5280 Magazine

Founded in 1993, 5280 is the largest local magazine in Colorado. The magazine's stories often make national headlines, and since 2005 5280 has been nominated for four National Magazine Awards. Get 5280 Magazine digital subscription today.

5280 Magazine

New Flavors

ROBERT SANCHEZ • Senior Staff Writer

Till Shred Do Us Part

Los Lobos • It’s been a whirlwind for Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) since the public voted to reintroduce wolves to the Centennial State in 2020—including negotiating a deal with Oregon to obtain canids and navigating an 11th-hour lawsuit from local ranchers seeking (unsuccessfully) to stall the effort. But while CPW released 10 wolves into Grand, Summit, and Eagle counties this past December, that’s only the first step toward a successful reintroduction. Here’s what we can expect in the years ahead.

Endless Summer • Come March, even Colorado’s ski bums are ready to book the next flight to Cabo for a little heat. You don’t have to leave the Front Range to enjoy summer vibes, though. At these four local spots, the weather’s always right.

Infinite Wisdom • Diamonds aren’t the only things that last forever. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS) can take more than a millennium to break down—and are potentially carcinogenic. That’s why Colorado’s Legislature banned the chemicals in 2022. The first phase went into effect in January, and next year, the embargo will expand to include cosmetics and beauty products. But why wait? There are plenty of Colorado-made, PFAS-free products ready to revamp your skincare routine.

Optimum Prime • True to its author, Deion Sanders’ Elevate and Dominate: 21 Ways to Win On and Off the Field, due to be published on March 12, is packed with lofty rhetoric, underneath which lie some serviceable kernels of wisdom. Our biggest criticism? Prime rarely uses anecdotes from his first year as the University of Colorado Boulder’s head football coach to illustrate his points—a tactic that would have earned the book immediate induction into our state’s literary canon. So we did it for him.

Self Help • As co-founder of Colorado- and California-based interior design firm Studio Mesa, Cameron Shepherd has created spaces for high-profile Hollywood executives and movie producers. But he recently remodeled an early 1980s Evergreen home for his most challenging client yet: himself. To help you survive your own home makeover, we asked Shepherd about what he learned being his own boss.

Trucking Along

Restaurant Of Dreams? • The Welton Room Lounge in Five Points delivers on style and inventive cocktails, but diners have yet to come en masse.

NEW & NOTABLE • Next time you’re in Five Points, check out these recently opened eating and drinking spots.

Overserved • COVID-19 culture drove us to drink. Now, Colorado hospitals are grappling with soaring levels of liver disease.

EXPANDING THE PALATE • For decades, the kaleidoscopic cookery of Africa has blossomed in the Mile High City. We look at how the flavors of this vibrant and varied continent have brightened up the local culinary landscape—and introduced Denverites to a new world of flavor.

SEASONED TRAVELS • IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO DISTILL THE CULINARY TRADITIONS OF 54 COUNTRIES AND WELL OVER 1,000 ETHNIC GROUPS INTO A ONE-PAGE PRIMER. INSTEAD, WE SPOKE WITH LOCAL AND NATIONAL EXPERTS TO HELP US BREAK DOWN SOME OF THE COUNTRY-SPECIFIC CUISINES AND STAPLE INGREDIENTS YOU’RE MOST LIKELY TO ENCOUNTER IN COLORADO.

WHAT’S INSIDE COUNTS

BAD BLOOD

RIGHT IS RIGHT

TEA TIME

OLD FRIEND NEW TRICKS • If you haven’t visited Colorado Springs recently, the growing city may have surprises in store for you. Here, a guide to the hip additions that are reinvigorating Denver’s neighbor to the south.

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