8 Towns In Colorado With Thriving Local Businesses
Colorado is a premier vacation destination. People come from all over the world to explore its mountains and plains and enjoy the scrumptious and seductive side effects of such geographic beauty. Shops, markets, restaurants, bars, breweries, and cafes serve visitors as they go from one natural wonder to another. Best of all, many of those businesses are independent and sell local goods or use local ingredients. Behold eight towns where you can get a true taste of Colorado commerce.
Telluride
As the "festival capital of Colorado," Telluride has only around 2,600 residents but 20-some annual festivals. They include the Telluride Comedy Festival in February, Mountainfilm in May, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in June, the Telluride Mushroom Festival in August, and the Telluride Horror Show in October. Naturally, Telluride needs plenty of receptacles to contain this constant and heavy stream of visitors. Many funnel into locally owned eateries like The Cornerhouse Grille and Telluride Truffle, while others are siphoned by independent shops such as Between the Covers Bookstore and Alpine Wellness. Still more tourists are distilled by the Telluride Brewing Company.
Salida
A historic community on the Arkansas River, Salida attracts visitors with aquatic activities and heritage buildings. Many of those buildings house thriving businesses like Wood's High Mountain Distillery, a liquor manufacturer that locally sources its grains and potatoes and distills them in one of the world's oldest operating stills; Howl Mercantile & Coffee, a gift shop and cafe fighting "against oppression and late-stage capitalism"; and the SteamPlant Event Center, a 19th-century steam power plant converted into a venue for everything from concerts to movie screenings to weddings. Of course, Salida also has businesses in newer buildings. Grab an artisan bagel at the Little Red Hen Bakery or a Moonzone (its signature calzone) at Moonlight Pizza & Brewpub in this growing oasis.
Central City
Located just west of Denver near the center of Colorado, Central City was a dying mining town revived as a gambling mecca. This "city" of well under 1,000 residents has several casinos, including the Easy Street Casino, Grand Z Casino Hotel, and Century Casino & Hotel, the last of which is comprised of multiple historic buildings. But you do not have to put all your chips on Central City's casinos. You should also put them on spectacular stores, amazing eateries, and breathtaking nature. Central City sits nearly 8,700 feet above sea level, so after gambling at the Century Casino, snacking at Eureka Street Popcorn, and shopping at Annie Oakley’s Emporium, you can cleanse your soul, wallet, and palate in the Colorado Rockies.
Crested Butte
An even higher community than Central City, Crested Butte looms nearly 8,900 feet above sea level. As you can expect, this town attracts outdoor enthusiasts, especially skiers and mountain bikers who visit Crested Butte Mountain Resort. It contains 1,547 acres of skiable terrain and 30-plus miles of lift-served singletrack that connects to over 800 miles of singletrack in the greater Gunnison Valley. Appropriately, Crested Butte is considered one of the birthplaces of mountain biking and inbounds extreme skiing. Relaxation is essential after such extreme sporting, and CB provides plenty of refuges. The Slogar is a restaurant in a 19th-century building that has been offering family-style chicken dinners since 1983, while the Secret Stash peddles innovative pizzas that win perennial awards. CB even has a delicious health food store called Mountain Earth Organic Grocer. Try one of their peanut butter chocolate bars.
Leadville
Perched higher than Central City and Crested Butte, Leadville is the highest incorporated city in North America. This 10,200ish-foot, 2,600ish-person community offers lots of havens for its oxygen-depleted visitors. These comprise restaurants like High Mountain Pies, Buchi Cafe Cubano, and the Treeline Kitchen; bars like the Scarlet Tavern, Manhattan Bar, and Legendary Silver Dollar Saloon; and shops such as Elevation Goods and the Leadville Outdoors and Mountain Market. If visiting Leadville, you might want to lead with the Tabor Opera House, a ravishing Victorian venue open for tours and performances. At that elevation, opera singers are daredevils.
Trinidad
Off the mountains and in the semiarid southeastern foothills sits Trinidad, a decidedly nontropical paradise. This super-small city contains bold and beautiful businesses like the Trinidad Smokehouse, Nana & Nano Monteleone's Deli and Pasta House, Sunset Bar & Grille, Perkatory Coffee House, Purgatoire River Trading Co., Get Blown Glassworks, Colie's Cakes & Pastries, and Sita's Kitchen. Tourists can follow up forays into those local establishments with sojourns in the countryside. Trinidad may not have mountains but it is close to mountains, as well as mesas, canyons, lakes, rivers, parks, and even a national grassland.
Paonia
Paonia is a flowering community, which makes sense since it was named after—and seeded with—the peony flower. But peonies are not the only things grown in Paonia. Guests can pick their own raspberries, cherries, peaches, nectarines, blackberries, apples, pumpkins, and winter squash at Orchard Valley Farms, one of many orchards in this elevated yet fertile region. If 21 and over, they can pick up glass after glass of delectable chardonnay at Orchard Valley's Black Bridge Winery or at nearby Qutori Wines. Other mouthwatering attractions in Paonia include Paonia Bread Works, which makes artisanal sourdough breads with locally sourced ingredients, and the Paonia United Brewing Co., which brews small-batch craft beer.
Burlington
Located way out in the boonies near Kansas, Burlington is not a top choice for a Colorado vacation. Regardless, this 3,200ish-person community is bursting with attractions. It boasts highly-rated places like a Mexican restaurant called Tequilas Mexican Grill, an American restaurant called The Dish Room, a cafe named The Blend, an ice cream shop called the Little Brick Creamery, and a thrift store called Twice As Nice. But Burlington's crown jewel is the Kit Carson County Carousel, a 119-year-old ride so rare and pristine it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987. It costs a quarter to ride and a dollar to tour its companion museum, but children nine and under get in for free.
Colorado is a scenic wonderland that keeps sightseers satiated, hydrated, and well-equipped via myriad businesses. Many of those establishments, especially the ones in small towns, are uber-local, meaning that they are the one and only business doing what they do and often doing it with material and ingredients from their own backyard. Telluride, Salida, Central City, Crested Butte, Leadville, Trinidad, Paonia, and Burlington have such stores in abundance.
