Lo-Do

The nice thing about having two part-time jobs is getting random days of the week off as your "weekend." This week for example, I work through Memorial weekend and yesterday, Wednesday, was my day off. I actually liked having a weekday off - I had a greater sense of productivity and adventure because the world was awake and open for business.

So yesterday, I ventured to Downtown Denver, more commonly referred to as "Lo-Do." My time was limited however (partially due to unpleasantly high parking costs), so I restrained my wanderings to 16th street. You know what's amazing?? They have a free public transit line that runs all the way up and down 16th. It definitely helped make my time more efficient, though I do prefer to walk outside and soak up the culture around me. It'll take a couple more times for me to fully figure out the vibe of Lo-Do, but for my one brief visit it showed great potential.

I have the unfortunate habit of comparing every major American city I visit to the wonderful experiences I had in European cities such as London, Oxford, Paris and Vienna to name a few. Perhaps I need to revisit some cities like San Francisco, Chicago or NYC and experience them anew through the eyes of an independent adult without parents or siblings around (college years don't count - you're still somewhat dependent at that point and still growing in many ways). Well then, I guess Downtown Denver was my first foray into my beginning adult metropolitan experiences. Though I technically live in Denver, I'm on the outskirts of the city limit and its more suburban than anything with mass amounts of traffic, big box stores and chain restaurants. Lo-Do offers the things I look for living in a big city: privately owned businesses with unique themes, a higher class and quality of living than you find in Target or Walmart, and the sidewalk population is a blend of modern commercialism with indie and artsy threads woven throughout.

On this first visit I patronized a couple of unique establishments. Wines off Wynkoop is a small wineshop that you can only access by alley-way. I felt so "in on the know" walking back to the shop doors. Bonus, Wednesday happened to be a special discount day - save 15% off domestic whites when you buy 2 or more! Next door, past the alley, is the Tattered Cover Book Store. It reminded me so much of Blackwell's in Oxford! The place is so characteristic of a family owned bookstore with well worn hardwood floors, a mix of used and new books, leather furniture just begging you to sink into with a hot Mocha Cappucino. It's a good thing I don't live anywhere nearby, otherwise I'd be spending hours relaxing there. I simply must bring my camera next time to take some pictures of my own & share with you all! They also have a really great line-up of events and visiting authors on a regular basis.

Both of these stores show what makes small privately owned businesses so characteristic of downtown areas. In order to stay in business, they have to work incredibly hard to attract new customers and retain loyal customers with different promotions, events or rewards programs. They don't have the automatic clientele loyalty to a brand such as Starbucks, Barnes & Noble or Beverage More may have, so these small businesses make up for it in other ways. In all honesty though, its those personal touches and going the extra mile for the customer that makes me so much more loyal than to any chain store.

So I'll have many more small business experiences to share with you next time I go Lo-Do. What are some of your favorite unique downtown shopping experiences?