As Boulder becomes a haven for tech bros and out-of-state millionaires, some locals fear that the community is in danger of losing the eccentric, radical spirit that made it special in the first place. Thankfully, a precious cohort of businesses carries the flame for old, weird Boulder forward, keeping the city’s idiosyncratic spirit alive.
Trident Booksellers & Cafe
Home to poetry readings, live music, and some of Boulder’s best people watching, Trident Booksellers & Cafe combines a small, thoughtfully curated bookstore with the city’s oldest espresso bar. Tracing its roots back to 1980, when two Buddhists felt compelled to open a bookshop on West Pearl, the storefront quickly expanded to include coffee, tea, and baked goods. Buy a book, sit for an afternoon sipping coffee, and bear witness to aspiring writers, bohemian artists, and stressed undergrads cramming for finals.
Like most brick-and-mortar businesses, Trident struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic. But just as the world was roiling from a global shutdown, eight longtime employees stepped up to purchase the storied institution, making it the first and only employee-owned bookstore in Boulder. In a city spoiled for coffee options, Trident still stands out as a unique locale, with deep community roots and an essential place in the West Pearl neighborhood.
Harlequin's Gardens
Boulder’s definitive home for native, xeric, and locally adapted plants, Harlequin’s Garden draws horticulturalists from across the state and beyond to peruse its endless supply of hard-to-find flowers, shrubs, trees, and veggies. While in the Peace Corps in India, founder Mikl Brawner learned firsthand the challenges of cultivating plants in a drought-prone environment. Returning to Boulder in 1985, he decamped to a small, rugged patch of land off U.S. 36, nicknamed “Grasshopper Flats”, and began experimenting with low-water gardening.
In 1992, Mikl turned his hobby into a business and launched Harlequin’s Garden. Soon thereafter, he met his future wife, Eve Reshetnik, while designing the rose garden at another Boulder landmark, Dushanbe Teahouse. To this day, their mutual love of roses is apparent from the wide spectrum of hardy varietals on display. As Boulder endures yet another drought, Harlequin’s Garden is a must-visit for anyone searching for native perennials, heirloom vegetables, or an array of sustainably sourced goods like compost, mulch, and potting soil.
Boulder Bookstore
Though it now boasts 50 employees, 20,000 square feet, and over 150,000 titles, Boulder Bookstore started from humble beginnings when David Bolduc opened it in 1973 with ten bookcases and five employees. As other iconic literary institutions, like Denver’s Tattered Cover (which was purchased by Barnes & Noble in 2024), face closure, consolidation, and corporate buyouts, it’s never been clearer that Boulder Bookstore is an irreplaceable community treasure.
Bolduc claims that luminaries like Allen Ginsberg hosted sparsely attended readings in the 1980s, and that spirit lives on in the frequent talks and book signings from celebrated authors like Barbara Kingsolver, Jon Krakauer, and Isabel Allende. No matter how many times you’ve flipped through the endless stacks of new and used titles, Boulder Bookstore promises to reward you with your next favorite read.
Sundown Saloon
Join the generations of broke undergrads gulping pitcher after pitcher of cheap beer and shooting pool in Boulder’s quintessential dive bar, the Sundown Saloon (or “The Downer” in local parlance). The subterranean hideout prides itself on a no-frills atmosphere, accessible libations, and a melting pot of students, starving artists, and industry staff getting off work. For two years running, the dive claimed the distinction of selling more PBR than any other bar in the world, and this superlative will not surprise anyone who frequents the low-lit, worn establishment.
While the world around it gentrifies, The Downer is pleasantly frozen in time, evading trends and serving refreshments that are anything but health-conscious. From the moment it opened in 1982, it has been a local favorite. With luck, it will continue catering to the cash-strapped for years to come.
Village Coffee Shop
One of Boulder’s greatest rites of passage is your first visit to Village Coffee Shop, which inevitably leads to staff gleefully announcing the presence of a “Village Virgin”. Expect cheers and light-hearted teasing from the regulars crowded into booths around you. Serving Boulder for well over 50 years, the city’s most classic diner serves unpretentious staples like pancakes, hashbrowns, omelets, and burgers. Don’t expect a matcha latte, chia pudding, or whichever brunch item is in vogue at the moment. Boulder’s consummate greasy spoon may be the best place in town to nurse a hangover, catch up with friends, or wave the white flag on your diet.
Hotel Boulderado
A true Boulder landmark, the Hotel Boulderado traces its history back to 1905, when a group of locals made a plan to attract high-rolling clientele to the city with a grand hotel. After raising funds in $100 increments from residents, the hotel celebrated its opening with a Gala Ball on New Year's Eve 1908—a tradition that continues to this day. Well into its second century, the five-story Hotel Boulderado impresses guests with its Renaissance-inspired design, exquisite stained glass, and functioning original elevator. Guests and the public alike can join for a guided tour to learn about the hotel's storied history and former guests like Helen Keller, Robert Frost, and Louis Armstrong.
Despite its current reputation for hedonism, Boulder was officially a “dry” city from 1907 to 1967. When city officials finally agreed to open the taps, long after the end of Prohibition, the speakeasy in Hotel Boulderado’s basement was one of the first to receive a liquor license, hence its current name, License No 1.
Gateway Funpark
On the Northern outskirts of town lies Gateway Funpark, home to countless celebrations for the young and the young-at-heart since its opening in 1985. What began as a mini-golf course has expanded to fifteen acres of family-friendly entertainment. Careen around curves on Colorado’s longest go-kart track (measuring 2,100 feet), keep your bearings in the human maze, or while the hours away at the indoor arcade. In a region known for rock climbing, skiing, and rafting, some Boulderites get their thrills from this fun and unassuming amusement park on the city’s periphery.
Into the Wind
I sometimes marvel that one of Boulder’s longest-standing destinations is a kite store, which has weathered decades of economic downturns and changing tastes since its founding in 1980. The story goes that two burned-out architects decided to pursue their true passion and founded a tiny 350-square-foot kite shop next to a natural food store. After a wise relocation to Pearl Street, Into the Wind has entertained hordes of tourists ambling down the walking mall, as well as serving as a trailblazer for kite stores around the country. Whether you're just browsing or have a burgeoning kite habit, a trip to Into the Wind is nothing if not entertaining. Sift through nicknacks, windchimes, or sundries in the famous “glow-in-the-dark” room and walk away with the trinket you never knew you needed.
Outback Saloon
Perhaps the best place to sharpen your karaoke chops after downing an economically priced pint of liquid courage, Outback Saloon draws an eclectic clientele, from cowboys to college students. A dying breed of dive bar, Outback serves as a bulwark against gentrification in North Boulder, as its surroundings get trendier and more expensive. Founded in 1990 by William W. Wolvington, the saloon is still run by his son Matt, who cordoned off the corner seat at the bar with a sign reserving the chair in perpetuity for W.W.W. after his father passed away in 2022. Most of the decor hasn’t changed in the business’s 35-year run, and with the loss of the Dark Horse, regulars hope that the Outback can continue serving cheap drinks long into the future.
Chautauqua Dining Hall
Inextricably tied up in the history of Boulder itself, Chautauqua is named for the eponymous adult-education movement that swept the nation in the late 1800s. Of the hundreds of Chautauquas that existed to entertain and elucidate at the turn of the 20th century, Boulder’s Chautauqua is one of only a handful that remain, and the only continuously operated location west of the Mississippi. Both the historic auditorium and dining hall were built in 1898, and they continue to thrill audiences and satiate diners while maintaining their original appearance. Oliver T. Jackson, a local Black entrepreneur, managed the Dining Hall in its opening year and went on to found Dearfield, a prominent black-majority town in Weld County. A fixture of the community for more than a century, Chautauqua Dining Hall is the perfect place to grab a bite before a concert or silent film, or after a hike.