Colfax Barber Fears BRT Construction Has Doomed Her 25-Year-Old Salon

Martha Valadez has weathered a recession and a pandemic during the 25 years she's owned Martha's Beauty Salon on 516 East Colfax Avenue, but the longtime business owner fears construction for a controversial Bus Rapid Transit line has finally choked off revenue to the point where she doesn't expect to be open when the project finishes.

"This is the worst year of business I've ever had," she says. "Last month went horribly to the point where I said, 'my god, what am I going to do?'"

Valadez would have already retired, but her husband suffered a heart attack last year, so she continues to work to pay for the expensive medication he needs, which is only partly covered by Medicare. She works alone in the salon and hasn't had an employee in two years because of a general decline in business since the pandemic, she says.

"It used to be that families that lived in the area would come in, kids would come, I would cut their hair. People don't come by like they used to," Valadez says. "They would come from their offices to have lunch nearby, and I would see them all dressed up and open the door for them."

Things have changed in the wake of the pandemic, however. Valadez says she's been locking the salon's front door with a steel latch for a few years now, out of fear of crime in the area. But as bad as business on Colfax Avenue had been trending, she says that, until recently, she was still able to take home $1,500 a month after paying the store's rent and utilities.

That last ground beneath her feet shrank in November, when concrete barriers and pickup trucks began blocking the space outside her salon.
"Now it's been six months. The workers park here, they put up the orange cones," she says. "The truth is that you can't get through. They say that the work on the sidewalks further down is done, but it's been six months, and I don't see anything."
Monthly revenue has dropped by more than half, according to Valadez, who says she now brings home about $600 a month. The City of Denver expects the segment of BRT passing in front of her salon to finish in 2026. Major construction like tearing up the pavement or building new infrastructure hasn't started, but she doesn't know whether she'll be able to renew her five-year lease when it expires in 2027, the same year construction for the complete BRT Colfax Avenue line is expected to wrap up.

"I don't know if I could even last another five years. I don't know how much longer it's going to go on like this. They don't hurry for anything," Valadez says. "Now I only get two haircuts a day. What am I supposed to do with two haircuts a day?"

Valadez says Denver has given her everything since she immigrated about 35 years ago from Mexico City, where most of her family still lives. She originally worked as a maid when she arrived, but changed careers shortly after she enrolled at the Emily Griffith Technical College to learn English in the late '90's. While meeting a teacher after class at Emily Griffith, she saw a sign outside a classroom announcing new cosmetology courses, including a class to get started as a barber.

"I walked into the class and asked the teacher who was there what I needed to do the classes," she said. "She looked at me and said, 'motivation.' That was back when all you needed was motivation to succeed."  Valadez isn't the only Colfax Avenue business to have reported taking a hit because of BRT construction. Denon Moore, the business support director for the Colfax Avenue Business Improvement District, says that most businesses impacted during the current first phase of construction have reported a 33 percent drop in revenue, and a couple have reported losses greater than 50 percent.

The Colfax Avenue BID launched a GoFundMe to raise $10,000 for Valadez, but has only collected under $200 so far.

Martha's Beauty Salon is staying afloat because of its regulars, Valadez says.

Expecting a hit to Colfax businesses, the City of Denver set money aside for grants in a Business Impact Opportunity Fund. The Department of Economic Opportunity and Opportunity (DEDO) awarded grants worth up to $15,000 for businesses that applied in February to March, and a second window to apply for grants will open on May 13.

Valadez says she didn't apply during the first round of funding because city staff told her she didn't meet the criteria requiring proof of gross revenue of at least $30,000 in 2024. However, Shelby Morse, a spokesperson for DEDO, responded to Valadez's situation by saying, "we very much encourage her to apply."

Valadez plans to apply during the second round, "but it's very difficult," she says. Morse notes that DEDO has contracted partners that will help with the grant application, but Valadez is upset that the criteria holds "on to what happened with last year's profits" instead of looking at her long history in business there. On top of that, she doesn't trust the city's technical help and DEDO's grants are enough to fix everything around her.

"I'm just not confident the city will help," she admits. "Everything changed, even before they put up those orange cones six months ago, but it's gotten a lot worse since then. There are no more kids around. No one is renting the apartments around here. They were supposed to fix up [the 16th Street Mall], too. I don't know. I don't know if I can believe this city can do what it wants to do."
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston made several public appearances at Colfax businesses since BRT construction began. After promising to guest bartend at Colfax Avenue watering holes, he followed through with shifts at the Bourbon Grill on April 16 and a stint serving drinks at 99ers Sports Bar on April 25.

Bars and business owners have been critical of the idea, though, with Nob Hill Inn general manager Christy Simonsen saying "maybe he can fill in shifts after all my bartenders quit, because they are only making $30 a day."

Located at 571 East Colfax Avenue, Bourbon Grill sits caddy corner from Martha's Beauty Salon, so Johnston also stopped by Valadez's place on April 16. She didn't know he was the mayor until he began telling her "in perfect Spanish" that "he would deal with these problems, that they'll get the work over with right away," she remembers.

"He came with a positive tone, and it's difficult to just keep asking him, 'Why this, or why that?'" Valadez says. "The lady who owns the shop here nearby came after he left and said, 'Why didn't you tell him that we're almost finished, that our businesses are ending?' But I thought, 'Gosh, no, he came in such a good manner," even though he caught me off-guard." 

Johnston and city staff also told Valadez that Xcel Energy, Denver Water and Comcast still have to "run lines underneath" the street and that construction would start within the next two months on the sidewalks outside her salon, she says. That news only worried her more, as the sidewalk and a single Colfax Avenue lane are the only way to pass the barriers and cones already there.

"Now that they're going to remove the sidewalks. I don't know what's going to happen these two months," she says. "If people aren't going to be able to move towards my business anymore, then that's when we'll have to close."

In a statement to Westword, the Denver Mayor's office responded to Valadez's situation with the following statement:

"Colfax businesses are the heart and soul of our city, and the Colfax BRT project is a transformational opportunity to support our growing city while maintaining Colfax's unique character. Mayor Johnston had the opportunity to hear directly from Martha about her business and the way the city can support. Our teams will continue to do everything we can to support these small, locally owned businesses, drive customers and traffic throughout construction and help them see this construction through."

This article was updated on Friday, May 9, to correct an error stating that Matha Valadez only speaks Spanish. She also speaks English.