> Founded in March 2025, Button Rock Bakery & Kenny Lou's Deli at 400 W South Boulder Rd combines an artisan bakery with a Jewish/Italian deli under one roof, establishing itself as 'Lafayette's favorite stop for fresh, local eats.' The woman-owned business has created over 7,500 custom specialty cakes for birthdays, weddings, and work events (requiring 5 days' notice), alongside hundreds of bakery items including fresh pastries (croissants, macarons, eclairs, scones), scratch-made deli sandwiches (Reuben, pastrami on rye, meatball sub), breakfast items, salads, soups, and even sushi. Emphasizing accessibility and variety, they accommodate dietary preferences with 'plenty of options for vegan and gluten-free diets,' while offering online ordering with pickup or delivery, catering services, wedding cake customization, and a rewards program for loyalty.

Beginning March 15th, Kaleidoscope will launch a recurring intimate artist showcase featuring three performers per event. Local artist Mike Lamitola will host and participate in the inaugural showcase. Jonathan Hanst founded Kaleidoscope in 2022 as a Lafayette-based creative nonprofit. The venue functions as a gallery, radio station, studio space, and intimate music venue. Four full-time artists maintain studios there, while additional rooms serve as a creative retreat and AirBnb space. Hanst explains his vision: Kaleidoscope was not for me. Instead, he sought to foster community among artists. As a creative person himself, he recognized that surrounding areas like Boulder and Denver offered similar spaces, but Lafayette lacked such a resource. Lamitola emphasizes the showcase's purpose: We want to grow this community around the creative scene and make people feel like they're part of something. The intimate format allows approximately 40 people to gather and experience live songwriting performances directly.

The Wheat Ridge bakery, named Best New Bakery 2024 by Westword, is expanding with a pizza menu featuring Roman and Neapolitan-style pies. Source: The Denver Post

"Built a coffee shop on the back of my '98 Honda Acty fire truck. Retired from the streets of Japan, now roaming the streets of Denver."

HiFi Jones Studio & Gallery is located at 209 E. Simpson St., Lafayette. The gallery showcases pop-culture art mashups created by Jonathan Hanst from reclaimed vinyl and books. Featured in Colorado Hometown Weekly's comprehensive art gallery guide for holiday gift shopping.

Interview with Julie Godard about her journey into sustainable farming. Source: Shoutout Colorado

Chocolaterie Stam is a modern chocolaterie steeped in old-world, Dutch traditions. Since 1913, the family has been proudly handcrafting exceptional white, milk and dark chocolate bonbons and other indulgent confections. In their Lafayette store, they offer exquisite bonbons and fine confections, rich coffee blends, and more than 50 flavors of homemade Italian gelato and sorbetto.

Rachel Dunhoff and Kevin Fox's urban mushroom farm in south Denver grows cooking mushrooms including enoki, lion's mane, and shiitake. To help farmers market vendors during the off-season, they launched Farmer Fox and Friends, a cooperative marketplace featuring over 160 products from 60+ Colorado producers. Rachel explained their motivation: 'We'll be paying the rent on the space either way, so we figured, let's open it up and help friends out.' Their strict local-only policy ensures 'If they aren't local, we won't even consider adding them' to the platform.

Based on timing, I have made the decision to now pass the ESCC torch to Ty, who for almost 2 years has done a smashing job at running the show. He certainly gets my seal of approval! If you don’t yet know Ty, please say hello to him the next time you’re in (he’s practically always there)!

The Golden Life Project (GLP) is a wellness center in Lafayette that extends beyond traditional gym services. GLP is more than just a gym. It's a community-driven wellness center offering a holistic approach that goes beyond traditional fitness. The facility provides coached workout sessions with a maximum of six members per class, personalized instruction based on individual fitness levels, nutrition guidance and lifestyle coaching, wellness workshops covering topics like gut health and electrolyte balance, and support for members ranging from ages 30 to 70. GLP prides itself on being a welcoming environment for everyone, welcoming both beginners and intermediate fitness enthusiasts. GLP hosted the Go for Gold fitness competition and celebration on October 19 to mark its second anniversary, featuring local businesses, vendor markets, and community activities open to members and non-members.