We are so excited!
THE BUZZ: Creative fun out of the box
By Dave Flomberg, Rocky Mountain News
Originally published 07:00 p.m., April 17, 2008
Updated 08:33 p.m., April 17, 2008
It feels like forever ago. It was a cool spring morning, and I had spent the night. Mrs. Buzz (then simply known as "the girlfriend") had her own studio apartment just off 11th Avenue and Broadway.
"I'm going to borrow your car and get something to make for breakfast," she said, a little breathless at the excitement of shared domesticity. I consented and leaned back on the futon (yes, we were young and broke), visions of French toast and pancakes and eggs and waffles dancing through my head. She was back in a flash, carrying a brown paper grocery bag, sporting a grin both sheepish and mischievous at the same time, like an imp who had played a prank on a child and suddenly regretted it.
She reached into the bag and pulled out a box of Apple Jacks, a carton of milk, two plastic bowls and two spoons.
"I got to the store and realized I don't even own a pan," she said.
I was in love.
Those memories came flooding back as we sat in the window of The Shoppe, a magical nook of a cupcake- and-cereal-spot on East Colfax, on a stretch I've decided should be renamed the Happiest Block in Denver.
And yes, before you say anything, I'm aware of the irony of that moniker, considering Colfax's storied history. But I mean "happy" in the sense of childlike wonder and innocence, not in the Tijuana-and-a-bottle-of-mescal sense. The Shoppe shares the block with Fabric Lab and the Plastic Chapel, and I dare you to walk into any of the three spots and not smile. Just try it.
The Shoppe blends the best parts of all three, balancing a whimsical collection of plastic doodads and toys, local magazines and arts and crafts throughout the small space. The white folding chairs and tables chatter happily at you as you make your way to the counter, where the friendly guy with the Mohawk trades snarky Judd Apatow-style banter with the patrons. Charming and slightly subversive art hangs on the walls, works by local gems such as Ray Young Chu and Mike Graves.
Mrs. Buzz ordered a small vanilla-on-vanilla cupcake and bowl of Apple Jacks; I ponied up the $6 for a colossal Munny Cupcake topped with a mountain of purple icing, mostly because it came with an awesome mini plastic ray gun/zipper pull baked into it. I was able to get through about three bites of the cupcake's chocolaty goodness before the sugar rush constricted the blood flow to the capillaries in my eyeballs.
There's a small lounge area with low-slung, mod-style seating and a flat-screen TV, perfect for the knitters and other make-generation types who spend time here; The Shoppe boasts both free wi-fi and a robust collection of art and design books.
Best of all, The Shoppe is open as late as the rest of the bars on Colfax on the weekends - a perfect contrast to that scene, and without a dollop of the pretension common to many coffeehouses in Denver.
The Shoppe
3103 E. Colfax Ave.
303-322-3969
* Saturday nights: Do-it-your-Damn- Self and Design + Art Movie nights; 7 p.m.-2 a.m., bring in any crafts you're working on and catch a flick. April's featured films by Hayao Miyazaki.
* The cereal menu boasts more than 20 brands of cereal and more than a dozen toppings, along with organic, fat-free, soy, rice and almond milks.
* Arguably the best cupcakes in the universe.
