Havana Street
Glendale Chamber Is Expanding Its Reach
Launch Pad Brewery Helps Sponsor The Most Recent Event On The Rooftop Of Carla Madison Recreation Center
by Mark Smiley
At a time in which many local chambers are struggling, the Greater Glendale Chamber of Commerce is expanding and thriving not only in Glendale but the surrounding communities as well. The most recent Business After Hours was held on June 6, 2023, on the rooftop of the Carla Madison Recreation Center in Denver.
Business leaders from throughout the Denver Metropolitan area flocked to the event to network and enjoy a sampling of Launch Pad Brewery’s beer. Launch Pad Brewery, located in Aurora, is part of the expanded reach, and they provided six different types of beer to sample. Launch Pad Brewery opened its doors on July 24, 2015, and has grown over the last eight years. They now have 32 beers on tap at their brewery. Launch Pad is located at 884 South Buckley Road. Learn more at launchpadbrewery.com.
As typical with these Chamber events, it was full of activities, including a putt putt golf challenge and ring toss. Pure Dermatology set up a booth and gave away packets of sunscreen and skin care products. They also held a drawing for two sun hats at the event. For more on Pure Dermatology, visit puredermdenver.com. Bartenders and waitresses helped keep the libations flowing and added a nice touch to this event.
The next two events are set for July 18 (Creekside Park in Glendale) and August 9 (Central Park Recreation Center). To learn more about the Chamber or to join, visit www.ggchamber.com or call 303-584-4181.
Barret O’Brien, O’Brien Rugby, left; Leslie Gross, Tac+on Ready; and Mike Gross, Tac+On Ready were among the attendees on June 6.
The rooftop of the Carla Madison Recreation Center on East Colfax was a well-received venue by the guests who attended.
Casey Bloyer, center, Distribution Manager for Launch Pad Brewery, pictured with Glendale Chamber hostesses Jesalyn Barnett, left, and Everyn Darling, was on hand to talk about the beers provided and answered questions from guests.
Guests enjoyed beers from Launch Pad Brewery on the sky deck of the Carla Madison Recreation Center.
Left to right: Ashli LaMadrid, Katie Velasquez, and Bonnie Manzanres from Pure Dermatology had a booth at the latest Business After Hours on June 6, 2023.
Kal Thakor, MK Hotels; Everyn Darling, Noelle Talent Group; HP Padhiar, JPAD Liquors; and Jatin Padhiar, JPAD Liquors, enjoyed the view from the sky deck.
The Putt Putt Golf Challenge was on full display at the latest Business After Hours for the Chamber.
Denver BBQ Fest: Pitmasters From Around The World Showcase Their Famous Dishes
by Mark Smiley
Local Favorite: Bonnie Hammontree, left, and Mickey Telles, General Manager Smōk Denver, served Asian pork belly burnt ends and their famous banana pudding at the 2023 Denver BBQ Fest.
The Denver BBQ Fest held its annual event over Memorial Day weekend this year as thousands of BBQ enthusiasts came to enjoy BBQ from pitmasters from around the world at Empower Field. This year’s event shifted to a ticketed venue making the crowd more manageable and allowed the pitmasters to prepare for a more precise amount.
Some of the returning pitmasters included Pappy’s Smokehouse, Ubons Barbecue, Black’s BBQ, and hometown favorites GQue BBQ and Sugarfire Smokehouse. New local restaurants were also on hand to dish out their well-known dishes including Smōk Denver which is located at The Source Hotel & Markethall.
Smōk Denver will celebrate its 5th anniversary in August 2023. They served Asian pork belly burnt ends and their famous banana pudding in the booth next to Black’s Barbecue, a renowned BBQ from Central Texas. Smōk Denver features a hybrid of Kansas City and Texas style barbecue with Kansas City style rubs and Texas style smokes. Smōk Denver uses a post oak wood to give it the Texas style smoke which is a cleaner and lighter smoke so they can add what they want to it and not overpower the meat. “We want the meat to talk for itself rather than what we have going on underneath it,” said Mickey Telles, General Manager Smōk Denver. “We want the flavor to be set there but we want you to feel that meat.”
The flavor was front and center at the fest and introduced attendees who may not have normally been familiar to their BBQ. This was Smōk Denver’s first BBQ Fest and the largest event they have ever done as a team. “It’s been great,” said Telles. “It’s been an incredible amount of fun and the staff here has been fantastic at taking the anxiety of setting everything up away. It has been smooth sailing.”
In addition to serving their popular dishes, they learned a little from other pitmasters along the way. “It’s nice to meet people and see how they’re doing it,” said Telles. “BBQ is cooked meat but everyone does it differently. Any slight change anybody puts on that creates a different product. It’s interesting to see how everyone else does it.”
Smōk Denver was started by Bill Espiricueta who was born in Austin, Texas, and has enjoyed BBQ from an early age. “Our pitmaster Bill [Espiricueta] is the reason all of us are here,” said Telles. “He has been around the food industry for quite awhile and came from Kansas City. We found a really good spot up in the Source Market and thought that was a really good spot to go for it. We have been chugging along ever since.”
Smōk Denver is located at The Source Hotel & Markethall at 3330 Brighton Blvd. in Denver. Visit www.denversmok.com for more information. Mention this article and receive a 20% discount on your order.
Pitmasters: Shane McBride, Pig Beach BBQ; Erin Campbell, Ubons Barbecue; Jason Ganahl, GQue BBQ; and Leslie Roark Scott, Ubons Barbecue, celebrate another successful BBQ Fest in the mile high city.
The Denver BBQ Fest is not about winning awards or competition. It is about serving great BBQ in a friendly and collaborative atmosphere. Six days prior to the fest, Shane McBride, Pitmaster, Pig Beach BBQ from New York and Florida, won an important competition in Memphis.
Ribdiculous Bar-B-Krew earned the coveted title of Grand Champion of the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest on May 20, 2023. It was the first time in 21 years that a rib team had won. They received a rare perfect score in the preliminary round. “I cried for hours,” said McBride. “Any picture you see, I have tears in my eyes.”
McBride started making BBQ professionally in 2008 and has enjoyed running his business, Pig Beach, in New York and Florida ever since. He enjoys coming to Denver and was in a relaxed mood after winning the Grand Championship. “It’s a great festival [Denver BBQ Fest],” said McBride. “To sit and cook BBQ steps away from a beautiful football stadium in a legendary football town, it’s pretty awesome.”
Baby Back: Joebaby Michaels, Bent River Records, left, and James Boatright, Boatright’s BBQ, show off the baby back ribs served in the VIP area that had guests smacking their lips.
He has advice for the backyard enthusiast. “The number one thing about BBQ is patience,” said McBride. “It’s not something you can rush. Whether you’re cooking a chicken to a whole hog, it’s patience. You also have to rest your meat. It’s all about time management, patience, and resting.”
Advice also rolled in from James Boatright, Pitmaster of Boatright’s BBQ, St. Louis, Missouri. “A lot of pitmasters put information out on Youtube,” said Boatright. “I would say don’t be intimidated by that. More than anything, keep it simple and pay attention to time and temperature. A lot of people get in a rush and want to make it look like Boatright’s BBQ. Take your time and make simple BBQ and enjoy your family and friends.”
Boatright’s served Beef short ribs in the VIP area of the festival. Boatright joked, “Nothing against the other pitmasters, they’re great. But they [guests] said I was the best so far. When the people speak, you listen.”
The people definitely spoke and enjoyed Boatright’s attention to seasoning and flavor. He prides himself on doing things just a little bit differently. “Anything you do, you can’t be one dimensional,” said Boatright. You have to think outside the box and I believe in challenging myself with flavor profiles and building layers. I like to keep it simple and have people’s tastebuds happy. Keep it real and put some love into it, you can’t go wrong.”
Caribbean Flavors: Johann Callender, Pitmaster, Barbados Smokehouse, was the first International pitmaster invited to BBQ Fest.
Boatright has been a fan of BBQ his entire life. “I have been doing this since I was knee high to a grasshopper,” said Boatright. “My first memory of BBQ was watching my dad dig a hole in the ground. I was about five years old and he put the whole hog in the
Happy Attendees: Denver BBQ Fest was a ticketed event this year and held over Memorial Day weekend.
ground and I was blown away with it. Ever since, I have been fascinated with it.”
Boatright started his professional career in 2015. Readers may remember him from the popular Netflix show, Barbecue Showdown. Follow Boatright on Facebook and Instagram @boatrightsbbq He is also a singer and his latest song called “I Can Take You Further” can be found on Spotify and other platforms.
Johann Callender, Pitmaster, Barbados Smokehouse, came the furthest to participate in this festival. Callender has been a pitmaster for four years and last year, he was here on a program in conjunction with the U.S. State Department. He was invited this year to be the first International pitmaster at Denver BBQ Fest. There are not many options for BBQ in Barbados so Callender started out catering small events and took off from there.
They served Smoked Flash Fried Chicken with a Caribbean twist and pimento wood smoked jerk lamb at his tent. “We wanted to bring a very Caribbean known dish,” said Callender. “We used a lot of pimento, cilantro, green onion, and garlic. Everyone seems to be super happy with the food. We have smoked over 600 pounds of lamb this weekend.”
Follow them on Instagram @barbadossmokehouse and be sure to visit if you travel to the island.
Woodhill Small Batch BBQ, another local participant who runs a food truck and catering business, served brisket, macaroni salad, and Woodhill twinkies this year. “The twinkies this year came about because the first year that we did this, I was doing the twinkies and serving them out the back door for the super special people,” said Jodi Segura, owner of Woodhill Small Batch BBQ. “That was a massive hit and I think because it was such a hit, they had me do them for everyone this year. I did over 1,400 of them the last two days.”
Family Owned: Keith and Jodi Segura, Woodhill Small Batch BBQ, are available to book for weddings, events, and catering. They are a local and family owned and operated business serving BBQ that rivals any from Texas, Kansas City, or St. Louis.
Woodhill Small Batch BBQ is family owned and operated by Keith and Jodi Segura. They won best BBQ restaurant back-to-back years in Castle Rock as well as best food truck in Castle Rock last year and Lone Tree this year. They pride themselves on a family first approach and although they are available to cater your event, they do not sacrifice being a part of their high school son’s activities.
That family first approach resonates with the food they prepare and the price point in which they charge for it. “I want people to understand we are a local company where families can come eat at our trailer at a reasonable price and have a great enjoyable meal,” said Segura. “I want people to realize that BBQ is great here in Colorado. It isn’t just St. Louis and Texas. We are trying to make a name for BBQ and make BBQ great in Colorado.”
Visit www.woodhillbbq.com for more information, where to find their truck or to book for your next event or catering.
BBQ Fest will return in 2024. For more information and updates, visit www.qbbqdenver.com.
Puttshack Opens First Location in Colorado
Tech Infused Mini Golf Venue With An Elevated Food And Drink Menu Opens In The River North Art District
by Mark Smiley
Course Hero: Puttshack is an upscale, tech-infused mini golf experience where the screens will guide you through the game.
Puttshack opened Colorado’s first location in Denver’s River North Art District on May 26, 2023. Puttshack is a tech infused indoor mini golf entertainment facility that features an elevated food and beverage menu.
“There is a global inspiration in the menu and lots of shareables where people are trying different things,” said Susan Walmesley, Chief Marketing Officer, Puttshack. “Almost all of it is cooked from scratch in our kitchen.”
Puttshack has nine locations in the U.S. and four in the U.K. with plans for more by the end of the year. The concept, originated in London by Topgolf inventors Steven and Dave Jolliffe, opened its first location in 2018, and the first in the U.S. in 2021.
Margarita: The spiced pineapple mezcal margarita is served with a Jalapeño Hellfire Popsicle and a candied pineapple wafer.
The core demographic are ages 21-35 with disposable income and time that are looking for new experiences. “Denver was way up there on our list of places we wanted to get into,” said Walmesley. “This is a really vibrant neighborhood with our core demographic close by.”
Although Puttshack caters to the younger crowd at night complete with DJs on the weekends, they welcome families during the day to experience this new way to play mini golf. It is tech infused where the technology is in the golf ball and it tracks every one of your shots. The patented Trackaball™ technology allows guests to play a point scoring game that does not allow cheating. There are four courses to choose from and all can be booked online.
“So much fun,” said Laura M. on Yelp. “We took a group of seven there for putt putt, dinner, and drinks, and ended up doing another round after dinner. We did Amber and Emerald, and while we enjoyed both, we thought Emerald was a blast. The putt putt was so much fun, and the hole designs were so cool.”
Puttshack has experienced a steady flow of guests in its first month and hopes to book more private parties in the coming months. “We are going to take it slow,” said Jake Wise, Director of Operations, Puttshack Denver. “We want to get off on a good footing and deliver what our guests expect. They are the ones coming out to spend money and we want to be the answer to ‘where should we get together.’ We are going to do our best to execute great food and amazing beverages. We are the only tech infused mini golf in the world.”
Puttshack Denver is located at 2813 Blake Street in Denver. You can book online at www.puttshack.com/locations/denver. Follow them on Facebook @puttshackdenver and on Instagram @puttshack.
The Bookies
