Week of December 29, 2022
$1.00
An edition of the Littleton Independent A publication of
VOLUME 22 | ISSUE 6
Small drop unlikely to reverse skyrocketing home prices Sellers, buyers play waiting game BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
connection to all things deliciously French and a manifestation of Ranaut’s lifelong dream to lead and grow a team of prominent pastry professionals. Renaut describes La Belle as a boutique French bakery,
Danielle and Stephan Storinsky “saw the writing on the wall.” It foretold how the housing market might change. So, earlier this year, the married couple sold their Arvada townhome. They timed it just right. They capitalized before concerns about inflation took center stage. They sold their home when the metro area was gripped by historically high housing prices. They bought their townhome about five years ago for $285,000. They sold for $521,000. “That part’s pretty nice because now we have a decent amount of money to put down on something,” Stephan Storinsky said. But now, on the other side of cashing in, they find themselves playing a waiting game. Even with the tidy profit they hauled in, they are struggling to find a home at a good value. Houses on the market today “are just not worth the price that people are asking,” said Stephan Storinsky. The couple are living with parents, constantly keeping their eyes open for a good deal. The couple isn’t alone. While the number of available metro area houses shot upward in a year, so has the number of days those homes are
SEE LA BELLE, P6
SEE HOUSING, P8
Wild, crazy and definitely not your traditional French bakery, French-born Julien Renaut says many Americans may not know that when it comes to French bakeries, there is a very large range of possibilities — and chef styles. While he always respects the fundamentals, the 36-year-old chef is not afraid to experiment with tradition. PHOTO COURTESY OF LA BELLE FRENCH BAKERY
Avant-garde French chef pushes bread, pastries — and boundaries Launches second location BY DEBORAH GRIGSBY DGRIGSBY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
For Julien Renaut, bread is life. But then again, so are croissants, éclairs and other fine pastries.
And while the 36-year-old French-born chef will be among the first to admit that he was never much of an academic, his prowess in the kitchen, and as the founder of La Belle French Bakery, is another story. La Belle, or “the beautiful,” as it translates, is the area’s newest
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | CALENDAR: PAGE 15
CITY TO THE SLOPES Initiative aims to help city kids make tracks
P12