Scott Durrah

In time for DNC, 8 Rivers comes to Lodo

One River dries up, 8 Rivers LoDo is open

Hot food, hot topics at 8 Rivers

8 Rivers Cafe

Isle be seeing you at this great Jamaican joint.

Don't worry, be happy at 8 Rivers

Isle be seeing you at this great Jamaican joint.

For Venue's Holly Hartnett, a room of her own

Isle be seeing you at this great Jamaican joint.

Pho 99 is pho-king great

Isle be seeing you at this great Jamaican joint.

The earls of sandwich

Isle be seeing you at this great Jamaican joint.

One Good Thing

Chef/owner Wayne Conwell is on a roll at Sushi Sasa.

Ganjapreneurs are cashing in on Colorado's booming medical pot business

Chef/owner Wayne Conwell is on a roll at Sushi Sasa.

8 Rivers puts lunch on hold

​8 Rivers, Scott Durrah's modern Caribbean restaurant that opened last October at 1550 Blake Street (after a successful stint in a much smaller spot at 3609 West 32nd Avenue, now occupied by Venue), is changing its hours for the winter. And they're very ishy. The restaurant, which also bills ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: Marijuana fuels the new rush to the Rockies

​One hundred and fifty years after the last rush to the Rockies, when gold was discovered back in 1859, a new rush is on. This time, adventurers are mining medical marijuana -- and business is smoking! Every day, I get a call from another acquaintance thinking of getting into the field or hea ... More >>

8 Rivers goes to pot -- in a good way

8 Rivers will offer marijuana cooking classes​Wanda James and Scott Durrah, the owners of 8 Rivers, just celebrated the end of their first year at 1550 Blake Street in LoDo, where they moved their restaurant after a successful run in the tiny spot at 3609 West 32nd Avenue that now holds Venue. ... More >>

Tonight: Elvis Dumervil puts those long arms to use at 8 Rivers

​Elvis Dumervil, the Denver Broncos sacking machine who will be a starter in the 2010 Pro Bowl, puts those long arms to use from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight at 8 Rivers, where he'll be bartending to help raise money for Open Door Youth Gang Alternatives, a group he's been working with for the past eig ... More >>

Restaurant workers: This marijuana dispensary feels your pain

​As the owners of 8 Rivers, their fourth restaurant, Wanda James and Scott Durrah know the food business. And as the owners of Apothecary of Colorado, the medical marijuana dispensary they opened in December at 1730 Blake Street, just two blocks from their restaurant at 1550 Blake, they know t ... More >>

Pot and pans at 8 Rivers

Mark MangerExec chef Scott Durrah knows all about pot luck.​ The first time I cooked pot food was my freshman year in high school. Two friends and I pooled our money, bought a quarter bag of Texas dirt weed and some instant brownie mix, and headed to an adult-free house with an open kitchen. ... More >>

Medical marijuana patients enjoy pot luck at 8 Rivers

Mark MangerExec chef Scott Durrah knows all about pot luck.​ The first time I cooked pot food was my freshman year in high school. Two friends and I pooled our money, bought a quarter bag of Texas dirt weed and some instant brownie mix, and headed to an adult-free house with an open kitchen. ... More >>

Pot luck! Creative cooking with cannabis

Everything's better with cannabis butter​On January 16, 8 Rivers executive chef Scott Durrah and sous Jamie Gulick held the first Creative Cooking With Cannabis class at the modern Caribbean restaurant at 1550 Blake Street. Courtesy Durrah, here are the recipes from that class:

Mile Highs and Lows: Apothecary of Colorado

Apothecary of Colorado occupies suite 420. Of course.​As Colorado's medical-marijuana industry grows, marijuana dispensaries of all types and sizes are proliferating around the state. Some resemble swanky bars or sterile dentist offices; others feel like a dope dealer's college dorm room. To h ... More >>

Marijuana TV Sam's Club = ChronicCareConnect.com

The ChronicCareConnect discount card.​The medical marijuana industry in Colorado has been booming since at least last year, with plenty of ganjapreneurs coming up with concepts intended to help them grab a piece of the pot profits. But despite the competition, Chad Bardon thinks he has a uniqu ... More >>

Marijuana and PTSD: Dispensary owner Wanda James reaches out to vets

Wanda James knows marijuana helps vets with PTSD.​Efforts to establish post-traumatic stress disorder as a condition treatable by medical marijuana fell short in the Colorado legislature last month. That was fine by the state's health department, which circulated a fact sheet among legislator ... More >>

The Daily Show smokes Denver's pot scene -- and our weed critic

At last, critic William Breathes as seen in his natural habitat.​The Daily Show's long awaited dissection of Denver's medical marijuana industry finally reached the screen last night, and the results were smokin'. Along with the anticipated ganja gags (a pile of cheeseburgers makes a guest ap ... More >>

William Breathes on what you didn't see in The Daily Show's Denver weed story

Another look at William Breathes (that's actually editor Patty Calhoun's desk).​For the last few weeks I've been curious as to how The Daily Show would use the three-plus hours of footage they got with me last month. I was paraded around the Westword office in a gas mask bong, got to burn a b ... More >>

Wanda James's advice to critics of The Daily Show's Denver weed story: "Chill"

Wanda James gets licked on "The Daily Show."​The Daily Show's send-up of the Denver medical-marijuana scene earlier this week didn't thrill everyone in the MMJ community. Westword marijuana critic William Breathes, in a post about what viewers didn't see, noted reading "blogs and posts from f ... More >>

8 Rivers has a special student for Cooking With Cannabis: NBC

Scott Durrah with a favorite ingredient.​Every month, Scott Durrah, chef/owner of 8 Rivers at 1550 Blake Street, hosts a Cooking with Cannabis class at the restaurant, which is conveniently located just two blocks from Apothecary of Colorado, the dispensary he and his wife, Wanda James, opened ... More >>

Marijuana dispensary owner & vet Wanda James lauds new PTSD rules, calls for pot rescheduling

Wanda James.​Why has dispensary owner Wanda James so actively promoted medical marijuana use for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder? One reason: She and husband/partner Scott Durrah both served in the military. So she's thrilled that the Veterans Administration is loosening rules con ... More >>

8 Rivers: Mojiotos, music and munchies, mon!

​Happy Place: 8 Rivers, 1550 Blake Street, 303-623-3342 The Hours: Monday through Friday, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and all day Sunday The Deals: $3 Red Stripe lager; $3-4 house wines and sangria; $5 well drinks, Appleton rum, and mojitos; $20 mojito pitchers; $5 small plates. What did we think? Fl ... More >>

Marijuana USA: Does program mean CNBC stands for Cannabis News & Business Channel?

​Maybe you think Westword has gone pot-crazy, but the national network CNBC isn't too far behind. After Marijuana Inc., its 2009 report on the nation's underground weed business, became CNBC's most successful-ever original documentary, the channel quickly produced a second investigation: Marij ... More >>

This weekend: Cooking with cannabis

Scott Durrah with a favorite ingredient.​Chefs Scott Durrah (8 Rivers), Lauren Gennett and Rachel Wolpo will offer a series of cooking demonstrations for Simply Pure, the Colorado edibles company founded by Durrah and his wife, Wanda James, at KushCon II, which runs today through December 19 a ... More >>

Medical marijuana records found in alley: Did Apothecary of Colorado throw away forms?

A still from 9News' report.​In this state, patient medical marijuana records are protected by medical privacy rules and the state constitution. When patients fill out their MMJ applications, it's assumed they will be locked securely away, not even accessible by law enforcement. The last place ... More >>

Wanda James and Scott Durrah have a new edibles company

​When Scott Durrah and Wanda James sold their dispensary, Apothecary of Colorado, in July, they talked about opening a medical marijuana edibles company. Six months later, Simply Pure is in business.

Butane hash has hidden dangers, says edibles maker arguing against controversial solvent

Bubble hash.​Butane, used as a solvent in making hash, is among the more controversial substances for medical marijuana users. Experts like Westword medical marijuana reviewer William Breathes, believe butane extracts are safe when done properly. But Wanda James, co-owner of the cannabis edibl ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Jared Polis stars in National Cannabis Industry Association event (PHOTOS)

More pics below.​An event last night illustrates the growing power of the medical marijuana biz not just in Colorado, but nationwide. The stars of the show were Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, a new, Washington, D.C.-based lobbying organization, a ... More >>

Yelp fight! 8 Rivers Cafe owner takes on the filter system

​Suspicious that Yelp was filtering reviews of 8 Rivers Cafe just because she and her husband, Scott Durrah, didn't advertise, Wanda James took her grievances to the Yelp discussion board. That's where she started a thread called "Yelp is fake and is destroying businesses that don't advertise ... More >>

Reader: Yelp is a "fake crock!"

Cassandra KotnickBob Marley watches over 8 Rivers Cafe​Wanda James, who owns 8 Rivers Cafe with her chef/husband, Scott Durrah, isn't the only entrepreneur upset with the Yelp review filter. A couple of other restaurateurs have weighed in on Laura Shunk's story about her campaign against Yelp, ... More >>

8 Rivers will dry up in LoDo this weekend

Anthony CameraScott Durrah and one of his favorite ingredients.​At the end of service on Saturday, October 29, 8 Rivers Modern Caribbean Restaurant will close the doors for good at 1550 Blake Street, its third location -- but not its last. After opening their first restaurant, the Jamaican C ... More >>

Jezebel's will take over former Squeaky Bean space

Rosa Linda's is getting a new neighbor.​When the Squeaky Bean abruptly left its spot at 3301 Tejon Street in June, it left a hole in fans' hearts -- and also in the hot, hot restaurant neighborhood of Highland. But now the corner space next to Rosa Linda's Mexican Cafe has a new tenant: Jezebe ... More >>

Reader: Jezebel's deal could cool down hot Highland restaurant scene

​The news that Wanda James and Scott Durrah, the owners of the just-shuttered 8 Rivers, will be opening Jezebel's, a new Southern restaurant, in the former home of the Squeaky Bean at 3301 Tejon Street, next to Rosa Linda's Mexican Restaurant, did not inspire the roll-out of the welcome wagon. ... More >>