Denver in the 1960s and 1970s (Memory Lane) (Evergreen: vacation home, homeless)

[Denver_Dog]

Hay rack rides and dances at Glasier's barn, adjoining White Sands Beach club. Owned by the Glasier family, their daughter Patsy was in high school (St Francis) with me.

A teen club with live music (e.g. Moonrakers) on S Colorado Blvd called "Cinnamon Cinder"

Great Denver bands like the Moonrakers, Astronauts and Soul Survivors

[mrkstr]

Originally Posted by Osito

Does anybody remember the restaurant called the Beef Bowl?

Yes I do. It was on south Colorado Blvd. It became Kokoro's.

[Prodigal Native]

Originally Posted by mrkstr

Yes I do. It was on south Colorado Blvd. It became Kokoro's.

I've been gone for nearly 20 years and that is still my reference teriyaki chicken bowl.

[sctrtrsh26]

I Love all the info about old Lakewood, I grew up there, graduated LHS in '70. Worked at Roller City in '69/70,and came back in the '70s to be Asst Mgr, then Mgr of the North Rink at 84th & Huron...What a Time!!

[zrrifle]

Funny you should mention Kokoro. I wandered into there one day in early 1986 while they were rebuilding/remodeling the inside getting ready to open up. They ended up hiring me (I was employee #0001) and I worked there for 10 months. That was one of the first (if not the first) non-smoking restaurants back then. Was a weird concept in 1986 (go figure!), and customers would light up anyway not realizing it wasn't allowed. We'd have to go up and tell them to put it out. There were no ashtrays so they'd either put it out in their water glass or on the floor. LOL. I believe the place is still there? I moved away from Colo 10 yrs ago so have no idea. BTW, when they first opened up a beef or chicken bowl was going for $1.95.

[SoCalCpl2]

Anyone remember the old Fanfare retail store in Aurora on Havana near 6th ave?? Heard they are finally going to tear it down next week... Been sitting vacant for I think 40 years, but has asbestos in the roof so that's why it took so long....

[BarbH]

Originally Posted by Jimer1

Now I have a request for info. Does anybody here recall a store called Hatches? I remember them having a book store in the old Lakeside shopping center then when the shopping center was rebuilt into a mall. They also had gift shops and book stores in some of the other malls around town. I think they were bought by someone eventually, but I can't seem to find any references on the 'net.

I managed two of Hatch's Bookstores. First, the one in University Hills Mall on Colorado Blvd. It was a small store, L shaped, near the front (Colo Blvd) of the mall. Seems like Child's Bakery was in the parking lot at that end. Directly across from the book store was a largish drug store. I remember other stores, May D&F, Fashion Bar, etc.

From there, I was promoted to a larger store in Westland. It was also L shaped but easily twice a big. It was at one end of the mall, next door to a General Nutrition.

Funny story is that during the xmas rush, I always had to work what was called "mall hours", meaning I had to be I my store every single hour the mall was open, from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Needless to say, exhaustion sets in and you just put one foot in front of the other to get through. The manager of the General Nutrition knew I had not been able to get any food breaks and so brought me a large Orange Julius. She handed it across, through the crush of customers and, without a word, I started glugging it down. What she had neglected to tell me was that she had laced it heavily with vodka. I was instantly drunk. I got through though.

This book store was the only one on the west side of Denver so we did a good business. Sometimes, my sales were higher than the biggest of the little chain - the Boulder store. When a larger space, two doors up, became available, we moved there.

In those days, we stuck our noses in the air at Walden's. Hated the way they always had boxes of books in the aisles and help that knew nothing about their stock.

Glad I came across this thread. I was looking for info on what happened to the people who owned the Hatch's Book Stores and Gift Stores but haven't found anything. The owner's name was Robert Hatch and all his adult children worked in the office/warehouse in Aurora.

I did come across one listing for a gift store named Hatch's in Montrose, Colorado and, at one time, there were a few stores in California.

Thanks too for the info on Cinderella City. I had forgotten about that.

[BarbH]

Originally Posted by SoCalCpl2

Anyone remember the old Fanfare retail store in Aurora on Havana near 6th ave?? Heard they are finally going to tear it down next week... Been sitting vacant for I think 40 years, but has asbestos in the roof so that's why it took so long....

That was my first job in retail management - the camera and electronics department in FanFare. I was a dismal failure because I had just come from art school in NYC and thought displays should be all artistic and tasteful. I remember the manager of the store telling me to take out my displays and fill up the glass cases with every single piece of merchandise. There was to be nothing in backstock, nothing in the back in the warehouse.

Stacks of film boxes and transistor radios and huge calculators, all stacked inside and on top of the cases.

That was the beginning of stores like K-Mart and WalMart and i hated it. Still do and never ever shop at WalMart or K-Mart.

I've been gone from Denver for maybe 30+ years and really appreciate the trip down memory lane.

[Prodigal Native]

Originally Posted by BarbH

I managed two of Hatch's Bookstores. First, the one in University Hills Mall on Colorado Blvd. It was a small store, L shaped, near the front (Colo Blvd) of the mall. Seems like Child's Bakery was in the parking lot at that end. Directly across from the book store was a largish drug store. I remember other stores, May D&F, Fashion Bar, etc.

I knew that Hatch's well. I grew up in the area and U-Hills was one of places I hung out at, especially during the summer. I spent a fair amount of my allowance there and I believe that store is where I went to a Dave Barry book signing.

The Child's Pastry was where my mom would take me for chocolate cupcakes and (in their old location, on the corner where Ace hardware was) a hot dog from the cart out front. I can still remember the taste of the buns. I think they moved a few doors south after the fire at the mall.

My dad loved Sid's, the gourmet store with the huge selection of teas and the first place we tasted the original Famous Amos cookies before they were purchased by one of the giant food companies and turned into commercial junk.

Several years later I worked at Beau Jo's Pizza, but by then the mall was dead. May D&F was gone as were about 95% of the stores in the mall. There were several other stores around the perimeter, but those were barely hanging on.

Not long after I left they tore the mall down and Beau Jo's moved into the building in the NW corner of the parking lot. The new "mall" is nice enough, but when I am in town I find more of a connection with the relatively unchanged North and South parts.

[mollygee]

Originally Posted by Prodigal Native

I knew that Hatch's well. I grew up in the area and U-Hills was one of places I hung out at, especially during the summer. I spent a fair amount of my allowance there and I believe that store is where I went to a Dave Barry book signing.

Was the Hummels deli at U-hills or Cherry Creek? Loved their chicken pot pies; was it Hummels or what?

How about the Denver Drumstick...remember that? Wonder what their secret was?