Safeway and Albertsons workers across metro Denver, including Boulder and Castle Rock, approved an unfair labor practice strike, as did workers at stores in Conifer, Evergreen, Fountain, Grand Junction, Idaho Springs, Parker, Pueblo, Salida, Steamboat Springs and Vail, the UFCW Local 7 said in a news release Thursday night.

The votes on whether to authorize a strike took place last week and earlier this week, with 99% of metro Denver workers approving a strike, the union said. It represents the first time that Safeway workers in the state have voted to strike over unfair labor practices since 1996.

A date for a walkout hasn’t been announced, but the clock is ticking, said UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova. Cordova said late Friday afternoon the union was still waiting to find out if Albertsons, the owner of Safeway, intended to make a “time is of the essence” offer to head off a strike.

If an offer isn’t made or if an offer is made that the union rejects, then the union would provide 72 hours’ notice to terminate the extension on the contract, which had expired in January.

A rejection would then set the stage for a strike next week. In the strike against King Soopers and City Market, workers took to the picket lines in early February, six days after the strike vote results were announced. That labor action lasted nearly two weeks. Cordova said a new contract still isn’t in place parent company Kroger.

“We have been more than patient for months as the company slashed our hours and ignored workers’ proposals on staffing and other key issues. Incredibly, Safeway and Albertsons have now chosen to walk away from a signed agreement for retroactive pay and benefit increases and instead are only offering increases going forward. This is the essence of bargaining in bad faith. Time has run out,” said Kevan Kohlman, a Safeway worker from Grand Junction and member of the negotiating committee, in a news release.

More than 150,000 UFCW and Teamster workers in Colorado, Washington and California have been negotiating for new contracts, and a chief complaint they want to address is understaffing at stores, which they say has worsened working conditions for them and worsened shopping conditions for customers.

“At the bargaining table, this employer is holding hands with King Soopers and City Market to propose major cuts to workers’ health care benefits, and to threaten the financial security of our pension beneficiaries on fixed incomes, while continuing to reject meaningful efforts to address chronic understaffing in stores. On top of the concessionary proposals at the negotiating table, Safeway and Albertsons have gone back on their agreements,” said Cordova.

Workers are seeking better wages, better staffing levels, affordable health care and a reliable pension, Cordova said, adding that union proposals have been rejected or ignored and earlier agreements reneged on. Albertsons is also looking to divert funds out of a retiree healthcare plan funded by workers to support benefits for current employees, Cordova said.

“Safeway in Colorado remains committed to productive discussions with UFCW Local 7, and we have contract extensions in place while we do so. We respect the rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining and are negotiating in good faith to achieve an agreement,” Albertsons/Safeway said in a statement sent by Heather Halpape, a spokeswoman for the Safeway Denver division.

“Our focus remains on providing exceptional service to our customers and fostering a positive working environment for our associates. All Safeway and Albertsons stores in Colorado are open and ready to continue serving our communities,” the statement said.

Get more business news by signing up for our Economy Now newsletter.

Wilding has purchased Station 26 Brewing Co., a 12-year-old beer maker located in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood. The brewery is best known for its Juicy Banger IPA and its cozy taproom located in a converted firehouse.

As part of the deal, Wilding Brands will take over brewing and canning all Station 26 beers. The taproom at 7045 E. 38th Ave. is expected to remain open. Brewery founder Justin Baccary will also join the company, where he will “contribute to craft beverage development and support the growing number of taprooms and restaurants in the Wilding portfolio,” according to the announcement.

Wilding declined to share the financial terms of the acquisition.

“We’ve built something really special over the last decade, and joining Wilding is an exciting next step that brings new energy and a shared passion for craft, creativity, and community,” Baccary said in a statement.

“Justin has built a strong community around Station 26 and the quality speaks for itself,” added Charlie Berger, chief development officer for Wilding Brands. “His vision perfectly aligns with what we’re building at Wilding: a new chapter in Colorado craft brewing based on quality and locality across an amazing variety of the best craft beverages and hospitality experiences in Colorado.”

Berger is also co-founder of Denver Beer Co., which partnered with Stem Ciders and Funkwerks brewery in late 2024 to form Wilding Brands. Its portfolio includes the founding companies plus Howdy Beer, Easy Living sparkling hop water, Cerveceria Colorado, and Formation Brewing, a new concept in Phoenix.

In April, the company acquired legacy beer maker Great Divide Brewing Co., though founder Brian Dunn did not join the Wilding team. Instead, he independently managed Great Divide’s two Denver taprooms – both of which will close on June 30 — as well as relationships with the brewery’s licensed restaurants in Castle Rock, Lakewood and Lone Tree. Three Great Divide-branded suburban restaurants will remain open, as will the taproom inside Denver International Airport.

Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.

El Noa Noa Mexican Restaurant officially shuttered on April 1, owners Vidal and Leticia Banuelos confirmed to The Denver Post, marking the end of a 45-year run. On-again-off-again eatery El Chingon Bistro is expected to take its place by the end of the month.

Leticia Banuelos’ parents opened El Noa Noa in 1980 at 722 N. Santa Fe Dr. The restaurant had not served diners in several weeks prior to its official closing date, as the couple had temporarily ceased operations in hopes of going on vacation. But those plans got postponed, they said, and as they started interviewing people to reopen, the numbers just didn’t make sense.

Vidal Banuelos said the restaurant never recovered from the financial hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after dining restrictions lifted, the number of guests who visited never rebounded, including El Noa Noa’s typically robust lunch crowd that pivoted to working from home.

“We were hoping that things (would) get better over the last few years after COVID was over, but then inflation hit really hard. So the cost of everything went extremely high and our profit margins were basically disappeared. And any time we raise the price one something, people complain about it,” Vidal said.

All of those compounding factors made reopening too daunting a task. “At the end of the day, we run out of juice, we run out of energy to do it,” Vidal said.

Just as the Banueloses were mulling that tough decision, Lorenzo Nuñez Jr., proprietor of El Chingon, came knocking. It had been more than a year since El Chingon had closed its space in LoHi, at 1691 Central St., and Nuñez had been searching for a location where he could resurrect the concept and return it to its roots. El Chingon first operated in Arvada then moved to a location on Tennyson Avenue where it welcomed diners for almost a decade, until 2021.

The move to LoHi ended up being ill-fated, according to Nuñez, because the restaurant lost its identity. (The closure was not due to unpaid taxes, he said, though El Chingon did shutter temporarily at one point as it worked to pay some back taxes.)

“We were trying to be too many things to too many people,” Nuñez said. “We’re a restaurant first with a complimentary bar program… In LoHi, there were evenings it was like a nightclub, others it was a restaurant. Other nights, it was just a bar to drink. That becomes difficult to operate. When you lose your identity in that respect, you lose your base clientele that love what you do.”

Because of that, Nuñez plans to “recapture the essence of who we are” at the new El Chingon, which he hopes to open by the end of May. Guests will always find the restaurant’s chile relleños, enchiladas, carne asada and chicharrones available, he said, but the rest of the menu will change seasonally under the direction of his nephew, chef David Lopez.

The bar will serve beer, wine and cocktails and the location’s iconic patio will remain open during the summer months so people can sip margaritas in the sun as they did for the last 45 years.

“Having the opportunity to take this over from the family is a challenge to follow in their footsteps, but also an opportunity to carry on a legacy if you will,” Nuñez said.

The Banuelos are excited to hand over the keys to El Chingon, which they hope brings a fresh energy to the space. They aren’t sure what they will do next, though it likely won’t be in the hospitality industry, Vidal said. In the meantime, they thanked all the customers they welcomed over the last four-plus decades and said they are considering taking that postponed vacation after all.

Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.

A legacy Denver brewery will soon close both of its taprooms within city limits following its acquisition by a larger craft conglomerate.

At the end of June, Great Divide Brewing Co. will stop serving beer at 2201 Arapahoe St., where it was founded in 1994. It will also shut the doors to its River North Art District facility, known as the Barrel Bar & Cellar, at 1812 35th St. The brewery’s three branded locations in the suburbs — which are run by a restaurant group — will remain open, but the closings remove Great Divide’s footprint from its hometown.

Its absence may be short-lived, however. A spokesperson for Wilding Brands, which acquired the brewery in April, said the company “will be opening a new Great Divide location in Denver later this year.”

Under the terms of the acquisition, Great Divide founder Brian Dunn retained ownership of the two Denver taprooms. At the time the deal was announced, he told The Denver Post the clock was likely ticking on those locations, but that he didn’t know when they might shutter. Dunn owns the building near Coors Field and leases the one in RiNo.

Speaking by phone, Dunn said the taprooms’ closures on June 30 coincide with the transition of beer production to Wilding Brands. “We decided to wind down the bars at the same time we’re winding down production,” he said.

Dunn said that while shuttering the taprooms marks the end of one chapter, he is looking forward to the next when he will have more time to travel, hang out with his kids and do things other than work. That echoes the sentiment Dunn shared in a previous interview when he cited the desire to move on from the beer business as his motivation for selling Great Divide.

“It’s been my only job for the past 31 years and it’s been great. I think we’ve accomplished a lot, we have an amazing team, but I also don’t want to do it when I’m 80,” Dunn said in April.

The decision not to retain one of Great Divide’s current locations was Wilding’s, he added.

Established in 2024, Wilding Brands also owns Denver Beer Co., Stem Ciders, and the Funkwerks brewery. Its portfolio includes the founding companies plus Howdy Beer, Easy Living sparkling hop water, Cerveceria Colorado and Formation Brewing, a new concept in Phoenix.

CORRECTION May 28 at 8:34 a.m.: A previous version of this story misspelled Great Divide brewing’s parent company. 

Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.

One of Colorado’s most buzzworthy bakeries is preparing to move. But lucky for residents in Parker, it won’t be going far.

Poulette Bakeshop, at 19585 Hess Road, Unit 107, will relocate this fall “to a larger, more prominent storefront” on Mainstreet in its hometown, according to an announcement this week. The shop, known for its French pastries, will inhabit a 2,800-square-foot space on the ground level of a new luxury apartment complex called The Juniper at 19865 Mainstreet in Parker.

Owners Carolyn Nugent and Alen Ramos moved to Colorado in 2020 after illustrious careers as professional pastry chefs, and began the bakery out of their kitchen. In 2021, they opened their first commercial space and have since put out macarons, cookies, breads and other treats that earned national acclaim. (Cardboard eclairs, anyone?)

In April, the James Beard Foundation named Nugent and Ramos finalists for its prestigious awards, in the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker category. That nomination came as The New York Times dubbed Poulette one of the best bakeries in America.

“It has long been our dream to operate Poulette Bakeshop in the heart of Parker’s Mainstreet, and we’re thrilled to be expanding in a way that allows us to better serve our community,” Nugent said in a statement. “Guided by our ongoing commitment to exceptional hospitality and the craft of artisanal, European-inspired baked goods, this new chapter deepens our connection to the community through service and culinary tradition.”

Nugent tells The Denver Post by email that there will be overlap between the time the new space opens in fall 2025 and the lease expires at the original bakery in 2026. That means there’s potentially double the enjoyment for those with a sweet tooth in Parker.

“We are still confirming what will be produced and offered at our existing space. We have several great ideas, but are still determining what makes the most sense for our team and the space,” she said.

Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.

As a result, the customers spent more for groceries than they expected at a time when prices for most items remain high and tariff increases have stoked fears of inflation heating up again. Walmart, the nation’s largest grocer, warned Thursday that higher tariffs on imports will raise prices.

Members of the union negotiating a new contract with King Soopers shopped at 50 stores across Colorado over four days in March. The total tab, paid for by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, was $3,921.11.

However, based on the price tags on the shelves, the bill should have been $3.297.26, or nearly 16% less, said Kristi Bush, the union’s associate general counsel and one of the shoppers.

The UFCW’s secret shopper excursions coincided with ones made by The Guardian newspaper, Consumer Reports and the Food & Environment Reporting Network in 26 Kroger-owned stores in 14 states and the District of Columbia in March, April and May. The media outlets said there was a pattern of overcharging by listing expired sale prices on the shelves but scanning in the regular prices at the checkout.

The tests by the media partners found more than 150 items with expired tags, leading to average overcharges of about $1.70 per item, 18% over the discount price listed on the shelves.

“Our findings suggest the typical Kroger shopper ends up paying far more for what they think are discounted items — all during a time of inflation and economic uncertainty,” Consumer Reports said.

The union that represents King Soopers and City Market employees in Colorado has made the discrepancies an issue in contract negotiations that started late last year. The union said the stores are understaffed and changing out tags on the shelves is one of the duties that has suffered as a result.

“The tags are out of date and the reason they’re out of date is they don’t have the staff to pull the tags,” said Jim Hammons, UFCW retail director and a former King Soopers store manager. “King Soopers has cut the hours so bad that they don’t have enough time to do that step in the process, which is to pull the old tags.”

The question of staffing levels is one of the issues that King Soopers and UFCW Local 7 have tangled over during contract talks, which were interrupted temporarily in February by a strike. The union raised the issue while King Soopers and Albertsons, which owns Safeway stores in Colorado, were pursuing a merger. The deal collapsed in December after judges in two separate cases rejected the merger.

King Soopers has disputed that its stores are understaffed. The company also played down the reports of price discrepancies, saying in an email Wednesday that the claims, “based on a limited number of isolated issues, do not reflect the seriousness with which we approach transparent and affordable pricing.”

The Colorado Agriculture Department is looking into questions about pricing at King Soopers. Spokeswoman Olga Robak said the investigation is led by the Inspection and Consumer Services Division’s Weights and Measures program. The program handles price-test verifications and investigates pricing discrepancies.

Kim Cordova, UFCW Local 7 president, said the union has shared the information from its shopping trips with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser in hopes that he will investigate.

The attorney general’s office can’t confirm or otherwise comment on investigations, spokesman Lawrence Pacheco said.

In 2023, Weiser and the Nevada attorney general reached a settlement with Walmart over the company’s failure to make sure the price customers paid matched the price listed on the shelf. The settlement called for Walmart to pay $3 million to Colorado to help fund local food pantries and other food assistance programs.

Bush, who went to King Soopers stores to check prices, said shoppers took timestamped pictures of the items on the shelves and later compared the tags on the shelves to the receipts. She said the point was to buy items people normally would rather than try to ferret out specific problems.

The bill for a trip to an Englewood store was $83.80. Based on the prices listed on the shelves, it should have cost Bush $57.61. In one case, she got two bottles of soap that were advertised at a special price of $8.99 per bottle if she bought two. But the receipt showed she paid the full price of $14.99 per bottle.

In another case, Bush picked up a bag of chicken strips, “the kind that you would feed your kids.” The regular price was $10.99 per bag, or $9.99 with a King Soopers loyalty card. The tag listed an additional discount of $2 per bag if the shopper bought three of the items.

“I bought three and they charged me $10.99 for each bag of chicken,” Bush said. “The total should have been $23.97. I paid $32.97.”

Chris Lacey is a service manager at a Littleton King Soopers. He’s not surprised by the reports of listed prices not matching what people actually pay.

“We see price discrepancies in the front end daily,” Lacey said.

Last week, avocados were listed on the King Soopers app for 99 cents apiece, but Lacey said they rang up as $1.49 for each one. When a shopper points out a mistake, employees will correct the bill. But Lacey said the price rarely gets fixed systemwide.

Customers sometimes take out their frustration on employees.

“I have had customers yell at me. I’ve had customers cuss out some of my staff,” Lacey said. “I’ve had product thrown at my feet because people didn’t want to pay the price.”

Lacey understands the anger. “I would maybe not do what some of these people do, but I would definitely voice my displeasure to the company.”

Cordova said the union’s goal is to ensure that shoppers are not overcharged and that pricing is fair and transparent. She said one of the union’s contract proposals is the formation of a pricing-integrity department.

“We’re not trying to take Kroger down. We’re trying to make better stores for our members to work at and for our communities to shop at,” Cordova said.

Updated May 16 at 12:07 p.m. to add that the Colorado Department of Agriculture is investigating pricing issues at King Soopers. 

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart, which became the nation’s largest retailer by making low prices a priority, has found itself in a place it’s rarely been: Warning customers that prices will rise for goods ranging from bananas to car seats.

Executives at the $750 billion company told industry analysts Thursday that they are doing everything in their power to absorb the higher costs from tariffs ordered by President Donald Trump.

Given the magnitude of the duties, however, the highest since the 1930s, higher prices are unavoidable and they will hurt Walmart customers already buffeted by inflation over the past three years.

Trump’s threatened 145% import taxes on Chinese goods were reduced to 30% in a deal announced Monday, with some of the higher tariffs on pause for 90 days.

Those higher prices began to appear on Walmart shelves in late April and accelerated this month, Walmart executives said Thursday. However, a larger sting will be felt in June and July when the back-to-school shopping season goes into high gear.

“We’re wired to keep prices low, but there’s a limit to what we can bear, or any retailer for that matter,” Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey told The Associated Press on Thursday after the company reported strong first quarter sales.

Rainey emphasized that prices are rising not just for discretionary items such as patio furniture and trendy fashions, but for basic necessities as well. The price of bananas, imported from Costa Rica, rose from 50 cents per pound, to 54 cents. He thinks car seats made in China that currently sell for $350 at Walmart will likely cost customers another $100. Baby strollers are also sourced from China, Rainey said.

Higher prices arrive as many Americans pull back on spending as they grow increasingly uneasy about the economy.

Government data Thursday revealed slowing sales growth for retailers. Walmart says that its consumers have become cautious and selective.

Tariffs on China and other countries are threatening the low-price model at the core of Walmart’s success.

Retailers and importers had largely halted shipments of shoes, clothes, toys, and other items due to new tariffs, but many are resuming imports from China in the narrow window that opened during the temporary “truce” this week, hoping to avoid sparse shelves this fall. Yet retailers, already operating on thin margins, say they have no choice but to raise prices to offset higher costs from tariffs. And they are also bracing for higher shipping costs fueled by a surge of companies scrambling to get their goods on ships to the U.S.

Rainey told The Associated Press that the retailer did not pause shipments from China as a result of the tariffs like others because it didn’t want to hurt its suppliers and wanted to keep merchandise flowing. It has built in hedges against some tariff threats. Two-thirds of Walmart’s merchandise is sourced in the U.S., with groceries now accounting for roughly 60% of Walmart’s U.S. business.

Still, Walmart isn’t immune.

CEO Doug McMillon told analysts Thursday that Walmart imports general merchandise from dozens of countries. But China, in particular, represents a big chunk of volume in certain categories like electronics and toys.

Tariffs on countries like Costa Rica, Peru and Colombia are raising costs on groceries like avocados, coffee and roses, in addition to bananas, company executives said. Walmart is absorbing costs on general merchandise within departments and has yet to pass along rising costs in some cases.

Walmart is also asking suppliers to swap input materials for components if possible, for example, using fiberglass instead of aluminum, which Trump hit with tariffs in early March.

“We’re very dependent upon imports for these types of products,” Rainey told The Associated Press.

He said there are some goods for which Walmart simply can’t shift production or produce easily in the United States.

Walmart earned $4.45 billion, or 56 cents per share, in the quarter ended April 30, down from $5.10 billion, or 63 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Adjusted earnings per share were 61 cents, exceeding the 58 cent projections from industry analysts, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 2.5% to $165.61 billion, just short of analyst estimates.

Walmart’s U.S. comparable sales — those from established physical stores and online channels — rose 4.5% in the second quarter, though that’s slowed from a 4.6% bump in the previous quarter, and a 5.3% increase in the third quarter of 2024. .

Business was fueled by health and wellness items as well as groceries. Sales were weaker in home and sporting good, which was offset by robust sales of toys, automotive goods and kid’s clothing, the company said.

Global e-commerce sales rose 22%, up from 16% in the previous quarter.

Walmart said it expects sales growth of 3.5% to 4.5% in the second quarter.

Like many other U.S. companies, however, it did not issue a profit outlook for the quarter because of the chaotic environment, with stated U.S. tariff policies changing constantly. The company maintained its full-year guidance issued in February.

But what happens after the 90 days are up, Ross wonders. If the Trump administration re-imposes all the tariffs he announced on April 2, the total would be 46% on Vietnam, where Krimson Klover moved a third of its business when the president imposed tariffs during his first term in office.

Before President Donald Trump unveiled his so-called reciprocal tariffs, Krimson Klover, based in Boulder, was paying 7.5% on its imports from China.

In a temporary halt to an escalating trade war, the U.S. agreed Monday to slash the levy on China from 145% to 30%. China agreed to lower its tariff rate on U.S. goods to 10% from 125% while the two countries try to reach a longer-lasting deal.

“It’s great that this went down, but we’re still looking at a 30% tariff that wasn’t in our prices when set up (2025),” Ross said. “The consumer is going to ultimately pay for it.”

While encouraged by the lower levy, Keaton Brown, who started a windshield wiper business with his brother, Kyler, said 30% is historically high. Even so, the brothers’ business, The Windy Company, will look into submitting more orders while the lower tariff is in place.

“I certainly expect some hiccups because I imagine there are a lot of companies in the same boat right now that will be ordering more products,” Brown said.

The Browns’ 4-year-old company delivers windshield wipers once or twice a year to subscribers. The wipers, made from 100% natural rubber, are manufactured in China.

The Windy Company ships from a warehouse in Grand Junction to people in all 50 states. Brown said the business has been growing, but is putting any expansion plans on hold until it’s clear what direction tariffs will take.

At Krimson Klover, the scramble is on to get products on ships in time to beat the end of the 90-day stand down from the higher taxes on imports.

“We’re trying to get everything on a boat by Aug. 12,” Ross said. “Everybody and their brother are going to try to get on a boat by about Aug. 1.”

Other U.S. businesses are hurrying to make sure their products can make it across the ocean before any jumps in the tariff rate. Ross expects the freight costs to rise.

There’s the uncertainty about being able to get goods out of China during the 90-day window. And, Ross said, there’s not knowing what comes next. Krimson Klover has been working with a large customer who will get some of its orders during the pause on higher tariffs, but has other products set to arrive in October and November.

“We have not yet decided what to do with that customer,” Ross said. “Do we go back to 145%, which in theory will happen in August? Or do we make a bet that’s not going to happen and that  this pause will be permanent?”

For now, Krimson Klover’s producers in China, the company and retailers are absorbing the current cost increase.

Ross said a friend just halted operations at a Colorado company that makes down jackets and rain wear after the Trump administration hiked the tariff to 145% on imports from China. She said other people she knows whose companies make hats and accessories are struggling.

Ross believes Krimson Klover will hold on, but said the turmoil is taking a toll. The company has stopped hiring and stopped marketing.

“We’ve stopped all sorts of things we can control to get our budgets aligned,” Ross said. “It’s quite difficult for small business and irritating that there’s not more understanding from Congress.”

If the goal is to boost manufacturing in the U.S., Ross said loans and other help should be offered to companies and plans revitalizing industries should be developed. When facing higher tariffs levied by the first Trump administration in 2019, Krimson Klover looked at moving its production to the U.S., but couldn’t find the right fit.

“At the moment, the infrastructure doesn’t exist,” Ross said. “The textiles are not here anymore. The machines are not here, and the people to make it aren’t here.”

Brown said he isn’t sure what goals the Trump administration has in mind when it comes to tariffs.

“I know for consumers, myself being one of them, we can expect higher prices,” Brown said. “I know businesses that import, we can expect uncertainty, which hampers growth and ultimately economic productivity on a larger scale.”

Get more business news by signing up for our Economy Now newsletter.

PineMelon started business in April 2022, billing itself as a “local-first” online and grocery delivery service. Working out of a 30,000-square-foot warehouse on the north side of Denver, PineMelon featured fruits, vegetables, meat, breads, desserts and prepared meals from clients across the Front Range and on the Western Slope.

PineMelon said suppliers included 400-plus local farmers and makers. The company said its mission was “to build a food system that is better for our environment, builds our community, provides healthier food, and allows local food makers to thrive.”

The online grocer also proved to be an avenue of commerce for area producers once farmers markets closed for the season.

PineMelon CEO Alex Lee said in a statement Friday that the company was grateful to the local farmers, ranchers and producers who had worked with it and to the customers who took a chance “on a whole new way to shop for groceries.”

But despite efforts “to remedy our current financial situation,” PineMelon would halt all operations Sunday, Lee said. “At this time, we do not know if or when we will be able to resume operations.”

PineMelon said it filled orders for pickup Monday and planned to close out by 6 p.m.

Christopher Ford, PineMelion’s chief marketing officer, said in an email that the company tried to develop a sustainable business model that put more money in the hands of local farmers, didn’t require a subscription and didn’t outsource jobs to gig workers.

“Managing the costs associated with these values has proven challenging,” Ford said.

Company officials said PineMelon wasn’t able to sustain the high level of scale needed to make its business model work. PineMelon had 43 full- and part-time employees.

“I think I was one of the first local farmers that they brought on,” said Ryan Ericson, owner of Well Fed Farmstead in Fort Collins.

Ericson grows 100 different varieties of vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs on about  2.5 acres in the city. He said he made between $500 and $1,000 a week in 2024 by selling his products to PineMelon.

“I don’t really have another wholesale outlet like PineMelon in this area,” Ericson said. “I have a lot of different markets that I sell to, which is very helpful in this case.”

Ericson said he will likely sell more of his products to retail outlets and might go to more farmers markets.

“I thought PineMelon was really innovative,” Ericson said. “They seemed excited about expanding. I’m sad to see them go.”

Updated at May 13, 2025,  at 11:21 a.m. to correct the number of suppliers that PineMelon worked with.

Loveland-based Root Shoot Spirits earned the accolade for its flagship product, Root Shoot Whiskey, at the London Spirits Competition, which announced the winners of its eighth edition in late April. Notably, the four-year aged American single malt whiskey is made from barley grown exclusively on Colorado’s Front Range. In fact, the makers grow the grains themselves.

The award comes just months after American single malt whiskey became an official spirits designation in the U.S. Local distillers believe the designation will allow them to compete with single malt powerhouses like Scotland and Japan, which make some of the most coveted whiskey in the world.

Colorado, they say, is the best place in the country to find single malt whiskeys right now – and they may be right.

Root Shoot Spirits is a sister company to Root Shoot Malting, which is owned by 5th generation farmer Todd Olander. The company grows about 700 acres of barley that it then kilns and roasts for brewers and distillers throughout the state. In 2023, it debuted its first whiskey — the recent award winner — to “express the farm and the malthouse through a spirit,” Olander previously told The Denver Post.

Root Shoot’s single malt whiskey wowed judges at the London Spirits Competition, earning an impressive 98 points out of 100. Judges evaluate each spirit’s quality based on aroma, flavor, body and other tasting notes, as well as the value for cost. Unlike beer competitions, this contest is not judged entirely blind, as labels and shelf appeal are also factored into the score.

“Recognition for Root Shoot Whiskey is also recognition for the soil, sun, sweat and stubbornness that went into making it,” Olander said in a statement. “Whiskey, especially single malt, is as good as its raw materials, and ours have been carefully cultivated for generations using lots of hard work, dedication and regenerative agricultural practices.”

This is the second year in a row that a Colorado whiskey has been recognized as the best American-made single malt at the London competition. In 2024, the title went to Colorado Honey, made by Spirit Hound Distillers in Lyons.

Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.