The Noco Pulse | Week of May 25th

Welcome to the Noco Pulse, where we are keeping our polls on what's going on in Northern Colorado to keep you up to date with all the business and community news. I'm Kelsey Harris, the owner of this is Noco and Discover Noco magazine. But who is with me today? It's not Kurt Bear, so who's my podcast guest? My name is Patrick Sukup. I run a small real estate team here in Fort Collins, and I also run a YouTube channel living in Fort Collins. So kind of similar thing, talking about all things that are happening in Fort Collins and Northern Colorado focused on the great community that we would. That's an I don't say this a lot, but I actually sometimes get events from Patrick's Instagram page. So if you're looking for events that maybe I didn't find, he has really good ones over there too. It's all about collaborating here in Northern Colorado, people helping people. So that's this week. Patrick is jumping in while Kurt is gone. Don't worry. He will be back and we are going to keep you up today on what's going on. So we will get started with our on the move segment. As you know, miles beyond running sponsors this segment and their next event is coming up next weekend. It is the Welder Medal. Remember, it is that seven K all the way up to an ultra marathon. You are running in a private field. You've got saunas, cold plunges. You can go and experience it all. Personally, if I was doing it, the seven K is about as far as I can go, but you never know what you've gotten. So this week, we are looking at what is moving and shaking around Noco. And if you guys have not met Monica from plantiness, she moves happiness all around globally, really. She started plantiness in 2020 to spread happiness to the world. And she has given away over 5,000 free plants. She hosts pop-ups. She hosts collaborations with tattoo artists and the crowded bookshelf and other makers. And it is Monica's birthday this week and to celebrate, she is giving us free plants. So you can find Monica Thursday, the 28th at the old town music, which is the burrows this week kicking off the free music in downtown. Find her, say happy birthday and grab a free plant. So Patrick, what's moving around your side of Northern Colorado? I love how locally you are. That is amazing. I'm going to live a bit more corporate. We've got Shake Shack opening up on May 31st at the shops along college over at the foothills mall. And that's exciting, but really the more exciting piece of that was kind of the background information. So the McQuinnies, which is real berry, local developer here in Northern Colorado, they own it. They bought it a few years ago for like pennies on the dollar for like $45 million. The entire, you know, campus that is the foothills mall. I love that $45 million is pennies on the dollar, which is wow. When you consider Alberta development, put in $350 million to like build it on what it currently looks like. So it does seem a little bit like of a discount. Yes, that okay. I'll give them that. But the cool thing is is we had Clyde Wood on podcast like years ago and it was right when the McQuinnies essentially had bought this development. And they were talking about how they're going to remove 200,000 square feet of the mall, make it more of like an open air concept. But between like water costs, like just development fees, like so many different things and challenges is just kind of been stagnant. But with the sale, they sold the shops along college to a national investment firm. It's probably the most like lucrative part of the entire development, those shops where you've got like Kava and Skecky Louis. Oh, yeah, cycle bar torches. Exactly. They're all actually full, which is nice. Yeah. But they sold that to the national investor, which will hopefully give them the ability to now focus on the major development, which will be the actual foothills mall. Oh, okay. So they kept the actual mall portion. Yes. So now, finally, after like years of like a ghost town in one of the most like premier locations in all of Fort Collins, we should start to see some like actual movement along like the residential side of things and actually maybe some redevelopment of that mall. Wow. Okay. That's very interesting. Cause yeah, I knew about Shake Shack, but didn't know some of the background or the history. And so I'll be interested to see because as someone who has lived here since the mall used to have the fountain. Yes. I'm excited to see hopefully them bring back some of them all character and shops and movement. It was a place to hang out and now it's like a place to like avoid. Yes, that's all the time we do highlight that the mall does a really good job bringing in local artists in their empty spaces because they have so many. Sure. But hopefully those artists can utilize other spaces as we fill them with stores. Absolutely. Yes. And if you actually I'll go park two of that. If you are in the mall, one of the cool things is that they have allowed some space to be rented out for like pennies on the dollar again. But the toy library. Oh, yes, we love the toy library. It's in a massive space. They're getting it at a very significant discount. You go, you borrow the toy, you come, you play with it and bring it back. I mean, it's something very unique to. Yes. And now that they're in that bigger space, they've started hosting game nights and community gatherings. We love that, that they've really given them that opportunity. Right. Beautiful. Well, I'm excited to see what movement we see there. I do think Shake Shack opens like next week. So if you're excited about that, look for the grand opening. And next, we've got our community gatherings, which is brought to us by Ginger and Baker. Again, next week, you've got all the things that you can check out. Ginger and Baker has their eighth annual dog flower crown photo day. So on Saturday, the 31st, bring your pop over, make a flower crown, get a photo taken. This is free, but they do ask that you RSVP. So they know how many four-legged friends are going to show up. So you can do that on their website. Next week for community gatherings, we've got downtown long months, downtown dress up night. They do this. I think it's the fourth Saturday of every month, and it's always a different theme. May is Gala night. So bust out the clothes that you don't normally get to wear. All the downtown shops hold specials and events, and it's a great time. That starts at 5 p.m. on Saturday, the 31st. So where are you gathering this week? You know, with it being Memorial Day weekend, the pools are opening up all over the place. I'm sure on Monday, we'll find yourself at some pool, playing around. You know, but otherwise this last weekend was really interesting. I had a friend pull up to my house and said, we're going to a concert. And I said, all right, you know, I'm sure I'll join us. We went to the Magic Rat. And I feel like we're college just always has something going on, whether it be at Washington's, the Armory, Magic Rat. There's just such a cool vibe here. So every weekend, we went and saw Loche Cheezies. Oh, I've never seen them. Have you heard of their name? Yes. I've posted about, I've posted all the events. I've posted them. Oh my gosh. I don't know what kind of music it is. I've never seen them. I was, I got in the car and they go, it's a Mexican scaw band. And I'm like, wait, wait, wait, wait. Like, so it's like legitimately like this, like, upbeat Mexican music, like band, you know, big band music. Yeah. It was an absolute blast. Okay, Ben would love that. He loved scoff for a while. So we'll now have to find them. Yes. I was like, the first two drinks, I was like, was like, kind of like, hand and pocket. Oh. The third drink I had loosened up. Yeah. Like, in the congeline. We're here for this. I am. Like, okay, no, that's, I had no idea what kind of music they were. Wow. So excellent. So find them. Follow them online. We can all go conga together next time that they're playing. But our next one is community supporting community. And so this is brought to us by Breeze through car wash. This is Memorial Day weekend, which means it is hopefully a great time to make sure our car is clean and that we are out supporting the community. They do everything from supporting the Boys and Girls Club with their new podcast studio in Weld County to keeping our cars clean and making sure that health for heroes has enough support to do what they need to do. So for our nonprofit spotlight this week, I am highlighting the Cash La Puder National River Foundation. They are having a art show and gala on Tuesday, June 2nd at the Visit For Collins Welcome Center. And it goes. All the proceeds love a silent auction and art show and all the proceeds go to ensuring that the Puder River Access Line is clean, that the water is taken care of, that they have enough volunteers to go out and do their river clean ups and make sure that we understand the heritage and the history of the Cash La Puder River. So what nonprofit are you looking at? Well, I'm kind of lucky because I'm a guest. So I kind of have like an open book. Yeah, I can talk about whatever you want. I can choose the best of the best. And there are so many in Fort Collins and Northern Colorado. But I worked in Old Town Square for like over a decade and I was fortunate enough to see this company kind of this nonprofit start in the early age stages and then grow to be something that's now in downtown and midtown, but that's outreach for Collins. And outreach for Collins is essentially kind of like a buffer between the public and the police component of law enforcement. And actually if you're in downtown Old Town or even midtown and you're kind of in a situation where there might be an individual who is experiencing like kind of a mental kind of fallout or maybe potentially drug use but not necessarily breaking the law. This is kind of a middle person where you can call them. They build probably relationships with these people. They understand what's going on. They have resources to come in and help them get from where they might be struggling to maybe a more safe place and a more enjoyable atmosphere for the public outdoors. So outreach for Collins is something that I think is a great resource for Fort Collins in downtown for Collins and you know keeps us safe and enjoyment of such a great spot. Yeah, that's amazing. And is that a group that we could call so say there was an issue you could call them instead of necessarily calling the police? Yeah, exactly. That's kind of what their role is. You call them. I think it's like 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. I don't know on the weekends but essentially give them a call. Yes, you kind of give them a location or the individual that might need help. Nine times out of 10 what we found. What I found when I was working downtown is they have some sort of relationship with these people, you know. Because they're not like repeat offenders by me but they just you know generally need a little bit more help. Yes. So they come in they kind of are that buffer and help that person move on to the next phase. Yeah, which is really kind of that true community atmosphere of like we all live here together. And so how can we find ways that we can all be safe and enjoy the space and healthy. So I love that. And then we are looking at we all have to eat. We're always eating. I think I'm normally thinking about what I'm going to eat as I'm eating the current meal. And so our last segment is no co-eats. So what did you eat this week? Ooh, I had a this is an interesting one. I'm a there is a local chef. Bri and Carmel has been in. Oh, they're not husband way, but they're basically husband. Okay. They're both chefs. Their backgrounds are pretty awesome. They've pretty much worked in any of the like high-end eateries here in workhouse. But they're kind of they're going to be doing pop-ups this year. Ooh. I had them come into our house for like kind of a private chef night for my wife and I. Wonderful. We're going to have them host a barbecue for our company this summer. Okay. But they're absolutely phenomenal. You know, Bri and Carmel, they will do kind of like private catering, private events. And it's local, born or raised here, you know. So I would say Bri and Carmel. Is that their business name too? Bri and Carmel or do they have a separate one? I don't I don't know if they're actually formalized. I think they were going to be formalized this year, but Bri and Carmel is kind of their brand. Okay, perfect. So that's if we look for that, we'll be able to find them. Yeah, I'll tag them in the video as far as that goes, but they're absolutely wonderful. Okay. Beautiful. That's what I love pop-ups. I will historically say that I'm not a foodie. Yeah. And then as we've gotten more and more into this business, I kind of have to be where I'm like, I have to figure out all of these spots and know the chefs and it's been super fun to get into that community. So they're ones I don't know though. So I'm not going to look them up. Yes. And that's weed went to the opening of the foco food truck rally last week, which it is like our favorite season food truck rally season. And somehow we had a food truck that we had never had before. They're always around, but I don't generally gravitate towards barbecue. Okay. Ben does. So every time he wants barbecue, and we always walk past the meat wagon, which we still haven't tried, because the line is too long and our children can't wait in it. But someday we will try the meat wagon. But we walked down and we tried smoke and rose barbecue. And we had their brisket mac and cheese and then brisket nacho fries. Delicious. I, again, as someone who doesn't love barbecue, loved it. Definitely would recommend would go back. They were super nice and friendly as well, which for us as our kids sometimes are being kids in the park. And the food truck rally can be a little overstimulating. Smoking bros was very nice and understanding as I was trying to carry all six things. They helped me so definitely check them out. And don't forget the food truck rally is every Tuesday. And we are sponsoring this year with Discover No Com magazine. So you will see us out and about having some fun content things. And we'll let you know when those nights are. Are you guys going to be sponsoring the ones too on the south side at the fossil creek park rally? We are not this year, but they are separate. That's a whole story that we get to share soon. And we're very excited. And so they are under different ownership. The ownership of the Foco food truck rally has kind of been behind the scenes for a long time. But it has changed hands recently. And so we'll share all of that soon. Patrick, thank you for joining me this week. If you guys are looking for where to follow, where is the best place for our locals to give you a follow? Oh man, yeah. I think locals probably the best place is just on Instagram. And that's kind of where I post about things that are happening in the area of development and things to do. That'd be the easiest, most accessible place. Okay. Perfect. So yeah, you give them a follow. We'll tag him so you'll know where to look. And if you are out doing something local, tag us so that we can give it a shout out. I also wanted to shout out when I had my previous guest host, Jamie Hammond. She let us know that the downtown Loveland Authority was giving away $100 every week. To somebody who shopped in downtown Loveland during the construction, which is still happening. So you can still enter every week. And we went out to lunch with my in-laws and they actually won the $100. And so I know it works. I know it is real. So go out, shop in downtown Loveland and submit your receipt. And you have the chance to win $100 every week that you shop. So have a great week, Noco. Enjoy your Memorial Day. I think that next week is supposed to be sunny again. So go out, enjoy it. Welcome to summer. Thanks, Noco.