Teller's Taproom & Kitchen

It's no secret that Lakewood (and, while we're at it, Wheat Ridge) is a vast culinary labyrinth of chains and uninspiring independent restaurants that force suburbanites to empty their change in downtown meters. And that's what inspired Larimer Associates COO Joe Vostrejs, his brothers Steve and Matt, and Rod Wagner, acquisitions and project management partner for Larimer Associates, to open Teller's Taproom & Kitchen in a former 7-Eleven in Applewood. "We recognized that the neighborhood really needed something like this, a third place to hang out, drink great beers and eat great food after spending time at work and at home," says Steve Vostrejs. The partners completely gutted both the exterior and the interior and opened Teller's in early 2012. The space, which Vostrejs describes as "steampunk," is that and more: The marble-topped 1890s mahogany bar, which originally resided in the Lamar train station, overlooks tap handles for thirty beers, thirteen of which are brewed in Colorado, and those beers are poured in appropriate glassware, including double steins if you're ordering a domestic brew.