BID Again

Petitions are being passed in Downtown Boulder; the signees are business leaders who want to continue taxing themselves to improve downtown. They starting taxing themselves nearly a decade ago, and the beauty, safety and success of the bricks makes it clear this is a great business decision.

Jane Jenkins, executive director of the Downtown Boulder Business Improvement District, plans to submit signatures of at least 50 percent of downtown business owners to Boulder City Council this fall. "The general agreement is, this thing works, so to avoid having to do this again, we're asking for 20 years this time."

The district's $950,000 budget helps pay for marketing for the downtown, "clean and safe" services, and programming services like concerts and other events.

To read the original article in the Daily Camera click here

'Eldridge Building' New Home for Frasca

Downtown fine-dining restaurant Frasca will move to a new location on Pearl and Ninth in the coming year. The 'Eldridge Building' has been in the works for awhile, led by Richard Foy, Henry Beer, Phil Shull and George Karakehian. Tom Eldridge, former City Councilman and owner of Tom's Tavern, was also a partner in the project before his death in May 2007.

The project will begin by the end of this year, creating a three-story structure that will house the restaurant and three condominium units. The building will be worthy of Eldridge's name, having LEED gold certification and a rooftop featuring photovoltaic panels and several gardens.

Backers of the project have also agreed during the review process to reduce the restaurant's impact on surrounding neighbors by installing noise dampening equipment and limiting the restaurant's hours and size.

Tom's Tavern Building In New Hands

Tom's Tavern was a local favorite, first opening in 1959 and remaining a downtown fixture until it closed in late 2007 shortly after the death of founder Tom Eldridge. Now the family of Eldridge is selling the building to developer Stephen Tebo. Tebo will lease the building's floor space to a tenant who will open a new restaurant, where there may or may not be world famous burgers with mayo, fries and slaw. Tom's Tavern is missed, but look forward to seeing what new dining establishment will grace 1047 Pearl Street. The 2,920 square foot restaurant space is on the ground floor, and above it is 2,500 feet of office space. The building sold for $2.1 million.

First Annual Endless Summer Celebration

For the past several weeks, Downtown Boulder's Bands on the Bricks and Noon Tunes music series have filled the 1300 block of Pearl Street (aka the Bricks) with fantastic music and performances, as well as some of the best people watching in the state. The two series fuse together on Friday, August 22 for the inaugural Downtown Boulder's Endless Summer Music Celebration from noon to 10 p.m. (Stage located in front of the Boulder County Court House on the 1300 block of Pearl Street).

With the University of Colorado’s students starting school the following Monday (as well as those arriving early for the Democratic National Convention), Downtown Boulder will be filled with an extra level of energy and excitement. Starting in the afternoon and going until the late evening, music lovers of all ages will have the opportunity to enjoy four bands while taking in the beautiful surroundings of Downtown Boulder. Evening festivities will be hosted by Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald. (Fitzgerald grew up in Denver and graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder where he also received his master's and doctorate degrees in endocrinology. In 1983, he received a DVM from Colorado State University. Fitzgerald has been one of the featured veterinarians on Animal Planet's Emergency Vets since 1997.)

“The bands performing are all crowd favorites,” said Lib Ilderton, the special events manager for Downtown Boulder, Inc. “This is a great way to wrap up our two very popular summer music series. We hope locals and visitors will make their way to Downtown Boulder to enjoy our Endless Summer Celebration.”

The Endless Summer Music Celebration line up includes:

Beloved Invaders (Noon to 1:30 p.m.)
Instrumental surf, featuring both originals and covers of classic and modern surf tunes, as well as original compositions, which alternate between driving and jazzy, haunting and exotic. Music that will make people move, all done in retro-fashion.

Heavy Cats with Mark Diamond & Lionel Young (2 to 4 p.m.)
The deep funk of James Brown, the hard rock of Led Zeppelin, and the classics of Cream, The Beatles and The Allman Brothers. Heavy Cats cover everything from Muddy Waters to Prince, with a bunch of New Orleans grooves, blues, and classic rock mixed in.

Rebecca Folsom (4:45 to 6:45 p.m.)
Vocals range from vulnerable and soothing to fully engaged rock and roll wailing. Music is a heart opening, rhythmic romp fueled with stories of meeting today's challenges and inspirationally rising above. Melodies soar, harmonies weave and ascend, lyrically inspiring, and rooted in steady groove.

Legendary Nikators (7:30 to 10 p.m.)
Originally formed in 1958 with the intention of playing 60s, 70s and Motown music. Since it hadn't been written yet, they had to wait until 1979 to have their first practice session. The band is also honored to play 50s music if requested.

Downtown Boulder's Endless Summer Music Celebration is a free event and open to the public. Sponsors include: Colorado Capital Bank, the Camera, City of Boulder Parking Services, KBCO FM and Twisted Pine Brewing Company. For additional details visit the Downtown Boulder website or call 303-449-3774.

Pedestrian Shops Keeps the Doors Closed, the Energy In

Don't feel snubbed if you're walking down Pearl Street and encounter shops with their doors closed. And don't plan on feeling that cool blast of AC as you pass by. Although we may have gotten used to being welcomed into retail stores by an open door and a promise of a cooler place inside, this is detrimental to energy conservation. Richard Polk of family owned Pedestrian shops is leading the way in this change for Downtown Boulder, and he's encouraging other stores to follow suit.

Many other cities have already enacted laws about retail stores keeping doors open in this way. New York City Councilwoman Gale Brewer introduced legislation that will fine an establishment $200 for keeping doors open. Shopping in Canada? The Conservation Council of Ontario has introduced what it calls its "Doors Closed" campaign. Signs found on retail store doors announce the intention to keep doors closed to save energy.

As much as 25 percent of electricity consumed by retailers is wasted when doors are left open. A recent survey by the Long Island Power Authority shows that 65 percent of retail businesses kept doors open when temperatures were above 80 degrees. Polk has stated that retailers' use of simple, low-cost strategies like the Pedestrian Shops' can reduce the national carbon footprint by as many as a hundred million tons. "Conventional retailer thinking is that open doors are welcoming while closed doors turn away business. We believe that our customers want us to conserve energy and keep the inside of our stores comfortable rather than keeping the doors open." For more information, see the Pedestrian Shops blog here.