Going Up the Country

Howdy Folks! Today we're kicking off the first of three retail/building posts from the Colorado/Utah trip. This set is mainly the Denver area, then driving out to the western edge of the state.

Albertsons/Sprouts, Parker, CO
This was a fairly short-lived Albertsons, it opened in the 90's and closed down around 2009. It sat vacant for a while, before being split between Sprouts and a liquor store. Fortunately, the façade has remained intact.

Heading inside, I'm inclined to believe this store was totally gutted out and redone when Sprouts moved in. I suspect this probably opened and closed with the Industrial Circus décor.

The skylights were definitely a Sprouts addition, and a welcome one too.

Had this Albertsons had the Grocery Palace décor instead (which isn't out of the realm of possibility), they would have also had a barn-shaped dairy department. I can guarantee that if they did, Sprouts did not recycle it, as this barn is their design.

Sprouts' décor is simple but covers enough of the walls that it doesn't look bland.

Carino's/Armando's, Parker, CO
This opened as a Carino's in the early 2000's. While Carino's is still around, they've shed quite a few locations over the past few years, this being one of them. It became a vegan place for a brief time in 2016, but that lasted less than a year. It returned to its Italian roots in 2017, becoming Armando's, who seem to be a little more upscale than Carino's was. Not being a chain certainly helps.

Cane's, Parker, CO
This location opened in early Summer 2017, so it's practically brand-new in my picture. It's part of a shopping center that's been a long time in the making. They built anchor Costco here in 2011, added a couple stores in 2016, and didn't build the actual strip center up until 2018.

Gander/Sportsman's Warehouse, Parker, CO
This was one of the first outparcels built. It opened in 2016, and closed with the chain the following year. It wasn't originally picked up by Camper's World, but they got it post-bankruptcy and reopened as Gander Outdoor. That also didn't last long. It closed again and is now home to Sportsman's Warehouse, who ironically restored the green paint on the front that had been turned blue when Gander Outdoor opened.

Big 3 Sporting Goods, Parker, CO
Big 5 opened here in 2008, as part of another slowly-built development. So far, it's got a 7-Eleven, a doctor's office, a bank-turned-dentist's office, and as of February a Springhill Suites. It's still got a ton that has yet to be built too.

Pine Lane Plaza, Parker, CO
This center's one of the oldest things out this way, dating back to the early 80's. I love their sign.

Burger King, Parker, CO
This 90's Burger King was remodeled since we last saw it. It looks like the Playplace got killed in the remodel, and its former space turned into more dining area.

Arby's, Parker, CO
Like the Burger King, this opened in the 90's and was remodeled around the same time. You can see how it looked before in the same post linked above.

Chili's, Parker, CO
This opened in the mid-2000's, and was remodeled to its current look in 2014.

King Soopers Remodel, Parker, CO
It's time for one of the rare Plaza ACME Krogering expeditions! I've always snapped a photo or two each time I visited this store, but didn't get to a full stour until 2016. Looks like I did it just in time, too. The next time I visited (so... now), they were in the beginning stages of a remodel to the Fresh & Local décor. So far the flooring had been removed and the Pharmacy rebuilt, but aside from that the Script décor was still mostly intact.

I don't remember what this store opened with, but I've got a feeling they had the (Wannabe?) Neon look originally.

The Pharmacy department was not only redone, but totally rebuilt. It does look a little larger now, but I think their main reason in doing it was to just get rid of the counter on a curved wall.

Super Target, Parker, CO
This Target opened in 2006, replacing the nearby 90's one. Rumor has it Target's killing the Super Target concept, and its currently listed as just "Target" on Google Maps, so I'm assuming this one's been downsized. I bet they feel silly for moving now. :P

Argo Gold Mine, Idaho Springs, CO
This mine began in 1893, and for a time held the record for being the longest tunnel in the world. Towards the end of its life, it was growing difficult to maintain. There was so much water above it they had trouble keeping it dry. A bad blast in 1943 caused the tunnel to flood, killing all 4 miners in the tunnel at the time. After that, it was decided the mine would not reopen. It sat abandoned until 1976, when a historic preservation group purchased it and reopened the building for tours and as a museum.

Silver Mine, Silver Plume, CO
I can't find any information on the history of the mine itself, but Silver Plume was a decently sized mining town, with a population of 908 in the 1890 census. The population fell pretty evenly over the next few decades, so it's hard to pinpoint when exactly the mine closed, but I'd assume the 50's.

Conoco/Kum & Go, Glenwood Springs, CO
The building here definitely predates the gas station. I think  it may have began life as a car dealership or something along those lines. It was a Conoco up until around 2012, when it was cheaply converted to a Kum & Go (whose name really makes me uncomfortable). All they really did at first was paint the white parts of the canopy red. More recently, they've renovated the station to their standards.

Qdoba, Glenwood Springs, CO
There's a high chance this started out as something else- maybe Ruby Tuesday? I've never seen a Qdoba this large before. Actually, come to think of it, I've never even seen a freestanding one before. It looks like this one's still holding onto the old logo despite the interior having been remodeled to their current look.

Village Inn, Glenwood Springs, CO
Despite its cult following, Village Inn has been closing locations at an alarming rate, and even filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. They currently have 142 locations left, down from 212 five years ago.

Discount Tire, Glenwood Springs, CO
This store was built in 2013 on the site of a 50's Phillips 66 station. They build surprisingly nice stores for a place with literally the most generic name I've ever heard.

Long Honda, Glenwood Springs, CO
This dealership opened in 2014 under a different franchise, but quickly changed to Long. The main building was built new for the dealership on a former residential property, while the building on the right was previously an independent repair shop.

Mountain Chevrolet, Glenwood Springs, CO
Chevy and Honda both usually use metallic paneling for their facades. Here, Honda used Stucco and Chevy used brick. I've got to wonder if Glenwood's got some kind of restriction against the paneling. This dealership opened in 2012 on what was previously a vacant lot.

Kmart, Glenwood Springs, CO
This store, famous for having the original Kmart logo up until its 2012 closure, opened in 1982 as anchor to the Ainbinder-built Glenwood Springs Mall. There's practically no information out there on the mall's history; but it's small, old, and dead. Tenpoundhammer was able to fill me in a little on it. Co-anchor JCPenney closed in 2017, and most inlines followed. There are 10 stores left, two of which don't have access to the mall's interior. Maps has a lot of photos of it from 2011 when it was still a healthy mall with several national chain tenants. Now Ross (former Dunlap's), Claire's, Famous Footwear, and GNC are the only chain stores left with interior entrances. Boot Barn and Tractor Supply occupy most of the former Country General Supermarket, which is attached to the former Penney's. In spite of all that, it looks like they got a new parking lot in 2017.

Phillips 66, Palisade, CO
This station opened in the 70's, and coexisted with sister chain Conoco across the street for several years. Ultimately, somebody must have decided it was stupid to have them so close, and the Conoco rebranded to Sinclair.

Holiday Inn/Econolodge, Grand Junction, CO
Holiday Inn originally occupied both this building and the larger one next to it. In 2011, the larger one became a Clarion and this became Econolodge. They actually redid the façade here when they opened, which is more effort than Econolodge usually puts into their accommodations. The only one I've ever stayed in was a 60's motor-court style roadside motel that I can almost guarantee was independent for most of its life.

Loco/Exxon, Fruita, CO
The still-operating Quiznos here caught my interest, so I looked into this place. It got me more questions than answers. The Quiznos here actually opened well after the company imploded. I don't have an exact year (a picture posted in early 2017 shows them with a banner sign inside), but Streetview shows it as a Subway in 2012. Not only that, but a Subway with the pre-2002 logo. As for the gas station, it was originally a Conoco, which they store later took over and operated as their own. In 2018, the gas station rebranded once again to Exxon, and the store dropped the branding altogether. It appears to be operating without a name.

McDonald's, Fruita, CO

This location opened in the 90's and was remodeled to its current look around 2010. Don't worry, no mansards were harmed in the remdodeling of this. For whatever reason, it didn't have a false roof to begin with- just a flat while wall with a red stripe along the top. This is one of the rare McRemodels that improved the look of the restaurant.

Now finishing this post off with a couple phone pictures:

This box of K-Gro was from the Parker CO Kmart, which closed in one of the early bankruptcy rounds. This must be from around 2001-02.

Target/Murdoch's, Parker, CO
I'm not positive why I took these photos, seeing how it hasn't changed at all since I last covered it (same post as first link here). Regardless, I have them now and might as well post them.

These changing rooms definitely aren't left over from Target!

Murdoch's is basically a Tractor Supply on steroids; case in point- their gift department.

Vestibule looks mostly unchanged from the Target days; Food Avenue would have been where that tan wall is. The hallway's probably original too.

Murdochs' checkouts are in the same general area as where Targets were. Here, we're looking from that towards Food Avenue.

Today's title wasn't just a reference, it's just literally the song name.