Collision Outside Little Man Ice Cream Makes a Big Internet Hit

Little Man Ice Cream has been a hit since it first opened in LoHi. Developer Paul Tamburello created the giant milk can-shaped shop in honor of his father, and put it in an empty spot at 2620 16th Street, between the two buildings in the Olinger complex in LoHi that...

By Patricia Calhoun

July 21, 2016

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Update: a tasty 9News report by Jeremy Jojola has revealed that the viral video, which had been seen by over 7 million people as of late Friday, was a "big, fat lie," with the incident likely staged by the owner of a company that rents expensive sports cars (aka "Paul Gonzo" below). But the ice cream at Little Man — which had no role in the hoax — is genuinely delicious, and the troubles at that busy intersection are real, too. Here's our original story:

Little Man Ice Cream has been a hit since it first opened in LoHi. Developer Paul Tamburello created the giant milk-can-shaped shop in honor of his father, and put it in an empty spot at 2620 16th Street, between the two buildings in the Olinger complex in LoHi that he'd turned into retail/restaurant spaces. Since then, Little Man has become a local landmark and a major gathering place — which was why there were plenty of people on hand to witness an incident that happened this past weekend.

A skateboarder was headed down the hill where West 30th Avenue and Tejon Street intersect with 16th; the junction has always been problematic, and a few years ago the city put up stop signs in an attempt to control the traffic. But a pricey sports car blew through that stop, colliding with the skateboarder. Who showed his displeasure in a very public way:

Paul Gonzo posted this video on YouTube on July 17, with this note:

I was catching a video of the sunset saw this McLaren run a stop sign and make a kid fall off his skateboard. You can hear the skateboard in the video. The passenger of the McLaren yelled something at him and the next thing I heard was a SMASH! The windshield was completely shattered.

"That's what happens when you run out of Salted Oreo," says a Little Man staffer.

Find out more about this popular Highland spot here.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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