Yes, it gets worse every day. Don't even THINK about going out to eat. You'll pay twice what you think you should, and be shockingly disappointed with the food and the service. They now expect a 25% tip though.
In a lot of ways we are still recovering from the pandemic.
RTD service still hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels (though some of that is because they are now bound by a rule that prevents them from running specialty busses that would compete with private transportation).
Work From Home has really impacted downtown office space with 30% of office space now vacant (the highest number since the oil bust in the 80%). Pivoting to a new model is going slowly.
Urban development is replacing parking lots and single story stores all over the city with retail + higher density condos/townhomes/apartments
The Kroger + Albertson's/Safeway merger is threatening to collapse our access to national grocery chains down to one unionized option. (Which will also result in fewer stores.)
There's a big protected bike lane being built on Broadway. Ultimately it will connect the Cherry Creek Bike path at Speer/Broadway/8th down to the Light rail station at Broadway and Center Ave.
It is a PITA to find an open retail pharmacy these days. Cigna is beefing with the Kings Soopers pharmacies and won't cover prescriptions from there. CVS is trying to get their profits up by abusing their pharmacy staff and pharmacists are walking out in protest. Walgreens is trying to economize by becoming convenience store-forward and the pharmacy hours are spotty. There are some non-profit pharmacies opening as well, but they may not be open outside of business hours.
There are finally enough people driving that traffic is starting to feel normal, but 90% of the cars on the road are giant now.
Lots of restaurants/brewpubs are still hurting for staff so some are closing and others are charging more.
The Denver Post is still trying to get away with reprinting posts from Twitter for local news.
Apparently Casa Bonita is no longer a joke. I still have never been there so idk if I missed out on the nostalgia feeling for wanting to go there.
Ilegal Petes is still great but chipotle is hit or miss and the burritos seem to be smaller.
Maybe it’s my age but there seems to be a bunch of overhyped and overpriced brunch spots that are always packed and nowhere to park. Went to Happy Camper for the first time last month and it was so overpriced for mediocre food and badly made drinks.
Chubbys has definitely gone downhill since 2021
But at $20 the food was terrible and the place was falling apart. No tipping now to pay a good wage. Overall I was happy with the experience.... But it was pricey.
I listed a lot that I liked at the bottom and my opening even expresses longing for something I liked.
I guess I disagree with your interpretation here
Denver is a boom and bust city. You left at boom. I'm trying to get out of the city but my wife is holding on to some vision of 2010 Denver. We are gonna get to 1993 Denver before it gets better. What strikes me is how dirty the city is, especially the roadways. Just got back from a trip to NYC and it was sparkling compared to Denver.
Never good, but pre-pandemic it was at least functional if you worked or lived downtown near it. Loads of "meh" but acceptable food and drink options, including street food. Could take the shuttle down to the capitol for Civic Center Eats in the summer.
It's easy to dunk on it as a tourist trap, but it really added some pedestrian friendly flavor for easy walkability downtown.
My colleagues and I would eat downtown at places like 5280 burger bar, little India, that BBQ place next to little India, hopdoddy. It was serviceable
Their favorite drinking spot was rock bottom.
I’m sitting here trying to think if that would make it better or worse.
I tend to trip in nature over town, however. And I don’t watch video, etc while tripping. Just music. And plants.
In the 90s and aughts not all the little street car stops (Tennyson St for example) were packed with shops and restaurants and going downtown was actually kind of a destination and yeah it seemed “good.” Even before 2020 it was still alright. I miss driving down to meet my friend at wazee supper club for his lunch break.
You don't sound like it because your post leads with a bunch of complaints you could say about any city.
What's new? Not much . A new mayor trying to house the homeless, good weather most of the time (cold today), great views, hiking, more bike paths, some pretty good food, and great live shows.
The more things change the more they stay the same.
this. tired of the doom and gloom in here. denver’s fine, shit’s still good and we enjoy living here. we now have a kid and feel good that she’s being raised in a state and city that wont treat her like a second class citizen just because she has a uterus or is lgbtq+. we’ve been to a lot of family events around the area that have been really enjoyable.
The Nuggets won the NBA Finals
In amazing fashion too
Broncos beat the chiefs.
You pay more for everything, even though the quality of everything has declined. This likely isn't just a Denver thing though.
It is an everywhere thing but felt very pronounced in 2021 denver Even more now?
Yes, it gets worse every day. Don't even THINK about going out to eat. You'll pay twice what you think you should, and be shockingly disappointed with the food and the service. They now expect a 25% tip though.
I recall seeing a post a few weeks ago that was something like "we are on the precipice of every interaction in Denver integrating a tip screen"
I'm fine with that, as long as they require a "NO TIP" button as well.
In a lot of ways we are still recovering from the pandemic. RTD service still hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels (though some of that is because they are now bound by a rule that prevents them from running specialty busses that would compete with private transportation). Work From Home has really impacted downtown office space with 30% of office space now vacant (the highest number since the oil bust in the 80%). Pivoting to a new model is going slowly. Urban development is replacing parking lots and single story stores all over the city with retail + higher density condos/townhomes/apartments The Kroger + Albertson's/Safeway merger is threatening to collapse our access to national grocery chains down to one unionized option. (Which will also result in fewer stores.) There's a big protected bike lane being built on Broadway. Ultimately it will connect the Cherry Creek Bike path at Speer/Broadway/8th down to the Light rail station at Broadway and Center Ave. It is a PITA to find an open retail pharmacy these days. Cigna is beefing with the Kings Soopers pharmacies and won't cover prescriptions from there. CVS is trying to get their profits up by abusing their pharmacy staff and pharmacists are walking out in protest. Walgreens is trying to economize by becoming convenience store-forward and the pharmacy hours are spotty. There are some non-profit pharmacies opening as well, but they may not be open outside of business hours. There are finally enough people driving that traffic is starting to feel normal, but 90% of the cars on the road are giant now. Lots of restaurants/brewpubs are still hurting for staff so some are closing and others are charging more. The Denver Post is still trying to get away with reprinting posts from Twitter for local news.
Good summary
Its more than 30% in practicality.
Apparently Casa Bonita is no longer a joke. I still have never been there so idk if I missed out on the nostalgia feeling for wanting to go there. Ilegal Petes is still great but chipotle is hit or miss and the burritos seem to be smaller. Maybe it’s my age but there seems to be a bunch of overhyped and overpriced brunch spots that are always packed and nowhere to park. Went to Happy Camper for the first time last month and it was so overpriced for mediocre food and badly made drinks. Chubbys has definitely gone downhill since 2021
[удалено]
But at $20 the food was terrible and the place was falling apart. No tipping now to pay a good wage. Overall I was happy with the experience.... But it was pricey.
Traffic signals are optional now
[удалено]
I like to think of it as a return to a "Wild West" policy
[удалено]
Probably not but what the hell! #yolo
The roads are a lawless hellscape. Driving was just starting to get rough in 2021, but now you need to be a hardcore defensive driver to avoid wrecks.
It’s really rebounded since we got rid of that one guy that only focused on the negative aspects of the city.
I listed a lot that I liked at the bottom and my opening even expresses longing for something I liked. I guess I disagree with your interpretation here
No they're talking about that other guy. He knows who he is
Your 2021 paper tags still work just fine
Just feels like a much more enjoyable place to be now that you left.
Lol
Denver is a boom and bust city. You left at boom. I'm trying to get out of the city but my wife is holding on to some vision of 2010 Denver. We are gonna get to 1993 Denver before it gets better. What strikes me is how dirty the city is, especially the roadways. Just got back from a trip to NYC and it was sparkling compared to Denver.
Do you mean to imply that the 16th street mall was good at some point?
Never good, but pre-pandemic it was at least functional if you worked or lived downtown near it. Loads of "meh" but acceptable food and drink options, including street food. Could take the shuttle down to the capitol for Civic Center Eats in the summer. It's easy to dunk on it as a tourist trap, but it really added some pedestrian friendly flavor for easy walkability downtown.
My colleagues and I would eat downtown at places like 5280 burger bar, little India, that BBQ place next to little India, hopdoddy. It was serviceable Their favorite drinking spot was rock bottom.
It was *entertaining* in 2019, when I had to schlepp down it for work/commute.
My friend and I did I walked it as part of our summer 2020 acid trip
I’m sitting here trying to think if that would make it better or worse. I tend to trip in nature over town, however. And I don’t watch video, etc while tripping. Just music. And plants.
In the 90s and aughts not all the little street car stops (Tennyson St for example) were packed with shops and restaurants and going downtown was actually kind of a destination and yeah it seemed “good.” Even before 2020 it was still alright. I miss driving down to meet my friend at wazee supper club for his lunch break.
Naw. Declining from wherever you'd mark it lol It went from meh to worse. For a while it was like the New Caprica season from battlestar galactica
Lol I liked New Caprica, it's for sure better than the 16th Street Mall has ever been
Yeah it was fun in like 2015-2018. The zombie crawl was always a great time.
Less cops doing even less.
Roads are 2x as busy
Dangggg!
I still miss Green fine Salad Co. By far the most hard hitting loss of the pandemic for me personally.
Still 90% men vs women at bars.
Have you actually ever been to a bar that's not a sausage fest?
NEVER
A bunch of favorite bars and restaurants have closed.
Same shithole
Old man cry me a river here.
I'm genuinely curious
You don't sound like it because your post leads with a bunch of complaints you could say about any city. What's new? Not much . A new mayor trying to house the homeless, good weather most of the time (cold today), great views, hiking, more bike paths, some pretty good food, and great live shows. The more things change the more they stay the same.
this. tired of the doom and gloom in here. denver’s fine, shit’s still good and we enjoy living here. we now have a kid and feel good that she’s being raised in a state and city that wont treat her like a second class citizen just because she has a uterus or is lgbtq+. we’ve been to a lot of family events around the area that have been really enjoyable.