and $500,000 to build, Gilmore estimates.

What's next: The Denver City Council is holding hearings on the budget proposal and will propose amendments to the mayor next month. The final spending plan will be approved in November.

Denver plans to invest $2 million to build more pickleball courts

Pickleball's surge in popularity is pushing Denver's parks and recreation department to take action.

A man plays pickleball at Martin Luther King Jr. Park in May. Photo: RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Pickleball&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="surge in popularity" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2023/08/13/denver-pickleball-court-closures-openings" data-vars-content-id="47fd8d5a-f7fa-4493-bd62-224496d7d85b" data-vars-headline="Denver plans to invest $2 million to build more pickleball courts" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2023/08/13/denver-pickleball-court-closures-openings" target="_self">surge in popularity</a> is pushing Denver&#x27;s parks and rec department to take action.Driving the news: Department leaders want to use $2 million from the mayor&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="proposed 2024 budget" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2023/09/14/mayor-mike-johnston-first-budget-2024" data-vars-content-id="47fd8d5a-f7fa-4493-bd62-224496d7d85b" data-vars-headline="Denver plans to invest $2 million to build more pickleball courts" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2023/09/14/mayor-mike-johnston-first-budget-2024" target="_self">proposed 2024 budget</a> to build new pickleball courts across the city.

News

Sports

Axios Denver, anchored by John Frank and Alayna Alvarez, is here to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news and developments unfolding in their own backyard.

The Denver metro is home to more than 100 of the fastest-growing private companies in the country, according to the recently released 2023 Inc. 5000 list.

Driving the news: Crusoe Energy was the top Colorado company, coming in at 49th. The Denver-based business specializes in using leftover natural gas to power cryptocurrency mining and cloud computing.

It saw 8,148% revenue growth from 2019 to 2022 — the metric Inc. used to rank businesses.

Zoom in: Denver-based Blazy Susan, which makes accessories for cannabis consumption, ranked 97th for its 4,811% growth.

Some of the other companies in the area include Denver-based Omni Interactions (170) and Fluid Truck (184) and Lakewood-based Evolution Veterinary Specialists (173).

By the numbers: The prestigious list recognized 133 Colorado companies — most of which are based in metro Denver.

Altogether, the companies saw 248% median growth and added more than 15,100 jobs to the local economy over three years.

Go deeper: Colorado business leaders feel pessimistic about economy

Colorado business leaders feel pessimistic about economy

Colorado's fastest-growing companies in 2023, according to Inc. 5000 list

The prestigious Inc. 5000 list named  133 Colorado companies — most of which are based in metro Denver.

Illustration of an open briefcase with an upwards trending line popping out.  

The Denver metro is home to more than 100 of the fastest-growing private companies in the country, according to the recently released <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="2023 Inc. 5000 list" data-vars-click-url="https://www.inc.com/inc5000/2023" data-vars-content-id="8338c4c8-5356-4eea-9f99-29091567d0bb" data-vars-headline="Colorado&#x27;s fastest-growing companies in 2023, according to Inc. 5000 list" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.inc.com/inc5000/2023" target="_blank">2023 Inc. 5000 list</a>.Driving the news: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Crusoe Energy" data-vars-click-url="https://www.crusoeenergy.com/" data-vars-content-id="8338c4c8-5356-4eea-9f99-29091567d0bb" data-vars-headline="Colorado&#x27;s fastest-growing companies in 2023, according to Inc. 5000 list" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.crusoeenergy.com/" target="_blank">Crusoe Energy</a> was the top Colorado company, coming in at 49th. The Denver-based business specializes in using leftover natural gas to power cryptocurrency mining and cloud computing.

Business

During his first months in office, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has been navigating two housing crises at once: the city's growing number of unhoused people and thousands of newly arrived migrants.

Why it matters: The city simply doesn't have enough affordable homes, shelters or money to help everyone who needs it, straining scarce resources and leaving people out on the street.

The big picture: A surge in new migrants in cities like Denver is coinciding with an already troubling housing crisis and putting unprecedented strain on shelters, costing state and local governments millions of dollars and fueling political tension, Alayna reports with Axios' Caitlin Owens, Stef W. Kight and Monica Eng.

Driving the news: At a budget hearing last week, city leaders said they are hearing from migrant families who have either been evicted or are facing eviction for unpaid rent from the apartments they've been placed into.

At the same time, funds are drying up. Johnston told council members that if migrants continue arriving at this rate, the $20 million he allocated toward Denver's migrant response in 2024 will run out in the first four months.

Context: Migrant families have a 30-day limit in city-provided shelters, after which social workers can help them move into housing with one-time cash assistance.

But many are struggling to keep those homes without a steady income, because the federal government does not allow undocumented migrants to work.

What they're saying: "There is a real structural problem here that is different than any other challenges we face, which is: We have folks that arrive here, are desperate to work, want to get to work and cannot work," Johnston said.

By the numbers: As of Monday, Denver was grappling with more than 1,660 migrants in dedicated shelters. 

On Sunday, 252 arrived, marking some of the highest daily numbers reported in weeks. Another 253 arrived Monday. 

The city's migrant response has cost more than $26 million this year.

Of note: Some of the most recent arrivals aren't coming directly from the southern border, but rather from other cities where they can't find support, according to Mimi Scheuermann, acting director of the city's human services department.

Denver is also using funds to bus migrants elsewhere — including Chicago, where officials have expressed frustration over Denver organizations failing to coordinate with city leaders.

What to watch: The problem could get worse, as border cities prepare for a "third wave" of migrants.

Alayna reports with Axios' Caitlin Owens, Stef W. Kight and Monica Eng

Denver's migrant and housing crises are colliding

A surge in new migrants is coinciding with an already troubling housing crisis, putting unprecedented strain on resources.

Photo illustration of a collage of key shapes, a family of four holding hands and abstract textures.

Photo illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios; Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Photo illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

During his first months in office, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has been navigating two housing crises at once: the city&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="growing number of unhoused people" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2023/08/03/denver-homeless-deaths-mike-johnston-sweeps" data-vars-content-id="8dda9143-76be-4c5b-912f-cfaf2c4a8ed0" data-vars-headline="Denver&#x27;s migrant and housing crises are colliding" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2023/08/03/denver-homeless-deaths-mike-johnston-sweeps" target="_self">growing number of unhoused people</a> and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="thousands of newly arrived migrants" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2023/08/23/denver-increase-migrant-arrivals-august" data-vars-content-id="8dda9143-76be-4c5b-912f-cfaf2c4a8ed0" data-vars-headline="Denver&#x27;s migrant and housing crises are colliding" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2023/08/23/denver-increase-migrant-arrivals-august" target="_self">thousands of newly arrived migrants</a>.Why it matters: The city simply doesn&#x27;t have enough affordable homes, shelters or money to help everyone who needs it, straining scarce resources and leaving people out on the street.

Politics

Denver's once-flourishing food hall scene appears to be fading.

Why it matters: Apart from being hangout hubs, food halls act as "amazing incubator models" for up-and-coming chefs and offer new opportunities for budding business owners, Denise Mickelsen with the Colorado Restaurant Association tells Axios.

Driving the news: This month, prominent local chef Frank Bonanno announced he sold Denver Milk Market, the downtown food hall he opened in 2018, to Denver-based Sage Hospitality.

The move came after sales slumped to half of what they were pre-pandemic, BusinessDen reports.

The big picture: Milk Market's change in ownership is part of a growing trend, with more of our food halls running in the red, losing dining options and experiencing high turnover.

Zoom in: The Zeppelin Station food hall in the city's River North Art District changed operators last year after its foot traffic fell and costs for food and staff rose.

Also late last year, restaurateur Troy Guard sold Grange Hall barely a year after opening it in Greenwood Village. And Broadway Market, near the Capitol Hill neighborhood, closed for good in 2022 after failing to recover from the pandemic.

What's happening: With so many people still working from home, the lunch and happy hour crowds that food halls have come to rely on have become inconsistent, varying widely week to week.

They are also expensive, complicated concepts to run and require a lot of workers, longtime local restaurant consultant John Imbergamo tells us.

Inflation pains have only added to the pressures.

What they're saying: "Each of those little businesses requires a manager, maybe a kitchen manager …and if you don't do enough business to support those people, you can't afford any additional staff," Imbergamo says. It's "very difficult" for tenants unless business is booming.

The word appears to have gotten out. "I am not hearing a lot of appetite for opening new ones," Mickelsen tells us. "I feel like the food hall craze has begun to wane."

The other side: There are still roughly a dozen food halls operating in the area. And some spots — like Avanti, Stanley Marketplace and Edgewater Public Market — have managed to stay relatively busy post-pandemic, industry experts note.

Plus: At least one other is in the works. Developers in Westminster are buying a historic dairy barn from the city with plans to renovate it and turn it into a food hall.

What to watch: New concepts, like the three-in-one restaurant that debuted this month in Denver's Park Hill neighborhood, could be popping up more frequently.

The space is shared between cult-followed food trucks Yuan Wonton and Pho King Rapidos as well as artisan bakery Sweets & Sourdough. The trio alternates their days and hours, collaborates on certain dishes, and shares the prep space and overhead.

"They're geniuses," Mickelsen says. "It's a brand new model I've never even heard of anywhere else."

Go deeper: Denver's latest restaurant openings and closings

Denver's latest restaurant openings and closings

Denver's food hall craze may be waning

Many food halls are still struggling to capture the crowds they did before COVID.

Denver Milk Market in 2020. Photo: Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Denver&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="once-flourishing" data-vars-click-url="https://www.denverpost.com/2019/10/09/junction-food-hall-denver/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw06-oBhC6ARIsAGuzdw17opZz9jBAkCrJ0OqKV1vAo0HDZ8swdu6IxJypXEOIiCxnHbICTh4aAtWEEALw_wcB" data-vars-content-id="cd7633b6-de03-4b81-9b95-e1688ace00eb" data-vars-headline="Denver&#x27;s food hall craze may be waning" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.denverpost.com/2019/10/09/junction-food-hall-denver/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw06-oBhC6ARIsAGuzdw17opZz9jBAkCrJ0OqKV1vAo0HDZ8swdu6IxJypXEOIiCxnHbICTh4aAtWEEALw_wcB" target="_blank">once-flourishing</a> food hall scene appears to be fading.Why it matters: Apart from being hangout hubs, food halls act as &quot;amazing incubator models&quot; for up-and-coming chefs and offer new opportunities for budding business owners, Denise Mickelsen with the Colorado Restaurant Association tells Axios.

Food and Drink

Andrea Gibson, a Boulder-area resident for nearly 25 years, is aiming to inspire awe and dreams of a better world.

Driving the news: This month, Gov. Jared Polis named Gibson as Colorado's new poet laureate, a two-year role created to advocate for the arts and connect with the community.

As laureate, Gibson will visit schools, libraries and literary festivals across the state championing poetry, literacy and literature.

The award-winning writer, spoken word poet and queer activist has traveled the world sharing their craft, authored six poetry collections, and is a four-time Denver Grand Slam Champion in poetry.

Now Gibson is working on a memoir, they told us.

What they're saying: "I think one of the jobs as a writer is to imagine a more beautiful world. Because I once heard that we can't go where we haven't first imagined," Gibson said.

The intrigue: Their light-filled perspective was shaped from dark times. Gibson was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2021, but they've found a silver lining.

"For about 17 years, I was constantly on the road" for poetry performances and competitions, but Gibson's cancer diagnosis has kept them mostly at home, which opened up new opportunities.

"If I had still been touring, I never would have been able to do something like [poet laureate]," Gibson said. Now, "I'm more involved with the community than I was when I first started writing poetry."

Zoom in: We recently caught up with Gibson to get to know them better.

🧘 Morning routine: Yoga, then off to Boulder's Baby Goat cafe, where Gibson gets an extra-strong yerba mate that's "hard to get anywhere else exactly the way they make it."

Gibson typically pairs that tea with a drive down scenic country roads. "It's a time where I just want to be and take in the beauty. It starts my day in a really expansive place."

📚 Reading list: "Falling Back in Love With Being Human" by Kai Cheng Thom and "Living Untethered" by Michael A. Singer (the audiobook version)

🎵 On repeat: "Jericho" by Iniko and "2 of Us" by thomboi

❤️ Most revered poet: Mary Oliver. "I've been in love with her poetry since I was probably 19 or so," Gibson said.

Gibson's favorite Oliver poem is "The Uses of Sorrow," which they can easily recite by heart.

🖊️ Writing process: It's "very weird," Gibson said with a laugh, and resembles a songwriter's.

"I don't write sitting down. I write pacing around the room, sometimes making sounds that aren't even words — because I often know the sound of a poem before I know the words to it."

🕯️ One thing on their desk: A candle that reads "Homesick" with an image of Maine, Gibson's home state and where their family lives.

✨ Local spots that inspire: In Denver, it's the Mercury Cafe, where they first started doing spoken-word poetry. In Boulder, it's the Boulder Book Store and Chautauqua Auditorium.

Across Colorado, it's just about "every hiking trail"— except 14ers, which Gibson hasn't yet climbed.

Meet Andrea Gibson, Colorado's new poet laureate

Gibson will serve in a two-year role created to advocate for the arts and connect with the community.

Photo illustration of Andrea Gibson in the center of a Polaroid photo under a blue spotlight.

Photo illustration: Axios Visuals; Photo: Courtesy of Megan Falley

Andrea Gibson, a Boulder-area resident for nearly 25 years, is aiming to inspire awe and dreams of a better world.Driving the news: This month, Gov. Jared Polis named Gibson as Colorado&#x27;s new poet laureate, a two-year role created to advocate for the arts and connect with the community.

Alayna Alvarez

Featured stories

Meet Andrea Gibson, Colorado's new poet laureate

Denver's migrant and housing crises are colliding

Denver plans to invest $2 million to build more pickleball courts

Denver's food hall craze may be waning

Colorado's fastest-growing companies in 2023, according to Inc. 5000 list