Best Indoor Mall 2013 | Cherry Creek Shopping Center | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Indoor Mall

Cherry Creek Shopping Center

The Cherry Creek Shopping Center seamlessly blends tony and more plebeian elements, without smelling too much like the popcorn and razzmatazz of lesser malls. It's got the most popular playground in all of retail Denver (one of these days, they're going to have to start taking numbers) and was built to be a place where the shop-till-you-drop crowd can comfortably spend a day, starting with coffee at Starbucks and ending with a classy steak or a nightcap a few steps away, at Elway's. The Creek also offers a well-rounded variety of department stores, upscale boutiques and novelty stores, and wins points for housing an Apple Store, H&M, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. Most important, it's the mall for city people, a place to rub elbows with the nice stuff, the trendiest merch, the best side trips and everything else.

Best Local TV Commercial

Rocky's Autos

The Harlem Shake video phenomenon came and went so quickly that most businesses never got the chance to capitalize on it. But there's no slipping a trend past the folks at Rocky's Autos. With lightning speed and absolutely no shame, the crew created a wordless, dubstep-biting spot in which Shagman, the dealership's ubiquitous spokesman, spends thirty seconds wiggling in either his standard work gear or an Uncle Sam outfit. Sure, it's stupid, but it's also an instant artifact — the kind of thing you'll watch on YouTube years from now with a goofy grin and a slackened jaw. Which is pretty much how people are watching it now.

Best Mid-Century Decor

Retro House Love

Linda and Jerry Gonto thrive on the real thing when it comes to mid-century modern design: the pristine creative spawn of designers like Eames, Bertoia and Saarinen, preferably arranged in a classic MCM abode, like the one they bought when they moved here from Detroit a couple of years ago. The couple developed their taste in design during years of vintage retailing in the Midwest; in Denver, they're sharing their knowledge with the community at Retro House Love, a smartly appointed temple to mid-mod on the south end of Old South Pearl Street that opened last May. In the market for Mad Men barware or a really cool '50s-era lamp? Better get some Retro House Love.

Best Mile-High Recommendation

Pot Tourism

The Amendment 64 Implementation Task Force, which has been charged with putting pot policies into effect in Colorado, has made many recommendations. And while some will still need to be hashed out, one of the things they got right was making it clear that out-of-state visitors should be able to purchase herb if/when recreational shops open. People come here from all over the world for craft beer, skiing and mountains. Why not help them make some other special memories, too?

Best Music in a Grocery Store

King Soopers

The Capitol Hill King Soopers location — affectionately known as Queen Soopers — usually has random 1980s pop hits blasting away on the sound system, playing louder than they should. But one of the best perks of shopping here (aside from the positively dreamy whipped French cheesecake in the bakery) is hearing other shoppers singing their hearts out in the aisles. And more often than not, some of the employees and even an occasional manager will add their sweet melodies to the mix, belting out the lyrics to "Tainted Love" or a high-pitched Journey song ("Don't Stop Believin'" is definitely a store favorite). Queen Soopers: The Musical: It's the best thing since sliced bread.

Best Name for a Hair Salon

Mop Factory Salon

Somewhere in the world, there exists an actual mop factory. We imagine it to be a place where industrious robots trim, color and braid long ribbons of fabric into perfectly swishy mops. Mop Factory Salon has taken that concept and cleverly replaced actual mops with your own unruly mane for a name that conjures up precision, efficiency and, most hipster of all, robots.

  • 1887 S. Pearl St., Denver, 80210 Map

Best Name for a Medical Marijuana Dispensary

Terrapin Care Station

It's hard to go wrong with a medical marijuana dispensary with a name inspired by the Grateful Dead (as demonstrated by last year's winner, Nederland's Grateful Meds). And since it's located in the hippie haven of Boulder and has dreadlocked employees and organic cannabis, the name Terrapin Care Station is truly appropriate.

Best Name for a Tattoo Shop

Th'Ink Tank Tattoo

Getting a tattoo can be a spur-of-the-moment, I-just-dumped-my-boyfriend-and-I-need-to-cover-up-my-giant-neck-tattoo-of-his-name-inside-a-heart kind of decision. And when making such a choice, you don't have much to go on other than a shop's name. Would you trust a place called Uncle Crusty's Custom Tats to correct your monumental mistake? We didn't think so. You'd look for a shop whose name exudes creativity and class — a place like Denver's Th'Ink Tank Tattoo.

Best Name for a Tattoo-Removal Service

What Were You Inking?

When you were fifteen, you let your buddy's cousin attempt to tattoo a yin-yang symbol on your ankle because it, like, represented the duality of life. He swore he was an apprentice, or that he was going to be one that summer, but then he became an auto mechanic, and you were stuck with a blurry circle on your leg that makes it embarrassing to wear shorts. "What was I thinking?!" you shout every time you look at it — which is why What Were You Inking? is a brilliant name for a tattoo-removal shop. Come shorts season, there's no shortage of free advertising.

Best Neighborhood Shopping District

Baker/South Broadway

We all have our favorites, but phenomenal growth and blooming small businesses have turned the stretch of Broadway between Alameda and Sixth avenues into a countercultural paradise in the past ten years, and the charm of this district can't be ignored: From street stalwarts True Love and Decade and game-changers Fancy Tiger and Buffalo Exchange to such relative newcomers as Ironwood, Sewn and Lowbrow, Broadway is laden with innovative boutiques, shops and galleries that blend in perfectly with the street's funky nightlife and dining options. It's the place to go, whether you're looking for air plants and terrariums, framed butterflies, yarn and craft supplies, creatively repurposed or used clothing, cookware, penny candy, hand-screened posters, curated hipster wear, used books, coffee, an indie flick or an upscale bowling alley, all within walking or biking distance.

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