COMMUNITY PROFILE LUZ VERONICA LOPEZ, NATURISTA LA BOTICA: COURTESY OF WEST DENVER MARKETPLACE MARIA CORRALS, BOTAS EL REY: COURTESY OF WEST DENVER MARKETPLACE DAMARIS RONKANEN, CULTURA CRAFT CHOCOLATE: COURTESY OF WEST DENVER MARKETPLAC MIMI LUONG, TRUONG AN GIFTS: COURTESY OF WEST DENVER MARKETPLACE To spread the word about the business community in West Denver, WDSBC compiled a directory of these small businesses on the program’s website, westdenvermarketplaces.com. This directory consolidates a variety of businesses, ranging from restaurants to auto shops, to art galleries, into an easily accessible virtual guide. Additionally, the coalition has filmed and posted promotional videos for 12 businesses, with more planned for the near future. Another key portion of the West Denver Marketplaces program is the creation of a gift card initiative. Also available on the website, the program allows patrons to purchase one gift card to use at any of 117 different businesses in the area. Juarez said that even though this program is in its early stages, the gift card option has already brought thousands of dollars directly to member businesses. According to Juarez, a driving factor behind the effort to support local enterprise is to mitigate displacement of residents through preservation and stabilization of businesses. “When you look at the data of southwest Denver, it has a higher percentage of doubled-up households than any other part of the city, meaning that people who are living in southwest Denver are at significant risk of displacement and becoming homeless,” Juarez said. “[We want to] make sure that we have continued investment coming to this area, and one of the ways we’re doing that is with this gift card.” Another reason to patronize these businesses? “[They’re] awesome. The area has some of the most culturally authentic businesses and people who live there,” Juarez said. “The restaurants, these are recipes that came from [owners’] great grandparents in Vietnam or in Mexico or other parts of the world, which is really neat to be able to experience. These are mom-and-pop shops that really genuinely care.” Moving forward, Juarez would like to see continued funding for the West Denver Marketplaces program, as well as a steady flow of new businesses to the area. “A lot of people ask, ‘How can I support locally? How can I support small businesses?’ And I’m hoping that if we continue to bring awareness to the program, this is a way that they’ll know how.” ■ October 2023 DENVER VOICE 7
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