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THE WOMEN'S ISSUE O C TO B E R 2 02 6

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LIFESTYLE LETTER

Soft and Strong

October 2026 PUBLISHER

This marks our 12th Women's Issue. Little did we know when we started this 10 years ago that it would become our most anticipated and celebrated issue of the year. It's a tradition that holds weight, importance, and inspiration, and I am amazed at how many beautiful, eclectic women we are fortunate to do life with and be in community with. My mother raised 10 children and went back to school for her nursing degree when her youngest was in kindergarten. I remember coming home from school to snacks already prepped, help with homework, and a home-cooked meal. After we went to bed, she studied. Before we woke up, she studied. I really had no idea what she was up to. All I got was a very loving and present mother. It wasn't until I got older, as often happens, that I realized how insane it was that my mom accomplished all she did, and the amount of juggling, planning, and pure insanity it took to make it all work. None of which I ever felt. It's funny how these micro-moments and observations have such a huge impact on a person. I watched my mother do all of this with what looked like ease, and it gave me the confidence that I could go out and make anything happen too. That there are no limitations when you're running on drive and optimism. That's what I see in the women throughout this issue, and in every Women's Issue before it. Limitations broken through. You'll see beautiful portraits as you flip through these pages, but behind each one is a whole story of how she got there. Late nights, early mornings, sacrifice, trials, failures, patience, integrity, compassion, and so, so much grit. What a beautiful celebration of community, and of the soft and the strong that a woman holds at the same time. Now I watch my daughter Farrah grow up surrounded by women like these, and my hope is that she picks up the same thing I did from my mom: the quiet certainty that she can do anything. I hope you feel as inspired as I do, and I challenge you to send a letter, send a text, or make a call to a woman who helped pave the way for you.

Andy Manz | amanz@citylifestyle.com M AN AG I N G E D I TO R

Kate Manz | kmanz@citylifestyle.com P U B L I CAT I O N D I R E C TO R

Chantel Ellerington | chantel.ellerington@citylifestyle.com E D I TO R , STAF F P H OTO G R AP H E R

Kelsey Huffer | kelsey.huffer@citylifestyle.com SAL E S D I R E C TO R

Jennifer Behr | jennifer.behr@citylifestyle.com E D I TO R I AL C O O R D I N ATO R

Edson Graycar | edson.graycar@citylifestyle.com C O PY E D I TO R

Anthony Firestine | anthonyjfirestine@gmail.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Meredith Rowe, Willow King, Tony Firestine C O N T R I B U T I N G P H OTO G R AP H E R S

Poppy & Co. by Kelsey Huffer, Professional Storytelling, Gina Dodge, Josh Curtiss, Kate Kavanaugh

Corporate Team CEO Steven Schowengerdt President Matthew Perry CRO Jamie Pentz CoS Janeane Thompson AD DESIGNER Rachel Chrisman LAYOUT DESIGNER Kirstan Lanier QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Brandy Thomas

I love you, Mom. Happy Women's Issue!

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Learn how to start your own publication at citylifestyle.com//franchise. Proverbs 3:5-6 Cherry Creek Lifestyle® is published monthly by Lifestyle Publications LLC. It is distributed via the US Postal Service to some of the Cherry Creek area’s most affluent neighborhoods. Articles and advertisements do not necessarily reflect Lifestyle

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Publications’ opinions. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without written consent. Lifestyle Publications does not assume responsibility for statements made by advertisers or editorial contributors. Information in Cherry Creek Lifestyle® is gathered from sources considered to be reliable, but the accuracy of all information cannot be guaranteed.

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WHY CHOOSE BETWEEN PRESTIGE AND PLACEMENT?

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Meat Me at Western Daughters Your New Favorite Restaurant is Actually a Wine Bar

Women Who Build Denver’s Boldest Founders

Breaking Records & Building Resilience How Kelsey Pfendler Approaches Solo Rowing

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7 6

1-7: Following releasing The End of Cheap Food report, Denver’s food systems strategist Kristine Root of Socha Branding hosted “future of food” happy hour. Photography by Socha Branding

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business monthly A R O U N D U P O F N E W S F R O M LO C A L B U S I N E S S E S

The Post is Cooking with Colorado The Post's Rosedale location just launched a refreshed menu rooted in local sourcing and seasonal cooking. From Rock River Bison to Hazel Dell Mushrooms, every dish starts with a Colorado relationship. The fried chicken you love is still here—and so is a whole lot more. Locally owned, neighborhood-run, and seasonally driven. Come see what's fresh. Visit ThePostColorado.com.

CONTINUED >

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Super El Niño Fuels Hype for Vail Resorts' 2026/27 Opening Vail Resorts has announced its 2026/27 opening dates as skiers anticipate a potentially snowy season fueled by Super El Niño. Keystone Resort aims to open as early as October, followed by Breckenridge on November 6, Vail on November 13, Park City Mountain and Whistler Blackcomb on November 20, and Beaver Creek and Crested Butte on November 25. Additional dates will follow. Opening dates remain weather dependent.

Photography by Zach Bartel

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Clarity First, Confidence Follows Joy Avedesian on Women's Financial Fitness

Think of your financial life the way you think about physical fitness. It isn’t built in a day, and it isn’t measured by a single number on a scale. It’s the result of steady habits, informed choices, and a plan that reflects the life you’re actually trying to live. For Joy Avedesian, Managing Partner and Principal of Denverbased The Stellarix Group, that mindset sits at the heart of how she works with women who are already succeeding—but sensing there’s a stronger, clearer version of their financial picture within reach. “Financial security doesn’t give women power,” Joy says. “It gives them options.”

“The challenge is that having options and understanding your options are two very different things,” she says. A former NCAA Division I athlete, business builder, and financial services executive, Joy is known for developing high-performing teams and helping professionals create intentional paths to success. She spends her days helping individuals, families, and business owners navigate wealth management, protection strategies, taxes, and long-term financial planning. And her experience working alongside ambitious women in business has given her a front-row seat to the financial challenges they face.

POWERFUL ON PAPER, UNCERTAIN IN PRACTICE

WHEN SUCCESS LEADS TO COMPLEXITY

Women today are earning more, leading more organizations, and accumulating more wealth than ever before. Yet many still find themselves circling the same question: Am I doing enough? According to Joy, the issue is rarely a lack of capability. More often, it’s a lack of clarity—a gap between having options and understanding them.

ARTICLE BY TONY FIRESTINE

F IN A N CIA L BU Z Z | P RO F E SSION AL SE RVICE S

Years of hard work, disciplined saving, and smart decision-making have often created a solid foundation. What many women lack isn’t results—it’s a comprehensive view of how the pieces fit together. Retirement accounts, investments, insurance policies, workplace benefits, tax strategies, and estate planning documents tend to accumulate over time. Individually, each serves a purpose.

Together, without a strategy connecting them to personal goals, they can feel more disjointed than empowering. “Many have accumulated financial products without a strategy behind them,” Joy says. That situation rarely signals failure. More often, it reflects how much women are managing at once—leading teams, raising children, caring for aging parents, supporting partners, or growing businesses. Financial planning becomes one more item on an already crowded to-do list. “Too often, I see women getting advice in pieces,” Joy says. “One person is handling investments, another is addressing her tax situation, another is drafting legal documents, but nobody is coordinating the strategy.”

TRAINING FOR A STRONGER FINANCIAL LIFE

When women take the time to organize those moving pieces around a clear vision, the results can be transformative. What once felt confusing can become manageable. What felt uncertain can become actionable. “Once we organize everything and align it with their goals, most realize they’re not behind,” she says. “They just needed a clearer roadmap.” While income can create opportunity, it does not automatically create peace of mind. “When people can clearly see where they stand, they are usually able to separate fear from reality very quickly,” Joy says. “Clarity can help create a greater sense of control.” That clarity matters even more for women who are used to excelling professionally—women accustomed to goals, feedback, and measurable benchmarks. Financial planning can feel different, making it harder to know whether they’re making progress.

A clear strategy provides the structure high achievers naturally thrive within.

DEFINING SUCCESS ON YOUR OWN TERMS

Perhaps the most empowering shift is realizing financial success doesn’t have to look the same for everyone. The women who feel most fulfilled financially are often those who’ve defined it on their own terms with a trusted advisor. “The women who are happiest financially are rarely the women trying to keep up with everyone else,” Joy explains. “They’re the women who know what matters to them and have built a plan around those priorities.” Financial fitness isn’t about perfection. It’s about intention. High-earning women have already demonstrated the discipline, resilience, and determination it takes to build a successful career. Paired with a thoughtful financial strategy, those same strengths can turn uncertainty into something far more powerful: confidence, clarity, and the freedom to build a future that reflects their own vision of success. Learn more and start building a plan today at StellarixGroup.com, or email contact@stellarixgroup.com. Local firms are sales offices of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Springfield, MA 01111-0001 and are not subsidiaries of MassMutual or its affiliated companies. Joy Avedesian is a registered representative of and offers securities and investment advisory services through MML Investors Services, LLC, Member SIPC. OSJ: 2000 S Colorado Blvd, Tower 2, Ste 800, Denver, CO, 80222-7952, (303) 692-8183.

“Too often, I see women getting advice in pieces. One person is handling investments, another is addressing her tax situation, another is drafting legal documents, but nobody is coordinating the strategy.” — Joy Avedesian, Managing Partner and Principal

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Grounded in Denver. Guiding you toward what’s possible. Meet Joy Avedesian: Bringing wealth management, business scaling, and motivational energy to Denver’s high-performance leaders. Joy Avedesian

Managing Partner, Stellarix Group Registered Principal, MMLIS

As Managing Partner of The Stellarix Group, Joy delivers results by drawing on her two decades of sales leadership, her business-building experience, financial advisor recruiting strategies, and leadership insights. Her standards are high, but her focus is simple: helping growth-minded people build momentum — in their finances, in their businesses, and in their lives.

Are you serious about scaling what matters? Learn more at StellarixGroup.com Contact@StellarixGroup.com | 303-692-8183

Local firms are sales offices of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Springfield, MA 01111-0001 and are not subsidiaries of MassMutual or its affiliated companies. Joy Avedesian is a registered representative of and offers securities and investment advisory services through MML Investors Services, LLC.(MMLIS) Member SIPC. OSJ: 2000 S Colorado Blvd, Tower 2, Ste 800, Denver, CO, 80222-7952, (303) 692-8183. MM202905-315899

Photo by Josh Curtiss

H OT SP OT | FO O D + BEVERAGE

M ea t M e at

Western Daughters Your New Favorite Restaurant is Actually a Wine Bar ARTICLE BY MEREDITH ROWE PHOTOGRAPHY BY PROFESSIONAL STORYTELLING

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Have you ever had a meal so good that part of you wants to never mention it to anyone? But then it’s also so good that every time someone asks for a good date spot or somewhere to catch up with a girlfriend or a place to celebrate an anniversary, it immediately pops into your mind? Well, that is the experience of Western Daughters Wine Bar, a perfectly intimate neighborhood spot in The Highlands that is also worth traveling across town—and beyond—for. But let’s back up for a moment, because the story about how Western Daughters Butcher Shoppe also became Western Daughters Wine Bar is as compelling as the food and drink menu they’re offering. Or as Noah Heaney tells it, “We full on Kool-Aid Man-ed through the doorway, and then we called the building owner and said, ‘By the way we’re taking over next door.’” Back in 2013, Kate Kavanaugh and Josh Curtiss opened what they lovingly refer to as a hole-in-the-wall butcher shop. To source the meat, they started cold calling Colorado farms and ranches in search of regenerative practices, 100% grass-fed beef and lamb, and pasture-raised, omnivorous pigs and chickens.

“We got laughed off the phone,” says Curtiss. “Now it’s much easier to find, but back then it was not easy.” It was so difficult, in fact, that Kavanaugh helped co-write legislation to change poultry processing to improve their ability to procure chicken locally. To this day, they continue to source local whole animals directly from farms and ranches that they’ve worked with for almost a decade. They then break them down in-house for steaks, short ribs, brisket, and more for the butcher shoppe, the wine bar, and their meat club. The name Western Daughters refers to Kavanaugh’s greatgrandmother who immigrated to the United States from Ireland in the 1800s with her husband and five daughters. Upon arriving in Philadelphia, her husband passed away, and she

packed up her daughters in a covered wagon and moved them west to settle in Sterling, Colorado. There’s a photo of these brave women hanging in the butcher shoppe, continuing to watch over Kavanaugh and her customers. For those familiar with the area, you’ll know the Western Daughters Wine Bar space has had a few different businesses rotate through. This time, when it became available, they had the right team in place to be able to expand their business and show what can be done with meat when it’s treated really well. They have a similar approach to all of the ingredients on the menu. In the summertime, they have a basket of Mike’s Tomatoes in the shoppe and also spotlight them in a salad alongside peaches. He’s been crossbreeding his own tomatoes for 10 years and brings in a crate in exchange for meat. In the fall, Chef Chris Snider is looking forward to bringing Chile Colorado with tortillas and cabbage to the menu. He’s also planning to dry-age pork chops and serve them alongside apple butter and mostarda, and he will be making beef raviolo.

The plan is to keep everything seasonal and local and to intentionally layer flavors and textures to really let the ingredients shine. No matter the season, they also make an effort to keep refined sugar at a minimum and do not use seed oils. “After eating this steak, you can tell the chef respects the meat he serves,” says Noah Heaney, who is responsible for the extensive wine program as well as the 30-foot walnut bar. In fact, it’s clear that the entire project is a labor of love, shared by the people who are making every day at Western Daughters memorable. “Tim holds babies while people go to the bathroom,” says Heaney. “And I’ve never seen him not sit down with a table.” He’s of course referring to Tim Kuykenndall, the man with the bow tie who will be taking your order, mixing your drinks, and generally elevating this from a bar to an experience.

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H OT SP OT | FO O D + BEVERAGE

Photo by Kate Kavanaugh OCTOB ER 2 0 2 6 | C I TYL I FE STYL E . C OM/C H E R RYC R E E K

H OT SP OT | FO O D + BEVERAGE

In addition to changing out the menu, they’ll also be bringing butchering into the wine bar, allowing customers to choose their cut from the far end of the bar. This is just one more step in their effort to bring high-quality ingredients from ranchers and farmers directly to the consumer. “This is the result of 13 years of Josh and Kate grinding to introduce people to unmanipulated meat and making relationships with farmers and growers,” says Heaney. “It’s more accessible for people who don’t know where to start.”

“After eating this steak, you can tell the chef respects the meat he serves.” — Noah Heaney

The most consistent thing I heard from each staff member is how collaborative the environment is and how aligned they are around that ethos and intentionality. They’re also incredibly humble, so I had to trick them into saying nice things about each other. “Noah has extensive wine experience,” says Curtiss. “He’s approaching the wine list with the same intentionality as the meat.” At any given time, there are about 40 bottles on the menu, pretty much all by the glass and priced so they’re approachable. The goal is to have people try things they’ve never had or heard of before. They’re all natural wines and are organic and biodynamic wherever possible. As the weather cools off, Curtiss is looking forward to bringing in more winter whites that can hold up to heartier dishes. For more info on the hours, menus, and ethos, head to WesternDaughters.com or just make a plan to pop in.

Photo by Kate Kavanaugh OCTOB ER 2 0 2 6 | C I TYL I FE STYL E . C OM/C H E R RYC R E E K

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Women Who Build Denver's Boldest Founders From craft beer to clean food, these Denver women are shaping the businesses and spaces we love. Meet the founders turning bold ideas into thriving ventures. Their stories reveal what it really takes to build something lasting from the ground up.

ARTICLE BY WILLOW KING PHOTOGRAPHY BY POPPY & CO. BY KELSEY HUFFER

LOCA L LIM E LIGH T | L I FE + CU LT U RE

The Art of Slowing Down: Ariana Barnstable's Lazy Cowgirl Ariana Barnstable built an art practice that prioritizes peace. That's exactly what happened when she started painting boots for a costume designer one summer in Steamboat Springs, and the Lazy Cowgirl, part self-portrait and part collective daydream, rode onto the canvas and never left. "She is a reflection of the envisioned life I would like to live," Barnstable says, "a version of a woman who values her peace." Born from the wide-open spirit of the West, the Lazy Cowgirl has since traveled everywhere Barnstable goes, showing up in gallery installations from Mollie Aspen to The Ramble, always living, as she puts it, her best life in beautiful settings. For Barnstable, "lazy" isn't a flaw to correct but a philosophy to reclaim, an invitation to marinate in slow moments in a culture that treats rest as taboo. That same instinct for intentional living shapes her work off the canvas, too. As artist-in-residence at EDIT in Denver's RiNo district, she's built a hub for women artists, hosting dinners, market pop-ups, and rooftop parties that turn a solitary practice into a shared one. Her advice to young artists moving to Denver? Believe in yourself past the point of reason—the city tends to show up for those who ask.

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Megan Falley on Grief, Poetry, and What Doesn’t Suck After her 2018 collection, Drive Here and Devastate Me, Megan Falley was working mostly in prose and memoir, certain that was where she would stay. Then Andrea Gibson, her partner of nearly a decade and the beloved poet behind the blog Things That Don't Suck, died after a long cancer journey. The first thing Falley wrote afterward was a poem. She calls these bursts "poetry emergencies," moments when a feeling or image strikes so hard she has to grab a pen before it disappears. It is a fitting description for grief itself, at once fleeting and permanent, small in form but bottomless in what it holds. Falley has continued Andrea's blog since their death, describing the work as a kind of continuation rather than a memorial. She writes through Andrea's lens now, processing her own life through the question of what doesn't suck. It feels, she says, like keeping someone alive. She could not keep the breath in Andrea's lungs, but she can keep their words moving through the world. Much of that world was built here, in Boulder and the foothills around it. Coot Lake, the Boulder Reservoir, Chautauqua Park, and the Sanitas Valley Trail all carry pieces of the life she shared with Andrea and their three dogs: Squash, Idgie, and Winnebago. Their relationship is now the subject of a documentary streaming on Apple TV+, and Falley hopes viewers take away something beyond illness. The joy in their story was not separate from the cancer, she says. It was sharpened by it. Andrea's final years held laughter, devotion, and an almost athletic commitment to being alive. "I also hope people, especially women, understand what a waste it is to spend our lives hating our bodies for how they look," Falley says. "A living body is not an aesthetic problem to solve. It is the place where every joy we will ever experience gets to happen. And, if we're lucky, every grief, too." For Falley, that same refusal to treat pain as something separate from life extends to grief itself. "Grief is a very welcome feeling for me," she says. "It feels so close to love, and so close to connection. It keeps me in relationship with Andrea rather than outside of it, so I never wish it away. I fear the end of grief. I hope to be in my eighties, crying over Andrea, while an onlooker mistakes it for fresh hurt, and I open my mouth to tell them an old story. "That doesn't mean I won't be dancing, unraveling in laughter, or running into the ocean a minute after crying. My grief and my utter elation at being alive exist side by side, quite comfortably, really. Taking turns. Even holding hands." AndreaGibson.Substack.com/p/ The-Only-Thing-We-Have-Control-Over

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Chantel Columna’s Novel Strand The idea for Novel Strand Brewing Company started over a few pints and a game of shuffleboard. Chantel met her now-husband and business partner Tamir, along with co-founder Ayana, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Between rounds at their favorite local bar, the three joked about one day opening a brewery together while dabbling in homebrewing on the side. A 2014 trip to Denver turned the vision into a plan. Chantel and Tamir fell for the city and Colorado's outdoor life, and by fall 2015 they had moved west to chase it. Novel Strand Brewing Company officially formed in July 2016, and after collaborating with established breweries to build a following before they even had a taproom, the doors opened in the summer of 2018 in Denver's Historic Baker Neighborhood. The name came from Tamir's background in biochemistry, landing on something that captured the brewery's spirit: changes in DNA aren't good or bad, just different. That philosophy became the brand. Chantel's role has always been running the business rather than making the beer, and ask her what she's most proud of, and she points to the community she built around it. She started the brewery's book club, now in its fifth year and grown to five groups across different genres, along with a run club now in its second year. Both have become gathering points for the neighborhood. Coming from construction and civil engineering, Chantel was used to being one of the only women in the room, and craft beer wasn't so different. Early on, suppliers sometimes assumed Tamir was the sole owner or directed decisions to him by default. Tamir made a point of keeping her in every conversation, and Chantel never let the assumptions slow her down. Nearly a decade in, the brewery has grown from beer alone into a full bar and espresso program, proof of how far that persistence has taken them. CONTINUED >

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Steph Lindsey: Urban Sanctuary + Black Unicorn Collective For this Urban Sanctuary teacher, the path to founding her own wellness company began as a whisper. By early 2020, after nearly 14 years as an art educator and photography professor, she was ready to teach yoga more seriously and set her sights on a studio built to center Black, Indigenous, and Global Majority practitioners. She found it at Urban Sanctuary, in Denver's Historic Five Points neighborhood, right as the pandemic sent the world home, teaching her first classes over Zoom, fear of being seen and all. Urban Sanctuary is the only Black woman-owned yoga and wellness studio in the state. Founded in 2016 by Ali Duncan (currently on sabbatical in Southeast Asia), the studio gives teachers of the Global Majority space to bring therapeutic modalities like Yoga Asana, Reiki, and Meditation to communities long excluded from them, anchored in pillars of Authenticity, Community Care & Social Justice, Cultural Wisdom, Accessibility, and Transformation. The studio treats wellbeing as inseparable from justice, framing its work as liberation rather than indulgence. New visitors can try a month of unlimited classes for $77, or a week for $13, and the studio's nonprofit arm accepts donations supporting therapy work in Black and Indigenous communities of color. That leap eventually carried Steph fully into yoga in 2025, focusing on building up Black Unicorn Collective, a space, she says, "born to honor the brilliance, resilience, and labor of Black women before me and around me." Drawing on Audre Lorde's teaching that self-care is self-preservation and political warfare, she frames wellness not as indulgence but as lineage, an inheritance reclaimed through meditation, movement, stillness, and storytelling. Her creative process runs on instinct rather than routine. A self-described "mercurial air sign," she does her best thinking between 11:30 p.m. and 3:30 a.m., and gravitates toward collaborators willing to try, fail, and treat the failure as research. Off the mat, recharging looks like solitude: journaling, cooking, or an unglamorous dance party while watering her plants, always with music playing. Her curiosities run wide too. TED Talks, Vedic philosophy, African cosmology, and space, each feeding the same hunger for connection between ancient wisdom and daily life. Find Steph's virtual offerings and upcoming retreats at TheBlackUnicornCollective.com, or catch her teaching Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at Urban Sanctuary.

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Melinda Tarbell: Two Decades of Style, One Vintage Find at a Time After 20 years styling major campaigns for brands like PACT, New Balance, HOKA, and Volkswagen, to name a few, Melinda Tarbell has built a second career that mirrors her first: FOUND Vintage, a sustainable clothing project where every vintage piece in her curated pop-up shop is hand-selected by her alone. The idea had been percolating for a decade before Melinda finally launched it. The push came after relocating from Los Angeles to Colorado, in the middle of grief following her father's death. "I heard the whisper of my dad's advice, 'You can't make a mistake,'" she says. "So I shifted my mindset from maybe someday to how about now." The two worlds, she says, feed each other. Styling is her passion and keeps her eye attuned to current trends as she works with global brands to advertise their products; FOUND gives her a playground for her own creative direction. Sourcing trips built around brand photoshoots double as scouting missions, which is part of why the shop reads less like a straightforward rack and more like a traveled map, full of pieces gathered on the road. That instinct for curation shows up in how FOUND presents its finds: in themed capsule collections rather than a flat shop grid. One recent example is the FOUND Vintage "Old School Edit." The concept was born from a single 1990s Tommy Hilfiger button-up shirt that sparked the visual direction for the early Fall campaign. When curating the FOUND collections, Melinda is drawn towards natural fabrics and quality construction. At FOUND Vintage, you will always find a range of price points so sustainable dressing stays accessible to her customers. The hardest part of the job may be restraint. "There are pieces I find when sourcing that I fall in love with," she admits, sometimes hoping an item won't fit so she isn't tempted to keep it. However, watching a client light up in a vintage piece of clothing with real history is worth the sacrifice, she says. Proof that these FOUND Vintage treasures deserve a new chapter. FoundVintage.co CONTINUED >

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Four Generations Strong: The Women Keeping Pacific Mercantile Alive At Sakura Square in Denver, Pacific Mercantile has weathered 83 years of change, including internment camps, shifting neighborhoods, and now a new wave of redevelopment. Through it all, the store has stayed in the hands of one family, and today it's being carried forward by a mother and daughter writing the next chapter together. Jolie Noguchi stepped into the role of matriarch after her own mother passed away, inheriting not just a business but a responsibility to preserve decades of values and hard-won resilience. She credits her brothers and extended family for helping her find her footing during that transition, and says the work ethic her mother instilled is what keeps her showing up every day. Now Jolie is watching that legacy pass again, this time to her daughter Alyssa, who left a career in fashion merchandising to return to the store fulltime after her grandmother's death. Alyssa says she'd always felt connected to Pacific Mercantile, having worked there on and off her whole life, but it was watching her mother struggle to manage everything alone that pushed her to commit fully. She describes the decision as one her mother never pressured her into, letting her arrive at it on her own terms. Working side by side hasn't been without friction. Alyssa pushes her mother to embrace new technology, something Jolie admits she resists, while Jolie encourages her more reserved daughter to step into the outgoing, people-first role the business demands. Still, both agree on the fundamentals: treating employees like family, greeting each day with warmth, and using the store's platform to educate customers about its history. As Sakura Square heads toward redevelopment, both women are focused on the balance between honoring the past and building for the future. They hope to preserve the store's round front window, a symbol of unity and the cycle of life, along with the close-knit, family feel that has defined Pacific Mercantile for generations. Their goal is for the store to remain a hub not just for the Japanese American community, but for Denver as a whole, for decades to come.

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BREAKING

RESILI BUILDING

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RECORDS &

IENCE How Kelsey Pfendler Approaches Solo Rowing

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As with many of the best things in life, Kelsey Pfendler’s notoriety as a rower and career as a raft guide began as a Groupon deal her mother got for her birthday. Pfendler immediately loved being on the water and cornered a guide after the experience, asking how to get into the profession. Before that day, she thought she had two options: go to college or into the military. That experience opened up a whole new world. She showed up for free for the rest of the summer, got licensed, and has been a rafting guide ever since, first in upstate New York, then on the Arkansas River, and now primarily in the Grand Canyon from her home base in Buena Vista, Colorado. Fast forward to this summer, and Pfendler picked up three records for her solo row from Monterey, California, to the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. She covered over 2,400 miles in 43 days, 17 hours, 55 minutes, and 59 seconds, making her the fastest ever, first American woman, and youngest woman. To accomplish this feat, she had to put in lots of prep and planning, carefully charting her course and finding a weather window to reduce the risk of a hurricane. “I have a healthy respect for each crossing,” says Pfendler. “If you don't respect the ocean, it will teach you to respect it.” The physical challenge is the easiest part to plan for. She power lifts and does lots of erging. Sleep deprivation and isolation are much harder. Instead, she focuses on her mental toughness and ability to tolerate being uncomfortable. “The way I look at these things, being tired is no different than being uncomfortable or stressed,” says Pfendler. “That’s how I approach stress in general. I intentionally work on how I react to negative feelings in my life and my internal self-talk.”

Over time, small negative self-talk throughout the day can build up. In her experience, if you get overwhelmed by the small things, you’re more likely to go straight to catastrophizing. This is not an option when you’re out on the open water, thousands of miles from shore. To practice her reactions, Pfendler does lots of endurance training through long runs. She also does what she refers to as “solo weird backpacking” and tries to be stoked about things that objectively stink. “The point is to be happy through the hard thing,” says Pfendler. “I’m pretty consistently looking for ways to do that in my life. Be happy in a hard situation, and you’re kinda winning at life.” All of this paid off for her immensely when she was rowing solo for 18 hours a day. Her own resilience surprised her, and there was never a moment where she thought about not wanting to be there. That’s why she was able to break so many records. “It’s amazing how our bodies are and how much they can take,” says Pfendler. “Your body adjusts to anything you put it through…almost.” Physically, she hasn’t had much of a recovery since the row. She trained hard and intentionally, and that very much paid off. What she hadn’t prepared for was the spotlight or the expectation to be on and answering emails. She’s very torn about her current position. On one hand, she knows her popularity on social media is good for the sport and for the women and girls who have seen her accomplish this very hard thing. She was also able to raise $200,000 for the Whale Foundation, which supported her following a significant PTSD event and provided her with healthcare. On the other hand, she didn’t set out to become an influencer. She just loves ocean CONTINUED >

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Despite making national and international headlines, she has no expectation she'll be able to make this her only career. She is pursuing nursing school and is continuing to work as a guide in the Grand Canyon. That said, she does have a big project coming up and is looking for funding as she sets her sights on crossing the Indian Ocean solo. To learn more about Pfendler and to follow along on her next journey, head to YouRowKelsey.com or follow her on Instagram or TikTok @yourowkelsey.

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rowing and is conflicted about the expectation to sell as a part of her sport. For her solo row, she had some small sponsorships, but it was mostly funded by her overtime hours at the hospital. Because she’s lived in a car and now a van, she’s been able to save. “That's how dreams work,” says Pfendler. “I am just a human being that is not from money, and I really wanted something. I work really hard, save money, and am willing to be less comfortable in my living situation. These things take a lot of money.”

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Around Town October Sundays in October VINYL BRUNCH SUNDAYS AT LOCAL JONES

Local Jones turns Sunday brunch into a party with food, drinks, and vinyl spinning from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each week. Visit LocalJones.com for more information.

17th - 18th

Photo Courtesy of Four Mile Historic Park

10th ESPRESSO SESSIONS°

Cherry Creek’s favorite casual-yetelevated morning social gathering returns to the Corner Drugs patio. Coffee, house music, champagne & more. Before your other plans.

PUMPKIN HARVEST FESTIVAL AT FOUR MILE HISTORIC PARK

Celebrate fall with a pumpkin patch, apple cider churros, historic demonstrations, and family activities at Four Mile Historic Park. New this year are an accessible pumpkin patch and a hands-on Sensory Station. For more information and tickets, go to FourMilePark.org.

29th

9th - 11th PUMPKIN FESTIVAL AT CHATFIELD FARMS

Celebrate fall at Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms with a 10-acre pumpkin patch, corn maze, and family-friendly activities. For tickets, visit BotanicGardens.org/Events/PublicEvents/Pumpkin-Festival.

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10th - 11th GABF AFTER PARTY AT THE POST, 4-8 P.M.

Keep the party going after Great American Beer Festival — head to The Post in Rosedale for a Broadway Block Party. They’re roasting a whole pig on the patio, served up with seasonal local sides. Post Brewmaster Nick Tedeschi is tapping a specially infused firkin just for the occasion. Add a DJ, live screen printing, and sweet treats from Fat Batter Ice Cream, and you’ve got the after-party GABF didn’t know it needed.

BOONION STATION AT DENVER UNION STATION

Denver Union Station hosts its 12th annual BOOnion Station with trickor-treating, mini-train rides, balloon artists, face painting, and a costume contest throughout the Great Hall and Wynkoop Plaza. For more information, visit DenverUnionStation.com.

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