Baker

What started as a silly conversation turned into the name for the coffee shop and neighborhood bar now located at the Alameda Light Rail Station, 415 S. Cherokee St. You may notice that “light rail” rhymes with The White Whale Room (chasethewhitewhale.com). The owners have since embraced the tongue-in-cheek literary reference and incorporated its meaning into their own attempt at chasing their dream à la Captain Ahab. 

Last month, The Wizard’s Chest (wizardschest.com) celebrated its grand opening at 451 Broadway. The move from Cherry Creek was a success, and they have some great events scheduled. Stop in or shop online for the toys, games, magic, novelties, costumes and accessories that the store is known for.

Cherry Creek 

An apt expression for times of chaos that there are “too many cooks in the kitchen,” but no one has claimed that there are too many kitchens. The Kitchen in this instance is the name of a restaurant expanding its Colorado presence into Cherry Creek. The new eatery (thekitchen.com) will be located at 100 Steele St. and is due to open this summer. 

Cherry Creek Shopping Center has launched a new mobile app. It’s free and available on all smartphones. Intrigued? The app is intended to aid shoppers as they look for restaurants and stores or attempt to find their way around the mall quickly. It will provide a feature to allow a shopper to save favorite locations and receive up-to-the-minute sales and promotions information.

Lowry

Many customers walking into the new Masterpiece Kitchen (masterpiecekitchen.com) located at 84 Hangar Way in Lowry expect it to be another Masterpiece Deli. Same chef-owner (Justin Brunson), same great food, but added flair will have you coming back for more. This American bar and grill has dinner hours, an outdoor patio and a happy hour that runs seven days a week. How’s that for elevated cuisine? 

Platt Park

As Denver grows and rent prices increase, not all business owners can keep up. Gallagher Books (gcbooks.com) has felt the rise in rental costs and has had to move down the block to stay in business. The new space is a bit smaller, but the great variety of books hasn’t changed. They still carry old, rare and unusual books in many genres. Stop in at 1454 S. Broadway; they open on April Fool’s Day. 

The first-floor retail space across from the Louisiana-Pearl Light Rail Station will be home to Nixon’s Coffee House (nixonscoffeehouse.com), which hopes to open this Spring at 695 Louisiana St. This will be the fourth location for this small chain, others are in Englewood and Littleton.

Platt Park’s Maria Empanada (mariaempanada.com) is opening a second location to serve up its tasty sweet and savory pastries. The restaurant is slated to open in late August in Aurora’s Stanley Marketplace, 2501 Dallas St. Until then, you can visit them at 1298 S. Broadway. They are known for their empanadas but owner Lorena Cantarovici is also very proud of her Tartas and recommends the Palermo.

Happy Third Anniversary to Adelita's Cocina y Cantina (adelitasdenver.com). To celebrate, the restaurant, located at 1294 S. Broadway, is offering drink and appetizer specials from April 29 to May 1 and so is giving you plenty of time to stop in and try their Mexican cuisine. 

Center Strength (centerstrengthstudio.com) pilates, yoga and massage studio will be opening a second location this spring, bringing its Wash Park concept to Platt Park, specifically to 1842 S. Broadway. Their website will have more information on the opening as it gets closer. 

Another Platt Park eatery is expanding their presence in the Denver area. MasKaos (kaospizzeria.com), part of the Uno Mas and Kaos Pizza family, will open at 4526 Tennyson St. this spring if everything goes as planned. Until then, you can still get your fix at Kaos Pizza or Uno Mas, both on South Pearl Street.

Wash Park

Wash Bark (washbark.com) is the newest doggie daycare, spa and boutique in the neighborhood. Located at 1058 S. Gaylord St., the shop is in the heart of the Old South Gaylord Street shopping area. The facility boasts a kennel-free environment so your dog won’t be cooped up all day and will instead be allowed to play. 

Washington/Virginia/Vale

Stuart Raynor has resigned from his position as CEO of the Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center (jccdenver.org) after nine years with the organization. The Board has established a search committee to identify and recruit Stuart’s successor for the 350 S. Dahlia St. center.

Around Town 

You may have noticed a vehicle driving around with the words Velofix Colorado (velofix.com) printed on the side. This new company launched in February to provide mobile bicycle service to customers at their homes and businesses. Gone are the days where you had to stand there wondering how you were going to cram your broken bike into your Prius: now you can just call the mobile bike repair service.

You can also call on a mobile salon to take care of your hairstyling, nail and waxing needs. Style Your Time (styleyourtime.com) will come to your location of choice to provide their services, catering to anyone who is too busy to break away. 

The Scientific and Cultural Facilities District Board unanimously agreed last month to authorize the creation of a new fund that will help small organizations expand access and offerings to traditionally underserved communities. The funds will come from Tier I organizations—think Denver Art Museum—and will provide funds for Tier III organizations with successful track records. The measure must still receive a passing vote on the 2016 ballot.